Stern vs UChicago
Hey guys,
My college decision just got more complicated as I got into Stern, and I'm not sure what the difference between Stern and UChicago is within finance.
I think in general UChicago is viewed to be slightly more prestigious/impressive/academic compared to Stern and NYU as a whole. However, it also seems like Stern absolutely churns out investment bankers at top firms due to its massive alumni network and location advantage.
I'm worried that the disadvantages in the alumni network and location of UChicago outweigh any reputational advantages it might have over Stern.
In fact, I'm not certain as to whether UChicago is even considered to be in a separate class "reputation" or "prestige" wise compared to Stern. Schools with bigger name brands like Penn or Columbia in my opinion are definitely perceived as a cut above, but I'm not sure if UChicago's brand name is as strong as these other schools (more of a if you know you know kind of situation). As far as I know there are some extremely exclusive groups in PE or whatever down the line that really selects for the most "prestigious pedigrees" like Harvard or Wharton grads - not sure if UChicago really qualifies for this.
Outside of finance (social life wise), I feel like NYU's lack of a campus / student cohesion and the difficulty of academics at UChicago kind of balance out (though I'm considering Business Econ at UChicago, which is supposed to be way easier than regular Econ).
Any thoughts on this?
go to stern man, uchicago is a leagues better school but from the sounds of your post you could risk getting cooked academically.
Lmao that's valid ig
idk why people think this is a joke its genuine advice. Unless your a stud in your field your going to take some Ls. Socially it will be way less enjoyable too.
Ayo Chicago is backoffice, DO NOT go to the midwest or you will be doomed to mediocrity.
Unless one does HFT with derivatives
From what I've heard about UChicago is that it's super hard academically and the social scene isn't that great.
Current senior here. Academically, UChicago has gotten easier. I majored in CS and it was still not that bad. It should be even easier with Business Econ. I agree the social environment could improve though.
Quote I heard from a friend- "UChicago, where the only thing that goes down on you is your GPA"
Do you think business Econ students are looked down upon in recruiting for clubs and top roles because it’s easier?
"University of Chicago: Where Fun Goes to Die" is a thing for a reason....
I've heard that one too. My other favorite is "The University of Chicago: the level of Hell Dante forgot"
Uchicago is a good school but they only have a handful of students get into ib, and most from what I’ve seen are diversity hires. Probably because grade deflation had prevented most students from getting interviews
Different story for their MBA program, which is one of the best and better represented.
what are you talking about man go look at qatalyst lazard evercore rx pjt; mostly white or asian males, not even counting the girls and diversity candidates
Coming from a H/W grad, uchicago is miles better than NYU. It’s not all about raw # of exits to banking (which Stern is good at) but more about the holistic intellectual/academic experience. There’s a decent amount of uchicago kids in top PE/HF seats anyway. I wouldn’t take business econ though - why would you go to uchicago, hoping to get into finance, and not take their flagship undergrad program (pure econ)?
I was just worried that it would be unnecessarily theoretical and that it might be extremely difficult to get a 3.8+ in some of the more quantitative courses. I'm alright at math, I got an 800 on the SAT math section and 5 on the AP Calc, but I'm definitely not a quantitative genius or anything, especially in the more theoretical / non pattern-recognition parts of math.
Nevermind… go to stern. I don’t think you’ll handle uchicago with that mentality
Just major in Business Econ. I had a 3.7 with CS during recruiting, it's not that bad.
How do you think the prestige/brand recognition of UChicago is viewed?
Graduated from stern. 100% go to uchicago and do not look back. There is no college experience at nyu.
the school is good on paper but not really that impressive in reality
How do you think the two schools compare in terms of prestige and brand name? Mainly asking for down the line when I might have to apply for spots that want “prestigious pedigrees” like Harvard Wharton grads or whatever.
Would choose the New York experience over "college" experience ten out of ten times. Guess the topic starter might have similar interests/personality given the chosen IB route
Go to UChicago. I am a student at stern. These kids are fucking demons when it comes to finance and on-campus orgs (which if u want to end up at a top EB/BB/MFPE you need to be a part of the top ones) are impossible to get into because of it. NYC is an awesome city to be in and I’ve loved the experience so far but I also spent all of freshman year grinding technicals…
Will say tho if u can be at the top at stern, u can go anywhere. I’d assume it’s the same at Chicago tho so get ready for some cold winters buddy.
