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.

 

Debitis soluta unde quod rerum accusantium repudiandae. Rem soluta facere ut consectetur laudantium temporibus facilis officiis. Quia dolores animi delectus praesentium.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.9%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.9%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (113) $232
  • Manager (170) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $135
  • Senior Consultant (355) $132
  • Consultant (642) $122
  • 1st Year Associate (577) $121
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (391) $104
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1164) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (632) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
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...”