Is there a significant difference between BC and Notre Dame?
Love both schools for different reasons, but unfortunately I do little community service which kind of is not a good look for ND which values it a metric ton. Both Catholic schools with pretty darn good IB and other recruitment (but I know ND is better for consulting) and I know ND is generally considered better. Is the difference huge? I like the residential style of ND, but idk about South Bend. I'm worried it would be a little isolating. With BC, I'm worried about cost (about 20ishk difference which isn't relatively huge for this career path, but it's worth considering for sure) and the difference between it as a semi target and other targets (yes I'm on this forum too much but I have 0 insight into this stuff without this forum).
ND '21 grad in IB. Likely a very biased opinion. The placement into consulting/investment banking for ND grads is much better than BC. Moreover, the ND network is a very, very tight bunch. That being said, go where you're happiest, not where you think you'll have an easier time get a banking job. Astonished you're on here as a high schooler.
BC '21 grad in IB. BC definitely places well into IB and consulting, don't know enough about ND to compare. We have a lot of BB/MM placement and some EB. Similar to the post I'm replying too, the alumni network at BC is huge. People are very willing to help out and take networking calls with students. Similar to what is said above, ultimately go where you think you will be happiest. I loved my time at BC and the proximity to a city and have a friend at ND who loved it there who loved it just as much, it is more what you prefer. Ultimately if you want to end up in banking, either school positions you well to do so. I wouldn't pick a school just with IB recruiting in mind.
I think BC is probably a slightly better fit for me, but I want to ED and everyone around me (and yes I know this is my decision) is saying I should go for whatever Ivy League and I know damn well I’d either hate my life there for most of them or I’d just waste my early on it just for prestige.
BC '22 grad, just hit the desk and wanted to provide a different perspective. We don't really place well into consulting. We do place quite well into Deloitte (especially the Boston office). but aside from that, only place that does OCR is LEK BOS (1 person/year). Not really recruitment into other T2s, and there are also a couple people who went to Boston healthcare boutiques. Maybe 2-3 kids max/yr go to MBB, but generally they are women so diversity (all the MBB hires I know are very smart and saying they're diversity is not meant to imply they're stupid, but I'm mentioning this because it is easier to recruit when you're diversity and have access to a specific pipeline through diversity programs).
IB recruiting may have changed since I went through it 2 years ago, but we don't place into every BB because CS, MS, BAML, JPM did not recruit on-campus. Compared to previous years, a large amount of people in my class did end up at GS (~5 I think), but again they were all diversity and not all of them are in NYC. In terms of boutiques, we send one kid to Moelis BOS every 1-2 years, and Centerview comes on-campus to recruit for one spot/year. Maybe things have started to change, I've kept up with the opportunities sent out through the BCIC mailing list and there's definitely more opportunities available to classes below mine (I even saw recruiting for megafund buy-side roles).
That being said, your comment about the alumni network is absolutely spot-on, that was definitely very helpful during my time recruiting. I would say that ND definitely places better than BC since they probably have a lot more people at the boutiques, but I also enjoyed my time at BC a lot.
Not interested in PE but I was looking it up and saw a ton of ND grads, legitimately on par with Harvard in some firms (saw some BC there too lol). I'm just on here because I have no idea what I want at all and at least this is a somewhat standard measure I can gauge. My only limit is no schools west, quarter system (minus one that I wouldn't mind), and must be coed. I have nothing else. I have less than a few months before I make this decision and I feel like I was born yesterday!
ND is better at FB but you gotta live in South Bend.
Community service only going to boost the resume not going to ever hurt.
SB a close enough drive to Chicago you won’t be stranded.
Yeah but I’m also not catholic so that’s a double problem because they want students that fit well with their body.
BC is a private Jesuit college…
There’s plenty of non-Catholics at ND. It’s not that big of a deal
BC better by far. Chicago sucks. Lots of BC kids at top spots, been beat out for EB spots by BC guys. Also just personally never vibed well with ND guys, always preferred BC kids.
Honestly thought they’d be similar considering all the stereotypes follow the same sort of wording lol, guess not
Easily BC. They're pretty much comparable in terms on recruiting but Boston >>>> Indiana
Did you go to BC and have more insight?
I hate ND, but it definitely places stronger than BC. Just go on LinkedIn and look
I know that it is generally considered a very strong target especially for Chicago but I’m not sure how large that difference is- I think I’d be a slightly better fit at BC, but I also have been around an environment nearly identical to ND except slightly WASCier
Why do you hate it though?
Check LinkedIn. ND places better, but both phenomenal options in the grand scheme of things.
Not trying to get to the most prestigious of prestige jobs, just want a nice decently high paying job that I can exit to a good WLB and pay balanced job later in life- if they’re similar in the grand scheme of things I’ll probably just go for the one that would be more fun for me and whatever has a better curve
Recent ND grad with a lot of BC colleagues so have some perspective into the school. Think ND is a better choice if you want a more well-rounded college experience. You will only be in undergrad once, and while South Bend is not the nicest town, you have the rest of your professional career to work in top-tier cities. Think there is something to say for going to a school where campus life is the primary focus. Combined with the sports teams and dorm life, ND has such strong sense of community that I did not sense on my visit to BC. On placement, ND sent ~200 kids in my class to PE/IB/HFs out of a class of a little over 2000 kids. Another thing to consider is that ND is a more highly regarded institution outside of the finance realm as well, which grants you greater flexibility in your career and potential network.