Boohoo you had to grind technicals, UChicago is a much harder school academically overall and even then you need to know your technicals.
Just say you were lazy/not smart.
Yeah fair. I’ve heard Chicago is super challenging. And it is definitely true that you will need to prepare well technically there too. I think the differences overall r marginal enough where u could argue for either. In terms of technicals, I was mainly referring to preparing for club interviews. The technicals for those were more challenging in some cases than actually banking interviews. Most of the kids were insanely far ahead technically (hence “demons”) but ended up working out fine—heading to top EB/BB this summer
Sounds brutal. I went to Stern years ago and didnt do any of that stuff
U Chicago has one of the worst social life of any school and you’ll be trapped in Hyde park can’t even take the metro that far south it’s too dangerous great school but man SO ISOLATING
got into uchicago and didn’t end up going, i regret it a lot. my best friend is at uchicago. networking wise it’s where all the rich kids who fucked around at feeder schools go these days, gl
lol wdym where all the rich kids who fucked around?
they take like several hundred feeder school kids who were just ok. on the bright side it levels out the competition
lmao this is so accurate; so many kids who went to andover/exeter/stuy/groton who did fine in high school (top 1/3) and ED2 chicago after not getting into their ED1 Ivy
that was literally me lol
Stern is literally one train stop away from wall st. You play ur cards right in uni, ur guaranteed a position.
got my MBA from Stern and absolutely loved it. The social events were always a great time, and the career center was very helpful. Can't speak on the undergrad experience tho.
Stern is 10x better
Is this for just Wall Street placement, or also for general reputation/prestige? It seems like the placement at NYU is top 3 in the country, but UChicago seems to be more impressive overall?
Stern is full of finance hardos. Go to UChicago, you'll have a better time recruiting from there.
uchicago - my friends there confirm that the school has become more pre-professional than before, so you can get the best of both worlds of academic and pre-professional. also, if you wanna move to nyc after graduation, why not live in another city for 4 years of your life that you'll never get back?
Good point. Also how do you think the two schools compare brand name / prestige wise?
uchicago is definitely more prestigious than nyu and stern, no question.
however, as others have mentioned on this thread, uchicago is notorious for tough grading (esp. if you are not in business economics). this fosters an environment where the successful students are the ones that either went to top private or public high schools or are just next-level booksmart, squeezing out anyone not from either background. furthermore, a common complaint from my friends not in uchicago biz econ has often been how unsupportive the school has been for student mental health and a bleak social scene. as such, i have seen people turn down uchicago for brown, dartmouth, cornell, georgetown, duke, usc, and others due to the harsh grading system. despite that, if you graduate from uchicago, you will not have any door closed to you and there will be a wow factor to you (which will not come with most other schools), as most employers know how tough uchicago undergrad is.
nyu stern is indeed a finance hardo environment, and the classes being graded on the notorious curve will mean that it will not be easier than uchicago by much. also, be prepared to hear students talk about their upcoming internships at eb/bbs very often while you pass by them in the hallways.
bottom line, unless you want to transfer out of stern your first year or two, i would definitely go with uchicago.
UChicago has a strong school brand. Keep in mind that academics are quite tough. Even as recent as a few years ago, I recall the academic cutoff for the deans list (top 20% GPA) was 3.25
Although that may have slightly increased since then, considering how you’d need at least a 3.5 just to get an interview in IB and many finance roles, studying at any school with significant grade deflation is less advantageous from a recruiting standpoint.
Yikes, that must be discouraging for the majority of students there looking to recruit if grading hasn’t improved significantly since then.
Most universities have around a 3.3-3.4 average GPA.
Can confirm the top 20% gpa was around 3.2 historically, could be somewhat higher now. Lots of smart folk and lots of nerdy types. A networking event may have around 30-50 students but there are also fewer alum in finance.
From what I hear on nyu - the student body is primarily type A and overachievers who spend most of their time studying. If you can stand out personality-wise while being qualified academically, you should be able to reach your goals when recruiting. There are more alum on an absolute and relative basis, but may be less likely to respond to networking emails and tend to be more selective on which students to respond to, usually if they were in the same business club, fraternity etc. Many people I’ve met from there seemed to enjoy their time as an undergrad (outside of the recruiting season)
Both are great schools and it’s up to the students themselves to do well. If you attend a school where people are generally more collaborative and help out other alum, you’re more likely to have better recruiting outcomes and undergrad experience.
