Columbia vs. Wharton MBA

Hi, I am fortunate to have been admitted to both Columbia and Wharton MBA programs. I was hoping to get a consensus on which school would be best to break into the buy-side. My end goal is to live in NY, but of course I can postpone that after Wharton.

I understand that Wharton does well on the rankings and that it is a powerhouse in finance, but I don't know how it compares to the value investment program at Columbia. I am also not very familiar about their recruiting. Any insight would be very helpful.

Thanks,

 

I am at Columbia. Both are great schools and will get you to where you want to go. But if you have no other preferences, obviously Wharton has more prestige. If I had been accepted to Wharton, I would have went. I hate to say this as a student, but CBS is basically students who got rejected from H and W and were accepted to Booth but chose CBS.

And yes, the VIP is great at CBS -- arguably the top program in the field. That being said, it is competitive to get into, and seems to be more targeted towards the HF route rather than IB or PE.

"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
 
Best Response
CountryUnderdog:
I am at Columbia. Both are great schools and will get you to where you want to go. But if you have no other preferences, obviously Wharton has more prestige. If I had been accepted to Wharton, I would have went. I hate to say this as a student, but CBS is basically students who got rejected from H and W and were accepted to Booth but chose CBS.

And yes, the VIP is great at CBS -- arguably the top program in the field. That being said, it is competitive to get into, and seems to be more targeted towards the HF route rather than IB or PE.

CountryUnderdog, I'm sadly disappointed :). I'm a CBS alum and got into both W, C. I ultimately chose CBS because I liked the people there and it's in NYC. The location plays a huge factor. If you're considering just IBD/consulting, both are top feeders and place lights-out. If you're considering buy-side both place well - I remember a considerable number of my friends went to shops like HIG, tiger funds, Citadel, etc. I do, however, think W has an advantage over CBS for hedge funds so if location means nothing to you and you're cool living in Philly, go to W. Otherwise, go to a CBS HH, and talk to students. They're always very very willing to help.

 
bankbanker101:
CountryUnderdog:
I am at Columbia. Both are great schools and will get you to where you want to go. But if you have no other preferences, obviously Wharton has more prestige. If I had been accepted to Wharton, I would have went. I hate to say this as a student, but CBS is basically students who got rejected from H and W and were accepted to Booth but chose CBS.

And yes, the VIP is great at CBS -- arguably the top program in the field. That being said, it is competitive to get into, and seems to be more targeted towards the HF route rather than IB or PE.

CountryUnderdog, I'm sadly disappointed :). I'm a CBS alum and got into both W, C. I ultimately chose CBS because I liked the people there and it's in NYC. The location plays a huge factor. If you're considering just IBD/consulting, both are top feeders and place lights-out. If you're considering buy-side both place well - I remember a considerable number of my friends went to shops like HIG, tiger funds, Citadel, etc. I do, however, think W has an advantage over CBS for hedge funds so if location means nothing to you and you're cool living in Philly, go to W. Otherwise, go to a CBS HH, and talk to students. They're always very very willing to help.

I don't disagree with any of this, and obviously I'm not in the business of trying to bash my own brand...I just wanted to offer the advice that I think would be most helpful, and specifically give insight as to what I would do if I were in his shoes.

Like I said at the beginning, you'll get the interviews (assuming you have the pre-reqs) from either school. No one is going to look down at CBS from Wharton or up at Wharton from CBS. That was just my opinion as to the decision I would have made.

"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
 

Congrats! I'm a current CBS student in the value investing program. I'm going to a HF after school. I've answered some questions before about the VI program here (site won't let me post a link but search for "Columbia Value Investing Program Placement".)

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

I applied to only CBS because it was my top choice. If I hadn't gotten in though, I would have applied to Wharton and gladly attended if accepted. My preference wasn't a judgement on the superiority of one school over the other. Rather, CBS just happened to be the best option to help me achieve my goals.

I only share that because of the comment "CBS is basically students who got rejected from H and W." I actually want to be here and it worked out pretty well :)

 
bluerlion:
Congrats! I'm a current CBS student in the value investing program. I'm going to a HF after school. I've answered some questions before about the VI program here (site won't let me post a link but search for "Columbia Value Investing Program Placement".)

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

I applied to only CBS because it was my top choice. If I hadn't gotten in though, I would have applied to Wharton and gladly attended if accepted. My preference wasn't a judgement on the superiority of one school over the other. Rather, CBS just happened to be the best option to help me achieve my goals.

