UVA McIntire vs Cornell Dyson for IB
I'm a freshman at UVA, pending admission to McIntire (40% AR). Just got into Cornell Dyson as a transfer though. I'm already in a top IB feeder club here at UVA which is a big reason i'm hesitant to leave. targeting EBs (evercore, pjt, centerview) and want to exit MF PE or elite HF after.
Honestly not sure what to do. Mcintire network is already being built and i'd be starting over at cornell, but dyson is ivy and i feel like it places stronger at EBs specifically. Does the ivy name actually matter here or am i overthinking it? anyone have real placement data on mcintire vs dyson for EB/BB? Would love to get some input especially if you transferred to cornell and recruited or know dyson placement firsthand. Thanks
You're already in a top club at uva. Dyson is better but there are def roadbumps being a transfer. I'ld decide based on social fit and happiness. If ur happy at uva stay. If not transfer
He's in GMG
Cornell student. Yes there's a lot of EB placement (perhaps second only to Wharton) and I know transfers who have gotten EB offers, but most of the interviews / seats go to select sophomores who AN1s knew from clubs the year before. That's obviously not an advantage you would have at Cornell, but you do have it at UVA. So in sum Cornell might be better in general but not for your specific situation.
Socially it's actually pretty good, people are nice and supportive. But Dyson is 24/7 finance so make sure you're good with that. It's all people talk about and their identities are pretty intertwined with the quality of their offer.
Thanks for the advice. I know one person who was in my club here and transferred to ILR not Dyson at Cornell and got Evercore. I am already in a biz frat that is at Cornell, so that would be some help to me. Also might try and network a little bit with the cornell clubs exec people if I truly go toward Cornell. Atm I'm leaning towards Cornell, as I see the volumes are stronger, and I know at UVA we have lost some firms or gotten moved down on the target list at EBs specifically because of reneges.
Cornell got upgraded in the last couple years to being Evercores top school, and has been placing more broadly recently (Moelis and Lazard on the table whereas they used to not recruit). Would note two things. First that undergrad school at Cornell doesn't really matter, Dyson = Arts = Hotel = ILR etc, and with the exception of Hotel and somewhat ILR the alums don't feel a strong affinity for their specific school. So don't think a Hotel alum won't respond or a Dyson alum will pull for you over an Arts kid.
Second just note that the main clubs (CFA, CFC, CHF, CIBC) are very very challenging to get into as a sophomore. CHF is probably most worth the time as they are most amenable to transfers. Clubs aren't a necessity though, more a nice thing to have.
Hey man in the same transfer situation but at another school, you down to pm
Hi! I'm an incoming freshman at Cornell and would really appreciate it if I could ask some questions thru pm. Thanks for the help!
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If Rx Interests you UVA >>> Cornell
What makes u say that? Ik uva places a few into RX
Cornell had it's first ever Rx placement (not an exaggeration) this year
UVA + Top Feeder Club is pretty much a high target due to club specific alumni and resources/support. No point in transferring
Del
I got accepted to both McIntire and Cornell’s biz program as a transfer student and took McIntire. I couldn’t have been happier with that decision. McIntire is a smaller, tighter nit community with a deep alumni network across Wall Street. The preparation for a career in finance (and general business) was exceptional. I’ve worked with a lot of Cornell and Wharton grads, and you’ll find that, a few years out of undergrad, there’s virtually no difference in skills, intellect, or career potential. Finance is not that complicated; what matters most for a successful career is drive/work ethic and social skills.
Appreciate the insight. Just curious: what specifically made you choose McIntire over Dyson when you had both options? Also, do you think the fact that Dyson is only ~200 students per class versus ~400 at McIntire changes the equation at all, especially for NYC IB recruiting and alumni access? Looking back, would you still make the same decision today if your goal was maximizing EB/BB opportunities?
I transferred back in 2009. Bloomberg Businessweek used to run an annual ranking of the top undergraduate business programs. McIntire had been ranked no. 2 in the US for much of the prior decade and then jumped to the no. 1 spot that year (I think Cornell was like no. 9 or so). Of course, Cornell is a great program and the truth is any school in the top 10 is pretty comparable, but I was also getting in-state tuition so the value scale was heavily tilted in favor of UVA. It was a difficult decision to pass on the Ivy brand, but I never regretted it and every door that has been open to a Cornell (or Wharton) grad has been open to me. As others have said, it’s more about where you will enjoy your college experience. You can absolutely land all of the EB/BBs out of UVA and some of my friends are now MDs at those banks. It sounds like the size of the Cornell biz program may have changed over the years (and McIntire has gotten larger), but UVA placement is still tops. The UVA alum network within hedge funds is also a bit of a differentiator if that’s an area of interest. I would definitely pick UVA again. I had a great time and it’s opened all of the doors for me. If you have a hard-on for an Ivy brand, you can always get your MBA from one (in which case I would skip Cornell). I never got one, but have plenty of friends who went to HBS from UVA. Can’t go wrong either way. It’s more about personal fit.
Cornell student as well - echoing what the other student said, if you've already established a usable networking pipeline through your clubs/frats at UVA then it may be worth staying there. Most transfer sophomores I know at Cornell placed well but between the Dyson transfer coursework + fall recruiting grind + club recruiting grind it's extremely difficult to stay afloat. I've heard of many UVA students incoming at my firm and the banks my (Cornell) friends are going to. You also don't need to necessarily be in the top clubs to get good calls. Some of my best calls that landed me offers/interviews were from alumni of my non-core finance clubs.
Not to say that Cornell isn't a great school. I actually made the decision between UVA and Cornell when I was an incoming freshman and I don't regret it in the slightest. 90% of Dyson is finance and AI red-pilled but I've found a great friend group with people from all majors (and sometimes you get good info from the people who spend all their time talking about recruiting). I landed offers through blind resume drop so there is definitely a name brand advantage built in. If you hustle you'll be able to land a good offer from virtually any school so it's up to what you feel most comfortable with.
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