Georgetown McDonough vs. NYU Stern vs. UMich Ross vs. Northwestern Weinberg
I was recently admitted to Georgetown McDonough, NYU Stern, UMich Ross, and Northwestern Weinberg. I've been really struggling to decide which one to commit to, and after reading through countless college comparison posts here, I thought I'd make my own to answer some of the questions I have pertaining to the general consensus around each of these schools. My current goals are to work in IB in NYC for 2-3 years after college and then make the switch to PE, VC, or HF, but if I was able to land a buyside role immediately after graduation I wouldn't hesitate to take it.
Georgetown:
I've heard some very conflicting answers about Georgetown's placements. Some have said that it places much better in the South but not quite as well in NYC, and others have said that it has fantastic placements in BB firms and consistently beats out Stern in per-capita placement. Can anyone speak on their experience with Georgetown's placements?
Stern:
This also has some mixed opinions around it. I've seen many say to only go to Stern if I'm absolutely set on IB, and if I don't want the typical college experience. I am sure that I'm set on IB, but the problem is that I come from the boonies in an already really rural area, and to be honest I'm not entirely sure what I want in terms of a college experience. How does one go about making that decision?
Ross:
This one is really hard for me. From everything I've seen online, Ross seems like a great place to be, and I love how nice and modern all of the amenities at the Ross building are. I just feel like I might be at a bit of a disadvantage in recruiting, and I'd be sacrificing some prestige that all of the other places seem to have.
Northwestern:
This one is weird. The campus seems like it's basically just UMich but worse (and their business school isn't really for undergrads), but the name seems to fetch a lot more prestige than somewhere like Ross, so I'm wondering if that's worth the downgrade.
These schools only differ up to 4k/yr in price, so that's not a huge factor, but I know that NYU would end up being substantially more expensive due to the COL in NYC. Lastly, I know a common answer will be something along the lines of "you can't go wrong with these choices, pick based on fit." I completely agree that my decisions likely won't be of much consequence, but to me that's what makes it so hard. I've realized that I don't quite know what I want in terms of college experience, and have no idea how to figure out what it is that I'm looking for. I would appreciate any advice that everyone has on how to decide among these schools. Thanks!
As a current stern student, NYC is what you make of it. Stern gets a bad rap because frankly most of the kids (vast majority but definitely a lot of exceptions) here are herbs who wouldn’t be doing anything cool at a traditional school either. The opportunities here are seriously endless as you can find any type of person at both nyu and throughout the city, and if you make the right friends you can have an insane time running around the city doing things that most people will never experience
That makes total sense, thanks for the reply! I've also heard that Stern alumni are somewhat cold and not very receptive to networking, has that been your experience?
Very true unless you're in whatever club or organization they were in. Most of my best conversations were with random nontargets or CAS Econ alums etc. However I don't think it really matters in the end, if you have good grades, good experience, and a good head on your shoulders you should be fine. I don't know anyone that actually really wanted IB that was willing to put the work in that didn't get it.
Georgetown or Northwestern. Great schools that will get you wherever you want. Won’t be as traditionally *fun* as Michigan but still a classic college experience.
What's your reasoning for excluding NYU?
Easily Stern, shouldnt even be close
Go to Stern if you want a job
Don't go to UMich. Other three are good options but at the end of the day it comes down to how well you utilize the opportunities available to you. Do not be a bot and just think about school and classes all day. Make sure to figure out what you are interested and get connections in order to get meaningful experience early on.
Northwestern IBC and NCM/IMG place extremely well
Go to one of the above schools. And have signed at a bb for soph summer and a top eb (CVP PJT Evr) for junior summer. The school doesn’t matter as much as you’re innate ability to grind. The school just checks the box you just needa grind hard and network at any and you’ll be fine.
What's your reason for choosing an EB for junior summer?
$$$$
I would go to Georgetown/Stern, those two schools place way more candidates in PE out of school compared to Michigan and Northwestern
^^^Definitely Georgetown or Stern
Georgetown for sure. Their per capita placement blows Stern or Mich out of the water when you think about how many people are gunning for IB at each of those schools. Northwestern is a fantastic school and probably the best academics-wise, but it doesn't really fall in the same group as the others for IB recruiting.
Georgetown places in the south? who the fuck told y that lol
Northwestern has better placement than the others if you are in IBC. They had 7x people go to Blackstone last year.
