Cornell Dyson vs Berkeley vs Claremont Mckenna vs ND Mendoza vs USC Marshall vs Stern

Congrats on your acceptances!! Getting into Dyson is incredible (as is Stern and your other acceptances). I would strongly consider cost.

If you are OOS for Berkeley, I believe your other options are way better because Haas is very difficult to get into. If in-state, saving 40k+ a year on Berkeley is a very good option because with or without Haas, you will get great job opportunities. Studying economics and getting involved in clubs/ ec's will get you similar opportunities to Haas.

Maybe you recieved a half to full merit award at USC? It would be worth considering that because $120-240k is significant and USC offers an incredible student experience and although they are not considered a "target" in the traditional sense, they offer great programs in business and opportunities within California. They recently built a new building just for business undergrads!

Stern is a very good school, but in my opinion, if you are going to the East Coast, Cornell Dyson is incredible. Cornell and Stern will both land you good jobs, but Cornell AEM offers you an intimate community, small business classes, prestige, international opportunities, etc. Stern, on the other hand, will be fairly competitive and difficult academically. Although it does have the city, international programs, pre-professional clubs, and international opportunities, you will not get a campus experience. Cornell offers most of those things as well. (and with the coronavirus, it might be a sign not to attend NYU).

If I was in your position, and cost was the same for all of the schools, I would choose Cornell. Definitely get others input and especially alumni input though.

If I were in your shoes, I'd choose Cornell. Great opportunities and great brand name. This is especially true if you're recruiting for East Coast. If you're looking to stay in the West coast then Berkeley or USC would work. If cost isn't an issue I'd probably go with USC but either or you'll be fine. Wouldn't choose ND with these options. NYU Stern is amazing, but Cornell will offer you better opportunities and a better experience. Claremont McKenna is an amazing school, but I'm not sure what the placements are like. I'm not saying they're bad, I'm saying I know nothing about them so if you're sold on a LAC I'd look into that more.

Cornell AEM hands down, with Stern behind it for east coast.

If you wanted west coast, a toss-up between USC and Claremont with Claremont probably edging out since it is a very small school with a tight alumni network (Henry Kravis went there)

Schools at that level matter much less than if you were say comparing going to Cornell and a random state school in North Dakota. Realize that just because you go to a top institution doesn't mean you are a shoe-in for IB -- there are tons of kids at these schools that want IB so once you get there you need to stand out with extra curriculars, GPA, and work-experience after your freshman year.

For East Coast: NYU Stern=Cornell Dyson

For West Coast: Claremont McKenna>>USC

Don't even consider Notre Dame.

Edit: Yikes got all the USC kids triggered.

Congrats - you have some nice choices in front of you. NYU and Cornell are two of the most heavily recruited schools for high finance so I would pick between the two if your intention is NYC high finance (BB IB / PE) like you indicated.

Either one can get you where you want to go in high finance both east coast and west coast.

Keep in mind though that they are also vastly different in terms of fit / culture / size / curriculum. I went to NYU and had met a few Cornell AEM / Dyson transfers who wanted a different experience for a few reasons. Most common reasons I heard were change of scenery (city vs. campus) and Dyson being housed within the Agriculture School at Cornell. I'm not sure if that is still the case so maybe do some digging into that.

If you have any inclination towards tech / silicon valley Berkeley Haas will also set you up nicely for Silicon Valley recruiting + West Coast high finance. Think finance / strategy positions at blue-chip venture backed names. But I do think NYU / Cornell are stronger on the west coast than Berkeley is on the east coast. Maybe some Berkeley alums or students can comment here.

I am in Berkeley Haas rn, got admitted into CMC/USC/NYU/etc. and visited the campuses and know people there as well. You haven't mentioned your financial situation (you're in state for Cal tho if you're from CA), so I'll ignore that.

Haas is a target for West Coast groups, especially tech coverage since many people here double major or minor with something technical. Not super great on-campus recruiting compared to HYPSM but it's there (lots of consulting). Berkeley itself has a weird vibe that you may or may not like, but Haas is generally removed from a lot of that. Unless you’re a direct admit to Haas (GMP/MET) or if in-state for Berkeley is significantly cheaper than everything else, I would narrow your west coast options to CMC and USC.

My friends at CMC/USC generally are less depressed than Berkeley students. Most people ik there also recruit on the West Coast or for LA groups. There’s also a size differential between Haas and USC Marshall undergad (600ish vs 4000+), CMC is obviously smaller. I’d give CMC the edge over USC imo, it’s a great small school which will help with networking, esp for West Coast roles.

East Coast… you can throw out Notre Dame and focus on Cornell vs NYU. I’m not super qualified to comment on those two so you can decide. I think it’ll come down to CMC vs. Cornell/NYU and where you want to end up working long run.

There are a lot of other things to keep in mind when deciding a school other than IB recruiting. If you want to attend college on the West Coast and work in NYC… it’s perfectly possible. And vice versa. Choose where you actually would be happy to go. You’ll set yourself up for happiness and good performance that way, vs. working backwards from a job you think you want in the future.

Damn you're a hs senior and really said "Like many others my age, I'm interested in pursuing the BBs and PEs." When I was a senior, my friends and I were tryna make it into frat parties and play football for living.