I realize what people meant when they said there's so much misinformation on this forum.
I'm a current UChicago senior. The top 20% GPA for the dean's list is now like a 3.95. I know this because I personally got a 3.8 and my friends had 3.9s and we all weren't didn't make it on the list. I couldn't believe this myself, but the fact is that the school has gotten a lot easier in the past few years.
Good to hear it man, especially since another student at UChic was saying how fucked the academics and recruiting were. How was the recruiting/placements from your experience (the other guy said only diversity got into top groups).
Also, what are your thoughts on Bus Econ? Is the easier GPA worth having the any drawbacks in recruiting due to being less rigorous (if any)?
Attending a school where 80% of students have gotten below a 3.25 despite being smart students is neither prestigious nor fun.
You're better off at a college that has more reasonable grading and academics. Despite being a competitive school, it sounds like most students from NYU enjoyed their college years and living in nyc, but have not heard such sentiment from students at UChicago.
Stern alum here, sterns fcking tough at grading too, all stern classes have a downcurve, Ive ended with a 97 in my data science class and ended with a B+ who tf got all the As...
Lol every resume I come across from nyu stern is at least 3.5
If Uchicago top 20% is 3.25, that would explain why we get so few resumes from there
lol
Honest breakdown:
Uchicago is going to be less pre-professional, more nerdy, and in a worse location, but it will be more academic, have a better network, be better respected, and be less cutthroat.
Stern is a great school and plenty of people do really cool things from it, but it just isnt a top 5 US news school in the country. Anyone who went to an elite school knows uchicago is a brainiac breeding ground. Nerds and absolute weirdos, but brainiacs nonetheless. I also wouldn’t overlook the con of pre-professional schools. When everyone is focused on finance and jobs early on it can create a very sharp elbowed environment where people are really pretty miserable to be around and sabotaging each other at recruiting efforts and being just generally not colloborative people. Chicago on the other hand will have somewhat of a Midwest nice vibe and everyone is such a weird social outcast that they seem to help each other (if they are capable of person to person interaction).
A reason to not pick Chicago is the people are weirdos, the academics sound too threatening, or you really want a college experience in New York vs Hyde park. There’s no legitimate reason to pick stern over Chicago if your goal is an easier business career. Chicago will be better.
It isn’t about how many alumni are at banks it’s about how easy it is as a student coming from that school. Stern is a lot bigger with way more competition, uchicago is disproportionality represented and I would argue if you can speak and want to get a banking job it’s easy to get one coming from there.
objectively uchi placements are far superior. Many to PJT Rx, Q, MS and GS core groups, etc. as well as rare buyside roles, and a T-5 pipeline for quant. Uchi beats NYU in any front office finance industry available.
Imo you pick which one you can hang in. If you love academics and finance, uchicago. If your a hardo, stern.
I didn’t attend either school, but can tell you that there are noticeably far more students from nyu stern in any major firm in financial services. That schools placement is most likely at least 3-5x higher than other schools that may have smarter or more well-rounded students. I graduated from a school in the south that is ranked much higher than nyu, but we probably only send a fraction of as many students into IB in comparison, despite having a sizeable number of students who want to go into the industry
Sigh. People can’t do math on this thread.
NYU has 51,000 undergrad students university of Chicago has 7,000. These just aren’t schools that are a toss-up or comparable, they are incredibly different academic experiences.
Way more people on Wall Street in New York are from NYU. I think there’s like 3k+ undergrads in stern alone. Uchicago has like 1000 Econ majors. The point isn’t are there more, the point is how easy it is coming from those schools.
Way higher percentage of Chicago people at Qatalyst, centerview, evercore than NYU and it’s not close. It isn’t about absolute number of alumni on the street it’s about if you are an average Econ major at Chicago you can stumble into a Wall Street job and stern it requires more effort and is more competitive.
I'm a current sophomore at Stern. Simple answer: go to Stern if you are 100% sure you want to do IB. If not, why not go to a school with a higher ranking with more resources? Stern does have robust reputation and alum connections for banking, but not much for others. Also, the culture here at Stern is awesome. You can have fun doesn't matter what personality you have, not sure about Uchicago
Hi fellow Stern sophomore
I went to nyu stern for MBA and it was a fantastic experience. I had been assigned a few undergraduate students to provide guidance to with recruiting during my time there, and they seemed to enjoy their experience being in nyc and with their semesters abroad and in the city. Surely finding a job in ib is tough, and recruiting is stressful, but you generally have to be among the brightest and most hardworking people with good social skills regardless of what school you are in to land a job in the field.