I only share that because of the comment "CBS is basically students who got rejected from H and W." I actually want to be here and it worked out pretty well :)

Thanks! Can you tell me about how selective the value investment program is? How did your other classmates in the value investment fare? Where did you get hired? (perhaps size of the AUM)

Thanks again,

 

So if I remember correctly about 120 people did the first round of the process which is interviews. The next round is an essay and a stock pitch. 40 people are accepted.

The VI program is great but I wouldn't go to CBS just for that because there's no guarantee you'll get in and it really doesn't make sense for everybody. I do think CBS in general has a lot to offer people going into investment management. You don't need to be in the VI program to recruit in that field.

The vast majority of people in the program go to buyside public equities. People going to a mutual fund or asset management tend to know earlier where they're going. A lot of hedge fund hiring can occur very last minute. It's not consulting or i-banking recruiting which is very formalized and occurs early in the year. That's one of the drawbacks of going for jobs in this space.

Would rather not disclose anything about where I'm going because I would like to keep anonymity. Sorry.

 
whattherock:
I suggest you do yourself a favor-Pick the MBA that gets you closest to your dream job.
This is a bit off-topic, so apologies to the OP. @whattherock, I've heard similar advice advice before regarding picking MBA programs. I'm wondering what school would be the best for the entrepreneurial field? It seems like all of the M7's are "shifting" towards people who wish to start businesses.
I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

Yeah, but it the US the basic consensus is Wharton > Columbia... I was even at Wharton on campus visit and everybody insisted on the greatness of the alumni network in Europe. I am non-traditional applicant, it is kind of hard to get a non-biased opinion on this point!

 

One thing to do would be to go on LinkedIn or do a resume search on Indeed.com....see if you can reach out to a couple people who are 2-6 years away from finishing their MBAs at Columbia and Wharton and who are working in BB IB. See if you can email them or get them on the phone for a 10 minute chat. That might help a bit.

It sounds like you want to go to London immediately post-MBA....would working in the US for a couple of years be an option...and then transferring internally to London? Then I'd go with Wharton for sure. If not you really need to use your own discretion when it comes to deciding between the two offer - and by the way, congratulations on your admits!

Leah Derus Independent MBA Admissions Consultant MIT Sloan Class of 2010 [email protected] Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCacB1ueqfkRVW5pcMZKAj5w
 

Hey there,

First off - congrats on an awesome problem to have! When I chat with clients in this situation, the focus is tier, then fit. If your schools are in the same tier, fit is important. But if they are in different tiers, then the higher tier should win (unless there's money involved or some other personal reason). Your MBA isn't just going to take you to Europe. It's going to follow you around for the rest of your career. I would absolutely suggest you choose Wharton. Trust me, you'll be able to make a move to Europe happen if that's what you want.

Good luck!

Bhavik

Bhavik | Managing Partner Critical Square | MBA Admissions Services Sign up for a free consultation today! https://criticalsquare.com/contact-us/free-mba-profile-consultation/
 

Hi,

I am an international MBA student and there goes my two cents.

1) You will have an equally good chance of getting a job in IB from both Columbia and Wharton. It is not a rocket science. People get there from a much wider range of schools. 2) IB recruiting is about networking. Columbia may give you an advantage if you are keen to network off campus. Also, bankers from Wall Street come to teach at Columbia. 3) Finance professionals generally perceive Wharton as a slightly better brand. However, Columbia name will be much wider recognized by general public, especially in Europe. 4) Consider living in NYC vs. Philly for 2 years. NYC is amazing. 5) You will have no problem getting an internship in London, assuming job market is in a good shape. You can also do an exchange semester at LBS from both schools.

 
keensetofpeepers:
hey guys, I'm in a quandary, need to pick between Wharton and Columbia. I'm a military guy, not certain what I'm going to go into post MBA but potentially interested in healthcare. know Wharton's healthcare program is really established but felt I clicked more with Columbia's healthcare director. also met with more Columbia students than Wharton, i like both groups. understand it's a win win either way, don't mean to sound like a douche but i really can't pick.

Hi KSOP,

My suggestion is to think back on your interaction with and support from the Veterans Clubs. I don't know that much about the Military in Business Club at Columbia, but I do know people in the Wharton vets club and have always heard that the club and the school offer a lot of support to ex-military guys. Why not ask those students directly what they think of the support and the network for veterans? That's probably more important overall, especially since you aren't sure whether you are going to focus exclusively on health care.

And yes, it's a big WIN!
Good luck!!

Betsy

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 

I can't speak to Wharton but I have talked with a bunch of 2nd years CBS interested in HF (who are also in the VIP) and everyone had internships at well respected shops. They said the alumni network was very helpful in getting those position whether it was at that alumni's shop or the alumni making a call to a friends shop.

 

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People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 

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