Queen's Commerce vs NYU (Not Stern) Undergraduate

Hello,

I'm having a hard time deciding which school I should go to. I have been accepted to both Queen's Commerce and NYU for undergraduate.

Ultimately after graduation I want to be working at an investment bank. The problem is although I know that going to NYU might give me more opportunities, but because I'm not technically a business or econ student I feel like I might be overlooked by employers. Whereas at Queen's I will be studying Finance and possibly have a fighting chance when it comes to competing for an internship or a job. However, I want to be working in the States, preferably New York, and looking though Queen's data and linkedin I found that most of their students end up working in Toronto.

What do you guys think?

 
Best Response

I'd choose QC for the following reasons:

  1. As a non-Stern student, competing for Wall Street jobs will be an uphill battle. Especially given the percentile of Stern students that want to work in finance, they'll have a huge leg up on you. Being in NYC vs Kingston is definitely a plus if you want to work on Wall Street, but I think that alone doesn't mitigate the financial burden(refer to #2) that comes with attending NYU.

  2. I'm assuming you are a Canadian student since you're considering QC. If I recall correctly, NYU will be multiple times more expensive as you'd be applying as an international student. Taking into consideration the high cost of living and high tuition, I don't think attending NYU as a non-Stern student is worth the financial burden.

  3. QC does just fine when it comes to recruiting for investment banking. Coming from a student at Ivey, Queens has been crushing it on Bay Street these past two years, especially with satellite offices for BBs. Its definitely possible to lateral to NYC after doing a year or two in TO if you really wanted to, but there is nothing wrong with IB in Canada. Sure its not as "prestigious", but many like myself got over it pretty quick after a year or two of university. I like Toronto because I'm close to family & friends, much lower COL vs NYC and personally have no desire to work for a Tiger Cub/MF PE.

  4. If you are set on wall street, have you considered Ivey? In terms of Canadian schools placing on Wall Street, its the best hands down when it comes to absolute numbers.

 

Can't speak to NYU non-Stern placements, but Queen's is always strong in Toronto and has been steadily improving in the US. Ivey still gets more US placements (they're about equal in Canada), but Queen's has 12-15 students going to NY and SF this summer.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions about Queen's.

 

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