Couldn't that also be said about clubs at other schools like GPS or the Finance Society? Or does IBC have a real advantage over the others?
IBC is different in that they have a very high acceptance rate (around 40-50%). Anyone that is truly interested in high finance gets accepted
I had similar offers when choosing between colleges, and ended up going to Georgetown (SFS). I couldn't be happier with my decision and would recommend 100% especially if you want to work in IB. The alum network is amazing, and there are also tons of resources on campus for recruiting. Everyone I know who recruited ended up with fantastic offers (https://careercenter.georgetown.edu/about-us/senior-survey-outcomes/). I know one investment club had 6+ people go to Blackstone last year. And speaking from personal experiences, I definitely wouldn't have received some of the offers if not for Georgetown's alum network and rep (and I'm not even in the business school).
Aside from recruiting, DC is a great place for college and you'll have tons of fun here. Feel free to reach out if you have questions about Georgetown.
Thank you for the wonderful insight! One worry I've had when comparing Georgetown and NYU is that networking, superdays, and finding housing in NYC during summer internships would all be harder if I lived outside of New York. Did you experience any difficulty due to the distance or did most important events end up happening on campus?
I didn't have any trouble with networking/interviewing since companies come to campus for recruiting events all the time. All of my superdays were virtual due to covid. But I know a lot of banks usually have first-round interviews on campus or online (some even have expedited timeline for gtown), and for superdays they would just fly you out to nyc.
For summer housing, I rented an apartment from my friend. I know people also rented airbnbs together or stayed in nyu dorms.
Surprised to see some of these responses. Ross is the clear winner here as it has top-tier placement and prestige of all these other options but you'll actually enjoy your life there. I personally know people at Northwestern who've struggled to even break in.
I went to Vandy and my sister went to Georgetown. Such a beautiful campus in a great city. Strong school spirit and limitless resources if you apply yourself. Get the traditional college experience and go here. You’ll end up in NYC if you want regardless so spend the final years of your teens and early 20s somewhere different and fun, congrats
Stern is the clear winner here since ur dead set on IB. Absolute number of placements has consistently been top 3, up there with H/W, on any ranking/database u come across (WSO, Peakframeworks, etc.). Historically, every year we send 200+ kids to BB/EB, a couple dozen straight to buyside (Vista, Point72, Blackstone, etc.), and everyone at least gets MM. Networking advantage of being in the city is also priceless.
If ur looking for a more balanced college experience, I'd recommend Georgetown. Tight-knit community, high per capita placement. Have friends there and all fairly sharp/witty.
Just don't go to Ross. Everyone ik there was rejected ED1 Wharton, rejected ED2 Stern, and ended up at Ross. They're salty af.
Very surprised to see you say that the campus at Northwestern is worse than UMich. Frankly, I think it has one of the best campuses in the Spring / Fall when weather isn’t so bad due to the architecture, lake, etc. Proximity to Chicago is also a huge plus if you ever want to go to a big city and have a night out. I think in terms of IB placement, Stern / UMich probably place more kids but their undergraduate population is 3x-4x larger than Northwestern / Georgetown so easy to get lost in the shuffle. In terms of pure academic ranking, I think Northwestern / Georgetown probably is the best school here, but if I was hyper focused on finance, Stern would probably be a good choice. It really is upto you if you want to be in NYC (and the pros / cons of that) or be in a college town.
Made a WSO account just to leave this comment. I had to make the exact same decision (excl. NW) 4 years ago and couldn't be happier about having picked Stern. Not only was recruiting a breeze but living in the city has been extremely formative. I've had friends visit from Georgetown and Ross who are similarly awe-struck by what life in the city is like and have commented on having regrets about not choosing Stern. At the end of the day you are undoubtedly sacrificing tailgates and a huge campus but at the same time NYC is entirely what you make of it and has an unbeatable nightlife scene. Needless to say, the education, professors, and likeminded peers you'll meet at Stern are all worldclass. Unless you really think you're not ready to dive into the deep end that is living in NYC - I strongly recommend considering Stern. PM if you have any questions
Excuse any grammar mistakes, typed this up quickly on my phone
Georgetown is in the "city" of DC, what are you talking about
I think it’s clear that “what I’m talking about” is that, in my experience, friends who chose Georgetown over Stern seem to prefer NYC to DC
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