Lol at people here comparing two strong undergrad schools that regularly places kids into finance. As if we need to confirm if either of these schools are good. I went to a southern state college on a scholarship. Even with a 3.98 gpa, I had only received a handful of interviews and an internship offer at a regional boutique, to give an idea of what it’s like recruiting from anywhere else. Only a handful of students from my school had gotten a finance-related job after graduating, mostly middle to back office roles. You wouldn’t believe how many cold emails and cold calls I had to make to get an internship.
Uchicago is dangerous and is in a very bad neighborhood
UChicago is more respected and will be easier to land an IB position than Stern IMO. Less competition and banks usually have "spots reserved." Spend a little time finding easier courses for your GPA till you start recruiting sophomore spring.
I have come across a lot more students from NYU in finance than from UChicago. Surely both are good schools but if you’re sure you want to work in finance, go to Stern, but for anything else go to Chicago
Academics and grading at Uchicago make the undergraduate and recruiting experience less enjoyable. Given that most of the class is getting a B/B+ average, despite everyone being a top student going in, thats tough for recruiting despite ranking higher as a school, and the same goes for schools like Cornell. People are better off at similar ranked schools like Brown or Dartmouth, where the environment is more fun, people are smart, grading is more realistic and students are collaborative.
It’s the next four years of your life and potentially friends you’ll have for a lifetime. Decide on the people, location, academics if that matters to you, campus versus no campus, etc.
Both schools place lights out - if you’re good you’ll do fine at either. UC grading isn’t as bad as ppl make it out to be, there are easy classes and majors that can preserve your GPA and make it easy to get a 3.8+. Many students recruiting for finance do this. Having a good social life is about finding the right people, joining Greek life if that’s your thing, etc.
I’d also argue that the less pre-professional environment (though a lot more so in the last decade) and still great placements at MBB/EB/BB means you’ll have less competition and potentially an easier time recruiting versus Stern where everyone is trying to recruit, but I didn’t attend Stern so would be dishonest to make that judgement.
Either way, go to where you’ll be happier, find people you like and enjoy college. I had a dope time at UChicago, joined Greek life, enjoyed my classes and recruited to an EB. Some people hated it. YMMV
Thanks for the reply man. Would you recommend doing the new Bus Econ major? I've heard that it's a lot less theoretical/quantitative - whereas regular Econ prepares you well for academia Bus Econ is more geared towards industry. The downside is that it has a reputation of being easier. Would this "easier" reputation harm me when recruiting for top roles against regular Econ grads (and down the line for MBA)?
I see no reason not to tbh. Some hardos might say that bc it’s watered down version of the “pure Econ” track (Econ 200s) it’ll carry less weight, but frankly nobody I’ve seen on the street actually asks about it vs regular Econ. FWIW I double majored in bus econ and another liberal arts major. Nobody ever questioned my quantitative ability. Banking isn’t about your ability to solve budget constraints and understand indifference curves. We treat philosophy majors equal to Econ majors if they’re from a target school. It’s about your ability to come off as mature, professional, personable, having a good story, and understanding finance / banking. Seniors look for pedigree, work ethic, and if they can put you in front of a client and you’ll present well (at my EB).
Not saying there won’t be the occasional alum who is biased against it, but we’re not optimizing for the quantitative rigor of your degree when recruiting interns.
Idk about MBA, but I doubt it tbh. MBA programs take people from all different academic disciplines - it’s a lot more about your industry experience and story than what you did in undergrad.
I went to Stern, and despite a mediocre GPA (3.4, never went to class), was able to break into banking and PE. I attribute it to being able to have winter/spring internships which helped me land SA and FT roles. Overall, I really liked Stern but do sometimes wish I got the traditional campus experience.
I'm a current senior at UChicago. Here's my take
The biggest cons of UChicago are the location and the social scene. Hyde Park is a ghost town compared to NYC and you will probably see a more vibrant social scene at Stern.
For everything else, UChicago is great. Recruiting is strong. There are plenty of normal people here (not just "weirdos") now that our applicant pool had expanded. The academics can actually be pretty easy. I had a 3.7 for recruiting as a CS major, so a 3.8+ with Bus Econ should be a piece of cake.
