UChicago career guidance/opportunities/recruitment
Hi there,
I am considering enrolling in UChicago and am curious of what the perception the university is in this space.
I’m a bit worried that the school might be too academically-oriented and therefore lose out on the professional side of things.
In comparison to its peer schools (I’m guessing lower ivies?), how does it perform in this regard?
Congrats on your acceptance to UChicago! That's a big achievement. Now, let's dive into your question.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, UChicago is highly regarded in the academic world, with many of its undergraduates going on to earn top PhDs. The university has a strong academic reputation and is known for producing high-quality PhDs from its own graduate programs. It also boasts a number of Nobel laureate professors.
In terms of professional opportunities, UChicago is not to be underestimated. It's been noted that if you're looking to go into the buy side directly out of college, UChicago could be a great choice. Many students who are good at math are recruiting exclusively for top hedge funds, mutual funds, or prop shops, bypassing banking since they know they have better options.
However, it's important to note that the perception of UChicago's prestige can vary. While it's considered very prestigious from an academic perspective, and to the layman, it might not hold the same weight in non-quant finance circles.
In comparison to its peer schools, UChicago is often considered a peer to Duke, and to some extent, lower Ivies. However, it's not quite comparable to HYPS (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford) when it comes to recruiting opportunities.
Lastly, UChicago has been actively trying to change its image and has made significant strides in the past 4-5 years. It's no longer the UChicago of 2008 known as "where fun goes to die". The university has brought in an admissions guy from Harvard to build classes full of outgoing assertive all-around future leaders.
So, while UChicago is academically rigorous, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll lose out on the professional side of things. It's all about leveraging the opportunities available to you and making the most of your time there. Good luck!
Sources: Undergrad: Will UChicago give me more opportunities than Michigan (Ross)?, Undergrad: Will UChicago give me more opportunities than Michigan (Ross)?
We literally place ridiculously well lol. Have a look on LinkedIn. Also, some kids here scrub their LinkedIn once they get an offer.
Underrated placement. Probably one of the most balanced schools across all areas of pure finance (IB/PE/HF/Quant).
the strongest students definetly end up in financial markets investing though (HF/quant).
So would you say the move is the do something like double major Econ math? I was thinking more about Business Econ + Trott Business Program to use as much of Booth’s resources as possible, and get a solid GPA. What do you think?
if you are optimizing for IB, bus econ + game for easy core reqs and leave the tough ones for after recruiting should get you to 3.7+ with hard work at most intelligence levels. I don't want to say this arrogantly because obvioulsy for some its tough, but if you made it through admissions you can do this. Wouldn't worry about that.
That being said, college is the one time in your life you can intellectually engage yourself in a topic of interest w/ no work without society thinking your a bum. Take advantage of that. When I said "the best students at uchicago end up HF/Quant" I dont necessarily imply econ + math. Usually people who get buyside here just were deeply involved in research + high level coursework that relates to their style of investing. Usually the people who get "crazy" placements just know alot about a topic which can be applied to a security a buyside shop is interested in. They could be classics, bio, history, or CS majors.
Trott is a nice name to have in the resume and that’s about it is all I’m going to say about the program. Biz Econ you should be able to get 3.9+ honestly with minimal effort. I would even say that the people who have placed the best, such as BX, KKR etc. straight out of college, did not do BizEcon and instead did something else like history that they were passionate about. BizEcon kids place BB/EB.
Quant is something else and congregated in one small poker group that helps each other out
Do you think business Econ kids not breaking in to the buy side as much as students studying other programs is a function of them not being able to break in because of the program (bus Econ not seen as appealing by buy side firms), then being less “bright”, or them wanting to place BB/EB (self selection)?
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