Honestly really like ND but my worry is I’ll feel out of place as a non catholic (not because of intentional exclusion lol)
I am a non-religious senior at ND and it has been a great experience for me. There is no religious exclusion at ND, intentional or unintentional. What I will say though is if you are non-white. being specifically in the business school may be a bit tough due to unintentional exclusion as EVERYONE is a white finance major guy. Our placements are better than BC and contrary to popular belief, about 75% of the class goes to NY (Or SF, LA, Boston, etc.). The one's who choose Chicago banking choose it because they are from Chicago and want to stay there.
ND>>>
This is a good problem to have, haha. I have one colleague from ND and one from BC. Both really enjoyed their times there. The ND network is really tight, but Boston is a sick city. If you're absolutely trying to min/max with respect to banking, maybe there's a slight edge to ND? If you're a sharp kid, hard worker, and network well they're both good places to end up. Good luck!
Are you trying to pick an ED school? Unless that's the case, I would see which you get into. They're both great schools for IB - if it's an ED situation, pick whichever you think is a better fit for you personally. It's not like one is massively better than the other with recruiting.
REA ND is only 17% vs a 12% overall whereas BC takes half their class through ED and the acceptance rate is double despite the RD rate being close to ND’s RD rate. I don’t think ND would likely admit me because I have literally 0 volunteering and I’m also applying against a devout catholic girl who would be a great fit and a triple legacy dude lmaooo, would love to go. BC would be more realistic for me but I could possibly do ED 1/REA to ND or some ivy (probably ND tho) and ED 2 to BC if that doesn’t work out. But I’d be very sad if that choice made me lose out on BC (which is irrational ik but I love BC).
If you love BC more than ND, I would just ED1 there and hopefully call it a day / forgo writing a million more essays for regular decision rounds - unless you have some Ivy you like more and really want to do REA, then do BC ED2. BC is a super fun school and everyone I know there has absolutely loved it, fwiw
You will have amazing opportunities out of any of these schools and recruiting is just 1 tiny percentage. You can measure prestige down to the nth degree and at the end of the day it means very littie. Rankings and recruiting barely even matters if you hate the school. I know it feels like choosing the BEST school is the most important thing right now, but picking a school you like and will thrive at is also incredibly important.
ND '19 grad here (so very biased) and got in to both BC and ND.
For me, wanted ND because I wanted to go to a great school with an awesome community and second-to-none sports culture. I got that and more. Most of my friends were either non-practicing Catholics or not religious, so wouldn't worry about that point unless you are hardcore atheist. Only take two religion electives and only one *has* to be about the Bible.
Chicago is right there, but truthfully only went to Chicago once in 4 years because South Bend is a lot of fun. ND is isolated from the bad parts of the city and there are great places to hang right off campus as well as the bars downtown. I never wanted to go to college in a city though, felt I always wanted a college town.
Finance-wise, I didn't know what IB or PE were when I got to college, but through extracurriculars, network, and classes, learned it was the right path for me to try and was able to get a ton of great looks across Bay Area, Chicago, and NY. Had PE and IB options in all three. I think BC places well too but more on the East Coast, don't see many BC grads in Chicago or Bay Area (have worked in all three areas).
To wrap up, I didn't want to go to BC as I felt the community was not as strong and academically it was a bit weaker than ND. I also didn't love the surrounding areas or the idea of having to go out in downtown Boston while in undergrad, would be very expensive and tough to get around. A ton of kids at ND also got into BC, so I do think they attract similar students.
At the end of the day, you are choosing between two great schools. Wouldn't let the stereotypes of Indiana or being overly Catholic sway you form ND though, as I read a lot of that above. Feel free to DM me if any questions.
Thanks for the insight! I think ND is not like the stereotypes, I'm more worried I don't fit necessarily the student that they want. They focus less on grades and more who you are as a person from what I've seen, and I don't really do community service. BC tends to prefer my sort of student profile (from what I’ve seen from admits). I actually would prefer a smaller surrounding area because of money reasons, for me it’s just the admissions reason
Gotcha -- that all makes sense. Nuts how hard it has gotten in the past few years... not sure if I'd still get in.
For what it's worth, if you were involved in clubs or sports in high school, that definitely helps. Community Service isn't the only way to be active in the community :)
Overly catholic is fine, I just think they won't like that I'm not really the archetype of community service smart catholic kid that a lot of NDers fit into (which is fine, I just am not that). I'm worried I'll get rejected if I apply early, because then I could've used early for something else.
Edit; oops just realized I already replied back hahaha ignore
Blanditiis quisquam assumenda aut. Et rem rerum quisquam voluptatem explicabo. Illo nobis quas molestiae odio ab voluptates sed.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Tenetur distinctio neque quaerat sed temporibus ea. Deserunt ipsam nemo quis deleniti est aut reiciendis. Sit magnam recusandae quam laborum dicta excepturi facilis. Debitis aut deleniti et omnis. Aut optio laboriosam id occaecati veritatis non et. Repellat labore numquam occaecati illum.
Aliquam sequi pariatur excepturi fugit. Pariatur eum officiis molestiae magnam et.