Laurier BBA or Schulich
Really stuck between which one can set me up better for finance/consulting, and I have to make a decision by next week. I am hopefully trying to break into IB, AM, or S&T.
Laurier would cost like 30k more yearly, but the coop seems to let students place better. The social life is also much better. The alumni network also seems to be quickly growing. However the off cycle coop is very highly unlikely to lead to a return offer. It also seems to be harder to maintain a high GPA.
Schulich has a better rep, but there placements are a bit worse than Laurier as it's more diversified in accounting, marketing, etc. It would also be cheaper as I would commute, and the social life would be alright. However it would be harder to secure internships without any coop structure or anything.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's a breakdown to help you decide between Laurier BBA and Schulich for your finance/consulting aspirations:
Laurier BBA
Advantages:
Challenges:
Schulich
Advantages:
Challenges:
Key Considerations for Your Decision:
Recommendation:
If you can manage the higher cost and are confident in leveraging the co-op program effectively, Laurier BBA might be the better choice for breaking into competitive finance roles. However, if cost is a significant concern and you are willing to put in extra effort to secure internships independently, Schulich could be a more practical option.
Sources: Here are the Target Undergraduate Schools in Canada, Here are the Target Undergraduate Schools in Canada
30K more yearly is quite a significant amount, honestly speaking I’d go with Schulich, plenty of pipelines into Big 5 Across IB/CB, just make sure to prep basic techs + macro before you even start the program so u can get into YUSIF / YFC.
Placement wise alone, which one is better though? I think the extra cost for the social life and the placement advantage may be worth it.
My 2 cents:
Pick Schulich if: you value $120k savings, want Toronto proximity for networking, aren’t 100% sure you’ll dominate first-year GPA, or want optionality to pivot to consulting/corp dev/other paths where Schulich’s brand carries more weight outside Canadian banking.
Pick Laurier if: you’re confident you’ll hit ~86%+ first-year GPA to make co-op, you want the Big 6 (specifically RBC/TD) pipeline, you value undergrad social life heavily, and the $120k genuinely doesn’t matter to your family.
But dude, I saw your post history, if you actually have an AFM offer in your back pocket, that changes the whole calculus. I’d heavily lean toward AFM over both Schulich and Laurier, cuz of gauranteed co-op (much lower floor, I know kids with 70s avgs landing some arguably top tier coop placements) + Waterloo brand actually travels quite heavily The quant/CS halo lifts AFM kids in ways Laurier’s brand never will, so much more optionality if you ever want to pursue something more on the tech side. + they’ve been placing really well recently (e.g. BX, P72, GS, etc)
I got deferred from AFM a week ago, I just posted in case I had gotten it. Also I've heard Shulich's "brand" has slowly been falling off, so do you think you see a result of this in placements? I also want to be able to pivot to consulting/corp dev/other paths in case finance doesn't work out. Do you think I should try to transfer to AFM after first yr so I can have access to their coop?
The “Schulich brand falling off” thing is mostly r/OntarioGrade12s noise. What actually happened is the program expanded class size, so more high schoolers get in, which makes other high schoolers perceive it as less prestigious. But on the ground, Schulich kids still consistently place into Big 5 IB/CB through the YUSIF/YFC pipelines every year. The alumni network is deep and they pull hard, if they like you, they’ll go to bat for you. That hasn’t changed.
On the AFM transfer, not worth it. You’d have to restart from first year. So wasting a total of 6 yrs of your life (AFM is 5 yrs).
you can do co-op / offcycle at schulich too (you can take up to a year off so you can do summer + fall winter summer (gap year)+ following summer for a total of 5 cycles)
you don't get as good of a portal/pipeline as laurier does though
+ on the comment about getting onto yfc/yusif
alright thanks for the advice!
let me get a banana tho
It’s would be much more convenient if you are at Schulich for coop or internship interviews. I went to Waterloo, no regrets I think it’s a good school, but back then coop times I have to run down Toronto 2 times a week for interviews
Currently at Laurier, would definitely recommend above Schulich. OSAP and in-course scholarships can bridge the financing gap; I come from a working class background so definitely didn't have a lot of money coming in.
Co-op is easy to get placed into, BBA is an easy degree and getting into Big 5/Maple 8/Bay Street from there is pretty light.
but placement wise they are both similar no?
For banking yeah, Laurier places much better to buyside and consulting though
Anecdotally, Laurier places better on the buyside of things, esp Maple 8
Both schools sit squarely in the non-target AF tier of schools and any placements are purely results of idiosyncratic efforts. This is like debating between Karachi and Dhaka for a summer holiday destination. I’m sure there are nuances that makes one more preferable than the other…..but let’s be real here.
Both Laurier BBA & Schulich are semi targets in the context of Bay St recruiting and consistently place across Big 5 and the Maple 8. By no means are they non targets, non target would mean schools like TMU, York B.Com, etc.
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