UVA Echols vs. Cornell for finance/banking placement?
I was accepted to Cornell Arts & Sciences as a freshman spring admit, but am taking my fall semester at UVA as an Echols Scholar (their honors program for Arts & Sciences). At UVA, I will have the chance to apply to the McIntire School of Commerce, which will no doubt give me a lot of opportunities and placement in the finance sector, but it isn't a sure shot, with only a 50% acceptance rate. Other pros for UVA include the fact that I'd be paying about $10,000 a semester less, as an in-state student, and the Echols program means I get priority registration for courses (and maybe some sort of intangible mark as an honors student might help me in McIntire admissions).
I plan to double-major in Economics and Computer Science, and the Echols program at UVA allows me to skip past general requirements, making the process easier (and hopefully giving me an edge in the finance sphere?), whereas at Cornell, I'd still have to fulfill all general requirements, making a double-major harder to complete. Is the ivy name at Cornell worth it/will it get me better placement as a student in the university's College of Arts & Sciences? I assume it would be a different story if I was in Cornell's AEM but I don't know about how its A&S placement would compare to UVA's McIntire (or even UVA A&S). Sorry if any of these questions sound stupid - I'm new to this sphere and don't have any family/friends that work in it that I could get advice from.
Hmmm.. if you weren't an Echols scholar at UVA it would probably be easier to go with Cornell. Given you'll find similar placement at either school regardless, I would go with the cheaper option.
The UVA kids I've met on the street that were Echols weren't in McIntire half of the tim (YMMV). I get the feeling it probably doesn't even matter if you are one of their Jefferson/Echols scholars.
Regardless, there is no loss here; Cornell places insanely well across majors. Shouldn't be difficult getting IB interviews at all from either school.