US vs Canadian Universities

Hi community,

I'm new here and did not really know where to post this, please be patient with me.

Anyway, I recently got my college admission letters: McGill, UCLA and Johns Hopkins. I was wondering how much BB and MBB recruiting is actually happening in each of these schools. I suspect UCLA is better for the west coast, but what about the east coast? Which school is most respected/has the best reputation? Since I am from Germany, overseas (UK/Germany) would also be very interesting. Where would you go?

Thanks for any advice :)

 

I don't know anything about how good Johns Hopkins is in finance but I regard that school much more highly than the other two. My only friends that went there are doing some sort of med though.

I'm assuming McGill > UCLA. McGill from what I understand is the #1 Canadian college. The downside would be the weather cuz it sucks to be in Canada versus always sunny on the beach in LA.

 

In Canada getting into university is not really the accomplishment its more how well you do in school. For example the admission rate at McGill is supposedly 40+% from what I've read. In the US getting into certain top schools is an accomplishment in itself. If I were you I'd take UCLA probably. McGill is overrated.

 
karlsson65:
In Canada getting into university is not really the accomplishment its more how well you do in school. For example the admission rate at McGill is supposedly 40+% from what I've read. In the US getting into certain top schools is an accomplishment in itself. If I were you I'd take UCLA probably. McGill is overrated.

Seconded. Also you have to look down the road, both are huge schools (UCLA bigger) but McGill only has a couple of FO spots a year for a very competitive market and there just isn't that much more out there compared to the states. If you were to fail with OCR you have 50 states to go pounding doors in... here in Canada you will have Toronto and Calgary and I also think they take the whole visa thing more seriously here when it comes down to internships as they have always questioned the shit out of me through recruitments... oh ya and the weather... would you like to see chicks in bikinis on weekends or in a Canada Goose jacket?

"If you survive to my age and you rack up a CV like mine, you can look at HR and say, "Fuck you. I don't try out."- Eddie
 
Best Response
karlsson65:
In Canada getting into university is not really the accomplishment its more how well you do in school. For example the admission rate at McGill is supposedly 40+% from what I've read. In the US getting into certain top schools is an accomplishment in itself. If I were you I'd take UCLA probably. McGill is overrated.

I'm not sure where you're getting your stats from, but getting into top universities in Canada is not easy. Not on the same level as say H/Y/S for example, but it's by no means 40%+ admission. The admission averages for the top schools, especially the UG business programs all hover between 89%-93% per year, with 10-15% admissions. GS, MS, top Canadian IBD all recruit, as well as MBB.

 
pr4mence:
I'm not sure where you're getting your stats from, but getting into top universities in Canada is not easy. Not on the same level as say H/Y/S for example, but it's by no means 40%+ admission. The admission averages for the top schools, especially the UG business programs all hover between 89%-93% per year, with 10-15% admissions. GS, MS, top Canadian IBD all recruit, as well as MBB.

From McGill's own website:

http://www.mcgill.ca/es/admissions-profile

14,220 offers for 31,049 applicants, that's 45.8%.

No Canadian schools are comparable to top private and some of the top public US universities in terms of admission rates.

 

I don't know much about John Hopkins but my friend went to McGill and I went to UCLA.

UCLA places well in the west coast but it gets more difficult as you head further east. By the time you get to London, you really doesn't much bonus points but you can probably still get an interview with many firms. There are UCLA analysts in NY BB firms and their business economics program is fairly well respected but UCLA is mostly a West coast target.

For McGill , it seems to place well in London and I assume NYC too. My friend did mention that grading is fairly tough at McGill so it's a little more difficult to meet the 3.5 GPA cut off that American firms expect. He seemed positive about the overall experience though.

Personally, I'd still go UCLA given this choice set. I think McGill is a little overrated but they do have a good alumni network, especially when compared to UCLA's craptasic one. But, the UCLA name is decent enough to get you in the door in most places. And really, once you go to the west coast, you realize east coast is overrated.

 
My friend did mention that grading is fairly tough at McGill so it's a little more difficult to meet the 3.5 GPA cut off that American firms expect.

I remember an editorial by a UBC business school professor saying that he general marks about 10% lower at Canadian universities than he did at his American university (Yale?). So if American firms are basing their 3.5 cut-off off of their local universities, it seems like it could be a detriment to grades.

As for consulting, I only know Big 4 and any of those would be a fine school. You could probably find some interesting healthcare related courses at JH if healthcare consulting was an area you were interested in.

TT

 

UCLA. Bain doesn't even recruit at McGill. BCG takes like 1 per year. McKinsey takes more, but mostly french-speaking students for their Montreal office. IB placement is fairly good though, but only in Canada. Keep in mind that it is much easier to get work visa in Canada.

 

Go to UCLA! As a California native, I think it has the best campus and social life in the state. You'll love it there. I don't know how well recruiting is though. I've always viewed UCLA as a semi-target but I could be wrong. But JHU can't be that much better than UCLA, plus the neighborhood sucks.

 

A good friend of mine attends UCLA and he was an IB intern at a top BB in SF last summer. I know for a fact the following banks recruit at UCLA for IB: GS, MS, JP, Citi, CS, UBS, DB, BAML, RBC, WF, Jefferies, Moelis, Houlihan. I might be missing a few but this is based on recruiting within the past year. Most of these positions are for LA or SF, though BAML does recruit at UCLA for NY for SA. For AM, BlackRock and PIMCO recruit for their west coast offices for both SA & FT.

 
fortes_fortuna:
A good friend of mine attends UCLA and he was an IB intern at a top BB in SF last summer. I know for a fact the following banks recruit at UCLA for IB: GS, MS, JP, Citi, CS, UBS, DB, BAML, RBC, WF, Jefferies, Moelis, Houlihan. I might be missing a few but this is based on recruiting within the past year. Most of these positions are for LA or SF, though BAML does recruit at UCLA for NY for SA. For AM, BlackRock and PIMCO recruit for their west coast offices for both SA & FT.