I would say that our biggest pro is that we aren't overly pre-professional, while I get the impression that students at places like Stern are cutthroat competitive when it comes to recruiting. Do you really want to be worried about finance recruiting over your full four years of college? UChicago students place well but we also get to take a break from per-professionalism and branch out into other interests.
Stern is great if you really want to have fun in NYC. I'd pick UChicago for the higher prestige/name-brand and the pleasant liberal-artsy environment.
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Appreciate your help man. I'm trying to learn more about the Bus Econ major that you mentioned. Would its reputation as being an easier alternative to regular Econ harm me when recruiting for top roles do you think?
No, it won't harm you. Most students I've seen from here going into IB are Bus Econ majors.
Recent UChicago grad / currently EB. Don't really know much about Stern but I 100% enjoyed my time at UChicago, just a few thoughts:
Feel free to DM me if any questions!
Hey man, thanks for your reply! I don’t think I can dm you (“anonymous”), but could I ask you about the new business Econ major? Apparently it’s a lot easier to get a high GPA(less quantitative reqs) and you get to take courses at Booth. However, I’m worried that its reputation as being an easier alternative would harm me when recruiting for top roles or maybe even MBA down the line.
What do you think?
Haha yeah my bad, just realized that you can’t dm me…
Honestly I had the same question, but really think about it – if you say you studied Economics at UChicago, will people (other than alumni) really care? Just say you did Economics, it’s not wrong (in fact whether it’s biz Econ, regular Econ, or the other Econ that’s data science heavy – it’s all just Econ).
Biz Econ is easier than regular Econ, sure, but not easy in general. Especially with booth classes, you get basically all the finance hardos so the curves are crazy. And the regular Econ electives you have to take to fill your requirements aren’t a walk in the park either. The difference is honestly a little too overemphasized imo.
What I did hear is that maybe it’s not the best option for Econ grad school. But for MBA it probably doesn’t matter as much. Your post college job probably matters a lot more (and your GPA ofc)
I have probably met dozens of students from NYU since starting work, and it sounds like the school had different crowds of students - a group of overachievers who spent all day studying or networking, and group of students who spent every weekend partying, going to concerts and/or traveling the world while in school. It seems like there were a fair amount of students in between. This seems to fit the stereotypes of the undergrad demographic.
Don't know much about the experience at UChicago as I've only come across 2-3 alum and they didn't say much about their time in school.
UChicago is more respected than NYU. Anyone who cares about the pedigree of Harvard / Wharton / etc. knows that UChicago is top tier. If you were picking between UC and Harvard, Harvard is the choice, but UC over NYU without a doubt.
NYU is pretty well known outside of the USA esp Asia and Europe. UChicago not so much. This is when you ask a normal individual on the street
UChicago is more prestigious in a way that's similar to how Johns Hopkins and Northwestern are more respected, given they're good schools with good academics. But when it comes to getting into finance, NYU places far more students into top firms than any of the aforementioned schools, which is largely because of proximity, ability for students to do more relevant internships and more alumni
This is untrue, uchi has objectively much better placements than NYU across all areas of high finance. This is outdated
That’s actually a very good comparison between these schools. Would add places like UCLA and WashU to this list as well
Volume ≠ better for placement. NYU may have larger raw numbers, but UC places exceptionally well for students who choose the IB path. If anything IB is a less attractive placement for students at UC than other "prestigious" finance roles (quant trading, HF, etc.) - UC is similar to Stanford in this respect.
it's no question that you will get looks from all reputable banks regardless of which school you choose, so i think the decision should come down more to where you see yourself living for the next four years. chicago and nyc are two very different places, and your experience with social life, weather, entertainment, etc. will all be more impactful than marginal differences in recruiting.
that being said uchicago is still a top ivy zzz
Thanks for the reply man. So you’d say UChic’s brand name and prestige is solidly higher than Stern’s? Where would you place it (which schools are UChicago comparable for reputation and prestige within finance)?
Yes, for both undergrad and at the MBA level, UChicago is among the top ivies in terms of its reputation. I'd say it's comparable to Columbia, with the only potential downside being its location. Practically speaking, though, you will have no difficulty networking, and it could actually be to your advantage in the sense that you will get similar looks in NY but significantly better chances than other candidates in the Chicago/Midwest area.
Both are great schools and people do well from either. However if you want to work in finance, NYU is one of the most represented schools at any firm in the field - a LinkedIn search at any company page can show you this. This is not the case for UChicago
Current upperclassman at Stern.
