HELP a prospective student! Columbia and Stern!

If you are accepted into both Columbia and Stern, you'd have to show really poor judgement to pick Stern. You realize most of Stern = Columbia rejected (and HYPWharton for that matter).

I know of a pure retard who got into Columbia but ended up going to uoft for undergrad business, how silly can one be?

^^The only justification for that would be if UT just threw money at him

Nope, he got no scholarship he was a US citizen who paid $27,000 in tuition alone here (not counting living expenses etc). He was also accepted to Stern. He came to U of T commerce though, his parents are paying for all of it, and his excuse for not going to Columbia was that it was more expensive.

He also said that he "always wanted to do finance" -- total bs imo, the retard told me that Ivey has a shitty curriculum and that UofT is better for finance since its a more rigorous education. He didn't even know what "target school" meant. If he was really serious, he would have his parents pay that 27k and take out loans for the rest, but no, he came to U of T undergraduate business.

What a waste of life, oh well, he fits in quite well with the antisocial fob culture here anyway, and he got parents paying it, so he ain't too worried since its not his $ and a$$ on the line.

ummmmmmmm................idont think he's an idiot- he will have a blast of 4 years, afterall.

yeah, giving up columbia for a school that places 3-4 kids into small canadian shops is really smart and unequivocally, a huge fuckin blast.

Certainly if he 'always wanted to go into finance' he would have been willing to sacrifice 4 year of the party scene at UT for Columbia...no brainer

dude theres no "party scene" at UofT, and I have no clue where I made anything that would lead you guys to infer that lol. If you consider chilling with a bunch of socially awkward asians as a party scene, then sure its a huge blast. I agree though with your main point, Columbia is a no brainer, theres so many people out there with high test scores / etc who don't have a clue how the recruitment process works, they focus on the irrelevant aspects of a school decision instead.

Thats what I meant, the 'party scene' was intended to be an Ironic remark

lol sorry about freaking out on you, I'm pretty sensitive about certain specific issues hahaahhahaah

so basically what you guys are telling me is that Stern sucks compared to Columbia?

I personally don't have any bias against either I just want an honest reflection of the recruitment and how they are perceived on the Street.

And screw U of T - my friend with a 3.2 GPA and who got suspended once because he jerked off in the girls bathroom still got in with a scholarship. What a joke.

Yea I don't know too too much, but I am pretty confident that columbia > stern.

Lol yea UofT is a joke school, I mean its academically hardcore & all intense and shit, but its poor in terms of placement and the level of polish that the students have. Their entrance standards are also a joke, basically they let every schmuck into the program (commerce and all other undergrad programs), extracurriculars or essays aren't even considered (no, that online profile where you type in your ECs does not count as it does not get read by anyone who gives a rat's ass). They let any idiot with an Ontario HS average of 85-86+ get in regardless of anything else. No clue why someone would go there (and pay 27k a year intl. fees, 12k a year domestic which is a relative-ripoff compared to Canadian undergrads) vs an IVY LEAGUE school LOL

what do u think the chances that this kid actually decides to work in finance/IB are? how many people went into school knowing they were going to do IBD, and then actually did it?

well he has a 3.8ish gpa here and is smart and all, but he knows nothing about how the process works or what investment banking is, he just "wants finance" because its "a high paying job" that will impress his prestige-whore asian parents.

Columbia >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>stern.

Hands down. I left my school for a semester to take a class at Stern in order see what the hype is all about.. absolute joke. I'm so glad it was only a semester and that Ive returned to my home school.

Telus, 99.9% of us going into banking do ibd because its a high paying job. I'm confused as to what you are trying to say....

oh, I mean he only said that he is doing it, what I meant was that he wants it for obvious reasons (we all do), but he didn't take the time to actually learn how recruitment works, and even given the shot at columbia he still went to a dump.

uhhh if Stern seems to suck so much to Columbia, then why does Stern get recruited like crazy?

*PS. I'm talking about undergrad, not MBA.

I think this topic has been discussed a number of times in the forums already but.. I guess i'll try to chip in although i can only speak for stern. i'm currently going through full-time on campus recruiting so i can tell you that as long as you work hard, you will definitely get a job.

I have an offer from my summer internship as an IBD analyst, as do almost all of my friends. Offers range from BBs to boutiques, NY to Hong Kong, IBD to consulting to tax. With that said, Stern also is very very competitive. You have probably heard of the stern curve, and it is true. Most professors do follow it, until you reach advanced major electives, then they ease up.

Though our 'campus' is in a great location, it is still fairly difficult to adjust to.. at least in terms of building community. Note: we do not have a football team; however, if you enjoy eating out, the location is perfect for that.

I think Columbia may be better in the sense that you are not locked into a career path. You can decide later on that finance/ accounting/ consulting is not for you and you can pursue something else. While this is not impossible at Stern, it is far more difficult. I tend to think we have convinced ourselves we love this path only because our skill set has only been developed for this.

Let me know if you have questions! feel free to PM me! i havent posted before but i am no stranger to WSO. thought i'd help out because i wish i had someone to help me when i was deciding

Thanks disposition for a well defined perspective, with evidence, unlike the other people who seemed to be more inclined towards the prestige of an ivy league.

Just wondering how does Stern fair against other ivy leagues and wall street feeders like Duke and Cornell? Also is NYU Stern known internationally (specifically towards HK)? Or is it strictly a regional feeder to NYC?

Just so there is no confusion, most Americans think of UT or UofT as University of Texas-Austin, but the Canadians are talking about University of Toronto, which from the couple friends I have that went there, is not fun in the slightest and is a very difficult school to get through for the relatively lower (compared to Columbia) respect it gets.

as for how stern fairs against other ivy leagues.. it really depends. typically recruiters are focused on one specific region or set of schools so you won't be competing directly with all other students. though its a rough comparison, think of it kinda like the "quotas" for colleges. firms may accept more from a more qualified school, but it's not to say they wont accept from a non-target.

stern is definitely a target school for NYC firms and there is a big asia-pacific recruiting situation going on. HK is not the only one.. i have friends who have gone to singapore, malaysia.. etc.

in my interviews/ internships, i have come across wharton, harvard and BC-type schools more so than cornell and duke (though i have encountered a few and i know they definitely do well for themselves). This too depends on the firm though. stern students have also interned in chicago but it seems that it's mainly NYC or asia. That might just be my set of friends. I dont personally know anyone who went over to the west coast, south.. etc but i'm sure it happens

It's very interesting you came across more Wharton / Harvard students. I'm assuming those kids nailed their jobs easily? xD

disposition, do you think Columbia has a distinct advantage over NYU Stern in terms of recruitment in NYC and abroad? Or would you weigh both schools as similar in terms of recruitment and getting a job?

what about kent state?

Ok....24 posts, go to fucking Columbia

Go to Columbia. This is not a close comparison.

go to wharton and become a tool

Here's the other issue. at columbia, maybe 20% of the undergrad population (being liberal) wants to be investment bankers. at stern, that number is probably 80%.

Columbia is usually as well represented if not better than Stern at most banks in NY and HK. What does that tell you about placement?