Clarifications about UVA

Hey y'all, rising senior interested in buyside finance here. I'm in the process of finalizing my college list which has a mix of business and non-business schools in the US. As a school policy, I am strictly limited to 10 applications, and am hence having to be much more picky and scrutinizing in my list than I would have liked to be.

A school that I'm trying to understand more about is UVA. I know that it provides an amazing network and McIntire places very well into finance in general, as well as having a pretty balanced and fun culture. However, as an asian male (international student), I have seen comments suggesting that UVA culture isn't great (you're socially excluded) if you didn't attend a "mainly-white prep school" with an already strong network at the college. Can anyone speak to this - whether international/non-white students will have a much harder time carving out networks at a school like UVA? 

Additionally, some suggested that this exclusive culture is all the more prevalent within business clubs and fraternities. Is this true, or would it still be possible for someone with my background to break into these? And if they are indeed that exclusive, how interlinked are such clubs with recruiting from McIntire in general? Is McIntire recruiting mainly propped up by clubs, or is it still quite feasible to land opportunities even if you're not part of these? 

Given the limited number of apps I can send out, I just want to make sure my 4 years at college aren't depressing, and that I can still access industry networks. If UVA doesn't seem to be the best fit from this standpoint, I might apply to UNC, or someplace with marginally weaker industry presence but a better quality of life for me. 

Tl;DR: "You can't make the most of UVA social scene or networks if you're an Asian international". True or False? 

Thanks in advance! 

1 Comments
 

Harum dolorum quibusdam suscipit ullam in quisquam. Cum ducimus ipsum et et.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”