Can only give you a perspective of nyu, but Stern is fantastic for finance and love a lot of my classes. In terms of the people, the majority of people here are chill. Yeah you have some hardos/weirdos in some classes and clubs, but those are a few bad apples. Most people here are very nice, like traveling/go studying abroad, and overall good people to hang out with. There may be no campus, but you get used to it + city has so much to offer (having money helps). All my friends at big state schools or party schools are jealous of what I have and say they get bored on campus doing the same shit every weekend, so grass is not always greener on other side. For recruiting, it helps being in clubs, but you do not have to be in any nor do you need 3.5+, though it is preferred, to get banking (know several people who just networked hard and got it).
tbh, just go where you think you will be most happy for 4 years. I understand that your career is important, but you have your whole life to work. Whichever college you choose, you will be fine with either college brand name on your resume and will set you up greatly for a career in finance/business. Trust me when I say this.
UChicago is more prestigious, but the academics are more challenging. The tough reality is that unless you’re one of the top x% of students in the class then you’re probably not getting interviews at the groups you want to work in. There are relatively few alum, most alum are from the MBA program, not undergrad, and the social scene is quite lackluster compared to other universities. If you are a career oriented student, you would pretty much have to spend a lot of time networking and studying only to get a B or B+ in classes which is likely still lower compared to what you’d receive from another school. I was valedictorian of my hs of 500 students and had 1570 sat, yet I struggled to get over a 3.4 gpa here; many other students experienced the same despite also being top students. I even took the GMAT last month and scored a 760, so I generally do not think I struggle with testing. Additionally, the majority of students who found jobs were diversity hires, who probably had a walk in the park for getting roles compared to traditional hires.
The people who were saying there are many UC students getting jobs at firms like EVR are not alum. I am fairly sure only a handful of people from our school found a job there over the past two years.
I don’t really know what nyu stern is like - the stereotype is that it’s super competitive (as it is here). But considering how they put so many students into each firm despite their program being 600 students, I wonder if it would be more advantageous to have attended a school like that given I wanted to work in finance. I know 3 people from my hs who had much lower grades but are doing very well there both academically and socially.
Despite the challenges, I am grateful for being able to have attended such a great college and to have eventually found a IB job in Chicago at a reputable firm during my senior year. But considering how difficult the academics were and how much time and effort I had to spend on classes, I would recommend students to attend UC if they have genuine interest in intellectual development and learning, and if they are interested in working in industries outside of finance upon graduation.
also a student at Chicago, I think this is the most accurate portrayal of the school. You're not allowed to take any finance coursework until your second year, which is a serious hindrance given how early timelines are. Grade deflation is real - I've had intro courses curved to a B-. BizCon is fine but you're expected to have a 3.8+ with it, cheating is rampant, and many classes are still curved to a 3.3 meaning you need to be solidly above average to achieve the aforementioned 3.8. If I was making the choice, I would choose Stern.
The NYU or UChicago debate is starting to sound a lot like comparing 2 great banks of different nature like a ‘RBC or Moelis’ type of comparison
In reality, both places have smart people, everyone is driven, the experience is what you make of it, and people generally place well. You have to work really hard regardless of where you are, and maybe one place may be slightly more sweaty than the other lol
Outside of just placements, which would you say has a better reputation/more prestige? (I know it shouldn't matter but I feel like if I'm going to be paying for 4 years worth of tuition I might as well get the best brand name).
Lmao obviously UChicago.
UChicago is probably in a similar tier as JHU, WashU and Northwestern for undergrad
Id say maybe similar to JHU but miles Better than northwestern and washu and that’s a fact
I'd also say UChicago is similar to JHU and even Northwestern but definitely above WashU.
For some reason ppl keep trying to group WashU amongst these schools - it has consistently been ranked outside of T15 and even T20, acceptance rate is 11-12% (double UChicago's and a good deal lower than JHU + Northwestern), etc. Each year all universities submit a list of what they consider to be "peer schools" to IPEDS - this year UChicago was voted by all Ivy Leagues as a peer school along with MIT and Stanford while WashU was only voted by Brown and Cornell.
Must be some sort of bias going on...
What are you talking about, WashU has almost always been ranked top 10 to top 15
Current UChicago second-year Philosophy major just landed on top 3 SnT. Was interested in RX and distressed trading; got interviews from top RX shops and almost all SnTs. I don't know much about finance just grinded BIWS and Moyer's and did not join a single finance club. I never got discriminated against because of my non-finance background, and that says a lot about UChicago.
