Will I be at a disadvantage going to UVA - McIntire?
I was also accepted to Dartmouth and Duke. However, I'm not really interested in either place. I pay in-state tuition at UVA, and I don't want my parents to pay twice as much for my education unless it's really worth it.
I'm an Echols Scholar at UVA (not that many perks - it's just kind of an honors group of the top ~8% of UVA students) and my SAT score (2350) is over 100 points above the 75th percentile for their accepted students, so I feel that I'll be able to excel and get a very high GPA if I work hard.
Will being at UVA put me at a disadvantage to Ivy grads? I love the lower cost, social scene, campus, etc. so I'd really love to attend! But a few people have told me that BB firms come to UVA just to maintain a presence and prefer to recruit from Ivies/Stanford/MIT.
tl;dr: If I get a high GPA at McIntire and seek out internships and other opportunities, will I be competitive for IBD recruiting?
(yes, I know it's a bit silly to somewhat base a college decision on a potential career path, but I'm really interested in finance)
Yup. Your life is over. Say hello to the back office.
Is this a serious question? UVA places very well in to IB.
I know UVA places very well into IB, but would my opportunities be THAT much greater at Dartmouth and Duke? Dartmouth and Duke are better than UVA in terms of recruiting (at least that's what I've gathered from this site). But is the difference that significant?
I'd go UVA in state in a heartbeat if money were an issue. Plenty of UVA grads on the street and it's also a feeder school into top MBA programs. You're in good shape.
you have a 2350 on the SAT, you are in the honors program, if you work your ass off and get a 4.0 with even a slight bit of connections, you will land at almost any IB, now if there was a specific IB firm you wanted like Lazard and they only hired from (put school name here) well then you would need to transfer, but if you just want to go into IB, you will do excellent staying where you currently are if tuition is a big factor in your choice.
What's the cost difference? Will you need to take loans? Are you direct admit to McIntire?
I'd personally go to Dartmouth or Duke. I'd check Linkedin to get a rough gauge of the difference in representation on the Street. That said, there are kids that get into top banks from schools that are way less reputable than UVA. It depends on your effort. If you really love the environment of UVA, you can realistically get into any IB you want from there as long as you network, get good grades, etc. It just might be a little harder than if you were at Dartmouth or Duke.
Roughly estimating, UVA would be ~25k/yr and the others would be ~50k/yr. I don't qualify for aid, but a 100k difference is still a big difference especially when I have younger siblings. And UVA is only a couple of hours away from home, which is convenient.
McIntire doesn't directly admit freshmen, but I'm fairly certain I will get in if I work hard enough
Dude, UVA places great into IB. I wouldn't sweat it--half my interviewers at CS were UVA alumni.
UVA has pretty good recruiting, but not all BBs have OCR here (BAML, MS, DB). Don't be too overconfident and assume you will get in / do well in McIntire, which is pretty different than other undergrad b-schools. Absurd participation grade and group work component dictate your performance. You're required to take marketing, organizational behavior, and other this other stuff, i.e., you will have less finance than everyone else. Also, your stats are pretty average for comm school kids.
You'd be fine at UVA, but I'd probably go to Dartmouth if I were you. Recruiting from a top (non Wharton) undergrad business program (Berk, NYU, Ross, UVA) is a bitch, speaking from experience. Everyone is like you: really smart kids with great stats, gunning for IB. Everyone knows the technicals. Everyone networks. Everyone goes on WSO. You're definitely not a runaway favorite to get into a BB coming from one of these programs, trust me.
The Ivies just have it easier. The alums push harder, the students major in stupid shit like African Theater and decide half-way through junior year that they want to do IB and still get interviews with no finance internships because they have good GPAs and "intangibles." Dartmouth is really cool, in particular: they have this Winternship thing for sophomores (I think? Alums correct me here) where you get an internship in the winter break of sophomore year and then everyone stays on campus for the summer. No one will even compete with you for a spot other than Dartmouth kids. Know people who got BB IB stuff as sophomores. Plus the alum network is great, small school, everyone parties. Dunno, the Dartmouth kids seemed to love it.
Again, UVa is solid. But the whole recruiting process is a lot smoother at an Ivy, and your overall experience will just be easier/less stressful. I'd say the loans are worth it.
Thanks for the responses. One more thing: to what extent is race/ethnicity considered in IBD recruiting? Is it as huge as it is in college admissions? If so, are Arabs overrepresented or underrepresented on the street? (In college admissions we're on the same level as white applicants)
Top 6 McIntire IB internships this year: (by # of acceptances) CS: 7 Citi: 6 WFC: 6 Lazard: 4 JPM: 4 BarCap: 3
Not bad considering McIntire is much smaller than most programs (~300 students), but notably GS and MS took 0. If you work your ass off its there, but you would certainly have a much easier coming out of Dartmouth.
Not sure where you got your facts, but GS took a kid from my block this year for IBD.
R u certain you want finance in the future? If so, then go UVA especially with your financial considerations. If you have any interest in MBB, I would have to say Dartmouth or Duke based on fit.
McIntire has no representation at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley compared to Duke/Dartmouth.
Don't listen to anyone above who suggests that UVA doesn't place well onto the Street. That's just false. You'll have no problem landing a gig from UVA.
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