UC Berkeley (Haas) vs Cornell Dyson vs Columbia vs Dartmouth
Hi everyone,
I've been fortunate to be accepted to lots of amazing schools. I have been researching through old forums and sites about the pros and cons of each university and I'm still having a hard time to decide. I wanted some further input and will provide some information below.
-
High School Senior in Cali wanting to pursue Investment Banking
-
I prefer and want to stay West Coast, but would go to east coast
-
Parents say not to worry about money (But it's still a big factor for me of course, I don't want to financially strain them)
-
Visited all schools liked all campus and communities (Dartmouth was my favorite)
-
Big Cal Family (Both Parents went Haas)
Schools Below & Cost:
-
UC Berkeley (Haas admit) - Regents (Class Prio + Housing) + Full Ride
-
Columbia University - ~70k per year
-
Cornell (Dyson) - ~60k per year
-
Dartmouth - ~60k per year
Any advice is appreciated!
Haas is definitely a no brainer here, especially if you're from California and want to stay there.
In terms of opportunities for the west coast would it be better going to Berkeley haas or going to one of the ivies and then coming back to Cali after undergrad? Thanks
I have friends from both Cornell and Berkeley and my team also has alumni from both. West coast banks recruit much heavier at Cal and there is also more alumni presence in terms of numbers so you have a better shot at networking successfully.
you seem like you've already made the decision..
I was leaning toward Berkeley, but after speaking with others (family and friends in finance) I began to question if it was the best choice. I’m just worried about missing opportunities (strong alumni and better placement). Thank you for your reply!
I get that. Honestly, if you didn't have the full ride at Berkeley I would probably say Columbia/Dartmouth. But given that you would be able to say on applications that you had a full ride at Berkeley, it makes it slightly more impressive from your end. Also, think about the kind of experience you want to have. Speak with your parents - how did they like Berkeley? Are you someone who would enjoy super large classes with a lot of people or would you prefer smaller classes? Columbia has an incredible location if you're a city person, and Dartmouth if you're not. Berkeley is great, but most people i know who've graduated from Berkeley end up in the bay area. If you know you're going to end up there after, you have 2 options - go out and explore the east coast, see if you like it there, OR, stay west coast because you know you'll end up there anyway. You're young, you don't have a family of your own with kids tying you down to one location, if you want to explore, do it.
Go Bears!
Long-run I’d say Dartmouth will give you better opportunities, recalling a per capita buyside placement ranking I saw earlier. Since you liked the campus and community, I’d branch out a bit. Your family is always going to be in the west coast and you’ll have that as a reason to come back if you ever want to, but purely for the sake of being in a primary market (NYC) and having a fun college experience, I’d roll the dice and do something different. I think you’ll have fun around Dartmouth and end up becoming a better thinker/having an all around profile compared to if you went with the safe choice @ Haas. That being said, full ride and an intimate scholar community is no joke plus Berkeley is world renowned. But I transferred to an LAC over a big state school so I am very biased.
Columbia easily
Dartmouth 100%. I made the mistake of choosing the cheaper option in the short run. This industry is full of prestige whores who jerk off to selective colleges
The top kids at Berkeley kill it everywhere. There are multiple kids going to MS NY, GS TMT, Q, Laz NY, Moe LA etc. It is a tough environment and club/biz frats (UBG, BIG, etc) recruiting will largely determine the quality of opportunities you get. Overall Cal is a fantastic place to go to college and regularly churns out really impressive outcomes.
I have a quite a few friends from Berkeley Haas that are in IB. They indeed place extremely well on the west coast (probably the best out of all west coast targets (Stanford, UCLA, USC) but Berkeley is no joke as a school. Being a public school it is extremely competitive and you have access to way less resources to support you vs a private. At the Ivy leagues you mentioned you will probably get more support and easier access to network. I would say if you wanna go to the east coast for banking go to the ivies; west coast go to Berkeley.
Sounds like u made the choice already. That said if I were to put myself in ur shoe I would go for Dartmouth
It is always remarkable to see Dartmouth alumni as founders or executives at prominent places such as Lone Pine (Stephen Mandel), Apollo (Leon Black), Carlyle (William Conway, Louis Gerstner), TPG (James Coulter), Warburg Pincus (Timothy Geithner), Silver Lake (Roger McNamee), Evercore (Austin Beutner), and Bridgewater (Greg Jensen). Outside of high finance, there are (or were recently) top executives at Nike (John Donahoe), OpenAI (Mira Murati), DoorDash/Tinder (Christopher Payne), and other firms, as well as 5 current senators.
Add to that Hank Paulson (former CEO of Goldman Sachs and Treasurer Secretary now helping to run TPG), Todd Sititsky (President of TPG), Holden Spaht (Managing Partner of Thomas Bravo), Gregg Lemkau (Co-CEO of BDT&MSD), Jeff Kovak (founder of Arsenal Capital), David Kraver (CIO of Lone Pine). There’s also a tone of Dartmouth representation at Viking and Apollo.
A Dartmouth grad, Doug Ceto, also just raised $850million for his inaugural PE fund Lone View. And he’s in his mid 30s.
There is zero competition at Dartmouth but somehow the industry loves the prestige associate with the name. Long term, it will pay off. You'll have to sweat your ass off at Berkley and you might get gatekept from clubs.
I would go for Dartmouth. Undergrad is the only time you will experience true east coast living. Definitely not Columbia (you will experience NYC eventually with finance) and Cornell is not the same tier as the other 3.
Pretty sure dyson/Cornell is on the same tier as the other 3, objectively. It places 40% into IBD and the rest to management consulting and other fo finance roles. Dyson community is also close-knit and tight.
Current Dartmouth student. Amazing opportunities here. LMK if you have any questions.
Rem cum perspiciatis blanditiis voluptatem. Corrupti laborum libero necessitatibus ad in.
Odit ab delectus qui natus nisi. Totam ut non voluptas neque occaecati corporis quia. Et qui omnis laborum cumque impedit delectus optio.
Sit modi ut et numquam. Natus nobis reiciendis ea ipsum id cumque. Nobis optio qui temporibus omnis assumenda commodi debitis nihil.
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...
Dolorem expedita fugiat sit enim distinctio. Sint nemo dolores velit temporibus molestiae impedit.
Quod suscipit perferendis autem provident. Et ut dolore totam qui laborum est. Sunt cupiditate blanditiis aut corrupti ipsa id debitis. Alias a reprehenderit optio exercitationem. Fugiat quo velit est quae rem ea tempora. Quia ducimus accusantium et pariatur ut harum.
Similique tenetur aperiam quibusdam dolor hic est. Quas labore sunt repellat voluptas libero.