Every year kids from TBC and other finance clubs got offers from KKR / PJT / top shops on the street, and I know quite a few of humanities/pure maths majors joining Bridgewater/Citadel/Top HF shops. Obviously I am biased, but I do think UChicago grants more intellectual freedom and growth while keeping the Wall Street option opened.
Appreciate the insights man. Could I dm you with a couple other questions about your experience at UChic?
feel free
I graduated from college 15 years ago so I have a somewhat different perspective.
I think you should just go with the option where you think you'll have a better overall college experience (some holistic weighting of social life, education, career opportunities, clubs / ECs plus your overall gut instinct). Try to go to the accepted students weekend to spend time at each to get a feel for where you want to be.
Both of these schools are more than good enough to get you to wherever you want to go career wise. The fact that you're a high school student and posting here already suggests that you have your shit together and will do well no matter where you are. Remember people get top jobs coming from their flagship state schools and Stern + Chicago will both give you way more options than your state school.
Your school's name becomes exponentially less important for every year you've been out of school and I think undergrads and high school students put too much weight on trying to discern these differences in prestige when they really don't matter.
FWIW I'd go with UC, I like all the people I met from there and I dig the more academic environment. My impression is also that Stern and the more pre-professional schools end up becoming pressure cookers from too early on and it might be harder to really stand out.
Also, I used to work at a consulting firm that hired lots of UC people. All of our resumes were visible in the internal system, and I noticed that the UC grads tended to have consistently lower GPAs than the rest of the first year analysts, so I think that the market is aware of the fact that UC has grade deflation.
UChicago grad here, went to top BB (GS/MS) + MF PE + currently H/S MBA. I'm probably biased here, but UChicago recruiting has changed tremendously in the past 5Y. Multiple analysts at top PE firms, as well as probably 20+ / year in top banking groups easily (GS TMT, MS M&A / Menlo, Q, etc.).
When I interviewed for PE, had no issues at all, with interviews at probably 5/6 MF PE firms. Also - from an MBA perspective (if you're considering it), there are many fewer applicants from UChicago vs. Stern, so from a school-diversity perspective, you'll be at a slight edge when applying. This will probably change in the next few years as more people from UChicago do IB/PE.
I used to lead UChicago recruiting at my BB (GS / MS), and can tell you that you'll need at least a 3.7+ GPA to be competitive (for better or worse) + be well-networked at the firm. I've seen folks w/ partner referrals break in with 3.5 GPAs, but wouldn't bet on it for the average candidate. That said - the biz econ major makes it a lot easier to have a 3.7 GPA vs. historically in traditional econ major. Good move from UChicago perspective as it gives the students who are pre-professional a chance to level the playing field vs. other targets with much more grade inflation (i.e. H/W), where the average GPA is closer to 3.7.
If you want to go HF, where raw intellect is a key filtration criteria, I will unequivocally tell you that a 3.9 from UChicago is superior to a 3.9 from Stern (obviously - your investment acumen / banking pedigree is more important, but if you're looking for tie-breakers, this is one). UChicago was definitely not a top target in the late 2010's as there were sparse alumni in the banks when my class was doing the networking, but now - the number of stud resumes I get from UChicago to my MF is truly spectacular. Placements in the past few years into MF / UMM funds has been quite stellar and nearly on par with H/W. Probably a half tier below (perhaps in the Yale / Princeton range), but otherwise among the best.
Thanks for the detailed write up, really informative and interesting!
In your experience, is there advantage to being 3.9+ at uchi for non diverse?
Uchicago is better. Stern is obviously good but let’s be honest lol, it’s really not on the same level. I’m a senior rn at UChicago and I turned down Stern when I was in your shoes.
Everyone here has technicals down pat but honestly I don’t really know anyone who grinded the 400 super hard and I personally learned it in like 2-3 days.
If you’re chasing prestige UChicago is gonna be better, placement wise imo the difference is not that big, and the social scene is fine. Idk what you can really expect from a top college when all of us were valedictorians in HS and didn’t have that many opportunities to go all out. Otherwise we’d be at NYU lol
If you are an international student, you must go to UChicago for a visa,
If you are a domestic student, you would go to UChicago. Stern is overrated. It is a target school because it is located in NYC and most of the firms in NYC are easy to recruit kids from Stern. UChicago is far better than Stern in general
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