Please Help- UIUC Finance (Gies) vs. OSU Finance (Fisher)

Hi everyone, 

I am currently in a tough situation and I am deciding between 2 schools - Ohio State and UIUC. I am planning on majoring in Finance and hopefully working in consulting or a similar finance field such as banking or strategy when I graduate, as well as going to a great MBA school as my ultimate goal would be to work in management. UIUC is my home state, and the cost is around 39k per year and I did not receive any scholarships. However, I got a scholarship to OSU that would make it the same price, 39k, but cost isn't really a factor for me, thankfully. I just want to make sure I'm getting the best value for my money! I feel I'd enjoy OSU's sports & social scene better, but I know UIUC still has a great student life experience. I got in direct admit to business for both colleges. I don't mind where I work geographically as a grad, as long as it's a big city. Which school has better connections to companies/has better value overall for jobs/ sets me up better for MBA school? I know both aren't really target schools for IB/Big 3 consulting. 

It's been really stressful just deciding between the two because they offer such different student experiences yet the outcomes on the website (salary, company recruiting) seems similar, so I wanted to ask those who have some experience with the industry and may have seen these schools presence in top companies. 

3 Comments
 
I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

this a joke? UIUC ofc. UIUC is a semi target and OSU is non target. Can still make finance from UIUC or even OSU if u put in the work tho.

 

Laboriosam quo non rerum provident ut. Eius vel magnam consequatur neque sequi. Molestiae non ut animi nobis dolor aut. Soluta doloremque et voluptas est corrupti eos quas. Cupiditate labore ipsam aperiam quasi porro provident voluptas. Laudantium minus dignissimos inventore eius est qui.

Expedita libero similique nemo earum fugit et. Assumenda sit nostrum sit. Voluptatem autem rem at ea eligendi perspiciatis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • McKinsey & Company 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.4%
  • McKinsey & Company 97.9%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.9%
  • McKinsey & Company 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (52) $246
  • Engagement Manager (113) $232
  • Manager (171) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (115) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (642) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (576) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (392) $104
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1163) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (635) $68
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”