University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne vs. Baruch College

Which in your opinion would be the better college for banking? Baruch equals low debt which would allow for spending on networking guides, help to support unpaid internships, trips to California for West Coast investment banks for internships, etc. UIUC is a leading flagship state school with a couple wall street alumni, better rep than Baruch and more prestigious degree generally speaking (although not if you have a grad degree)

What do you guys think?

16 Comments
 

UIUC. I went there for 1 year for an MSF. Managed to land a banking job after performing terribly at a terrible undergrad school

Array
 
Best Response

There's more than a couple UIUC alums on Wall St...heck, there's more than a couple on this board. It's a target for Chicago offices and sends a decent number of kids to NYC as well. It's not a sure thing, but if you are at the top of your class in fin/accy, you will have plenty of opportunities.

The biggest thing that you need to decide is what type of college experience fits your personality. Baruch offers the city and proximity to Wall St. UIUC offers a more traditional college experience with big time athletics (albeit not always successful), traditional campus, big Greek and bar scene, and major research facilities. One thing to consider is cost of living outside of tuition; Champaign is dirt cheap.

P.S. I guess that UIUC grads are going to have to stop claiming Corzine as a notable grad now.

 

If you go to UIUC I could end up interviewing you so that should obviously be your first choice.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

It's Champaign...not Champagne. Rook mistake.

But techbanking is spot on with his post....plus I have heard rumors of happypants setting foot on the UIUC campus earlier this spring.

 

baruch no brainer

disclaimer: i didnt go to either of them but all of my friends in uiuc suffered greatly for trying to find an internship/job, while my baruch buddies exceled at all areas of financial industries

 
CaliforniaAnalystbaruch no brainer

disclaimer: i didnt go to either of them but all of my friends in uiuc suffered greatly for trying to find an internship/job, while my baruch buddies exceled at all areas of financial industries

Serious question, were your friends at UIUC native English speakers? There is a huge contingent of foreign students at UIUC, and from having interviewed many of these students, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them struggled to get jobs in the US.

 
TechBanking
CaliforniaAnalystbaruch no brainer

disclaimer: i didnt go to either of them but all of my friends in uiuc suffered greatly for trying to find an internship/job, while my baruch buddies exceled at all areas of financial industries

Serious question, were your friends at UIUC native English speakers? There is a huge contingent of foreign students at UIUC, and from having interviewed many of these students, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them struggled to get jobs in the US.

you caught me... many of my uiuc friends r not native speakers, while my baruch buddies r all natives... but still, cheap tuition+nyc = win to me. im not saying uiuc is not on par with baruch. and in order to succeed in a city college, mentally you need more than dedication and focus...
 
CommuterMajority of Baruch students are NOT native speakers fyi. Most diverse college in the country if I recall.
That's true - most aren't native speakers, but they aren't the most brilliant international students in the world either. I would say the top 10-15% of students are outgoing, brilliant kids from top NYC high schools who will probably end up with high paying, FO jobs, the middle 20-30% composed of kids who work hard and study hard and just want to graduate with SOME SORT of financial job (accounting is huge here) and the rest composed of international students who cant speak a lick of english and students who went to their zoned high school and managed to coast through it with a 85 overall GPA (read: don't know what to do with their lives)

It's not tough to get into Baruch, but it's super easy to maintain a high GPA. That, and the network is absolutely massive in NYC.

disclosure: also attend baruch

 

Molestiae et vel aut qui dolores. Soluta ut aspernatur perferendis incidunt. Dignissimos molestiae aperiam expedita magni. Consequuntur eveniet sunt nobis sed voluptatem consequatur aliquam.

Eos quisquam cum nobis id. Quia maiores qui sint debitis maxime. Sit qui temporibus quasi unde.

Nulla molestias voluptatem enim id. Adipisci eos magnam quidem. Tempora veniam error maiores magnam ad consequatur recusandae. Est culpa ratione accusantium voluptas quidem fugiat. Temporibus et eaque autem impedit. Qui vitae recusandae incidunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”