Qatalyst recruits at UCLA now also.

 
fortes_fortuna:
A good friend of mine attends UCLA and he was an IB intern at a top BB in SF last summer. I know for a fact the following banks recruit at UCLA for IB: GS, MS, JP, Citi, CS, UBS, DB, BAML, RBC, WF, Jefferies, Moelis, Houlihan. I might be missing a few but this is based on recruiting within the past year. Most of these positions are for LA or SF, though BAML does recruit at UCLA for NY for SA. For AM, BlackRock and PIMCO recruit for their west coast offices for both SA & FT.

Where did you get this information from, your friend? Can anyone confirm this?

 

Go to a US university if you want to pay tens of thousands of dollars to subsidise "mass entertainment" in the form of athletic programs for the plebs. You know US schools have their priorities wrong when the football coaches make millions while top professors make sub 100K. I would go to school in Europe where it's free or cheaper and you leave with no debt. I went to a middle of the road university in the UK, I'm Canadian by the way, and I graduated with no debt and now work in the City making good money. My friends back home are struggling to pay off massive debts while I'm looking to buy a home in leafy West London and start a family.

 
Ovechkin08:
Go to a US university if you want to pay tens of thousands of dollars to subsidise "mass entertainment" in the form of athletic programs for the plebs. You know US schools have their priorities wrong when the football coaches make millions while top professors make sub 100K. I would go to school in Europe where it's free or cheaper and you leave with no debt. I went to a middle of the road university in the UK, I'm Canadian by the way, and I graduated with no debt and now work in the City making good money. My friends back home are struggling to pay off massive debts while I'm looking to buy a home in leafy West London and start a family.

Just a nitpick: In what world do "top professors" make less than $100k per year?

 
Aspire0904:
Assuming that I go to UCLA and get a job in banking on the West Coast, how easy would it be to break into the industry on the other coast or in Europe after a few years?

I'm a UK student as well and had a few q's:

1) What SAT/ACT score did you get? 2) How much do you have to pay for UCLA tuition fees? I heard they don't offer any scholarships or aid for international students. 3) Did you do A-levels?

Thanks

 
Aspire0904:
Assuming that I go to UCLA and get a job in banking on the West Coast, how easy would it be to break into the industry on the other coast or in Europe after a few years?
If you have the work experience, you can move pretty easily.
 

It seems like the biggest barrier for going to IB in Europe with experience is the need to speak a second language and be a citizen within the EU. Actually, even straight out of university, those are the biggest barriers for people going to school in the U.S. and trying to go to Europe.

 

Unless money is an issue, go to John Hopkins or UCLA.. probably the latter. McGill's business school is way overrated, although they do have one of the better alum networks among Canadian schools.

 

''Unless money is an issue, go to John Hopkins or UCLA.. probably the latter. McGill's business school is way overrated, although they do have one of the better alum networks among Canadian schools.''

Way overrated? I wouldn't say so. Yeah the university is sitting on its ''Harvard of the North'' (which I don't think is true) and is plagued with traditions and old-school way of teaching, although its strong alum networks speaks for itself: there are many good students that find great job upon graduation. Isn't it the ultimate goal for any students in the end?

OP, I would choose UCLA if you intend to work in the USA although I'm not sure if there will be any benefit to study there if you want to work in the UK. McGill has a strong alumn network in London.

 
Drive:
OP, I would choose UCLA if you intend to work in the USA although I'm not sure if there will be any benefit to study there if you want to work in the UK. McGill has a strong alumn network in London.
UCLA has a decent name in London but it's like if you said you went to a decent non-ivy/semi target.

As for the alumni networks in London, there's no real UCLA alumni networks here while the McGill guys all know each other. Hell, I've been to more McGill alumni events than UCLA ones.

Id still choose UCLA again over the other 2 though.

 

I went to McGill and loved it. It's a very good school, but given the industry you are trying to break into, I wouldn't recommend it. Recruiting and career services at McGill were rather poor.

The error of confirmation: we confirm our knowledge and scorn our ignorance.
 

Thanks for all your comments, guys. Obviously you are coming down on UCLA's side. My only concern right now is that I would get locked into one market (west coast) due to it being a mostly regional target. Do you guys think this would prove a problem if I wanted to start as an analyst on wall street or in Europe, provided I had internship experience and a great GPA?

 

McGill student

All the big firms do OCR here and the finance oriented student body is great. Many networking opportunities w/ alumni & professionals If you maintain a sustainable party/study ratio getting top grades shouldn't be an issue The cold is not that bad Lot of fun

I sold some shares, but on a net basis, significantly increased my ownership. Jeffrey Skilling
 

^^ Another McGill student here.

The big firms def do OCR here, but like mentioned before, it is extremely competitive to get a spot. So I guess it really depends on whether you're a strong student or not. Regarding the grade deflation, you will see it commonly happen in the arts honors side, but not so much in the management faculty (which I'm assuming you're looking into).

The party scene is bloody amazing. The legal drinking age is 18, so it is truly the university experience in every sense.

Another thing to consider is how financially binded you are. With US unis, you will be paying back loans for a long time. The Canadian fees is close to half the cost of the US, and perhaps with a stronger alumni than UCLA (not so sure about JH). The management faculty definitely spews out some of the top position holders in the industry right now, so it's about networking with the right people as a result of the shitty career centre at McGill.

 

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