Transfer dilemma CMC vs Columbia GS
I’m currently at a non-target and was admitted to Claremont McKenna and Columbia GS, both for econ. At Claremont I would graduate debt free while Columbia GS I will likely have 120–140k in debt once I graduate. I’m just wondering if columbia gs is even worth the debt since Ive already accepted a 2023 internship at a MM HF (I applied to both schools before I had the internship locked up). I lived and worked in NYC for a year and absolutely loved it but I’m not sure if all things considered the debt is worth it.
Any input is appreciated, thanks!
I’m a big fan of Columbia, so I would say take on the debt.
You say you have been accepted for transfer, but to the grad school? So, would you be looking at doing a PhD? If so, I'd ask what the goal is. If it is academia, Claremont will lead you nowhere, while Columbia will have great placement opportunities.
You do mention an internship at a MM HF, so if your goal is finance instead, I suppose Columbia would still afford you the better path moving forward. This is coming from a non-US person, and I know Claremont only in passing as an ok econ university, but not one I'd ever pick over Columbia. I know my way around the academic job market, both US and non-US, and econ PhD programmes, but if your goal is finance itself, perhaps that internship should get more consideration (and then still Columbia, I'd say).
Might be mistaken, but pretty sure OP means general studies rather than grad school. General studies is technically separate from columbia college and is geared more towards non traditional / transfer students from what i’ve seen
Ooooh, fair enough, had no idea that was a thing. To me GS was always grad school, or Goldman Sachs (obvs) depending on context. Thanks for the heads up!
Yeah GS is general studies. I know quality alumni from Columbia GS.
I’m surprised no one has pointed out that literally none of this is accurate… put aside choosing a school since that’s personal preference.
“I know CMC in passing as an OK Econ university” CMC is NOT a university, it is a college that only offers undergraduate studies, ie. If you were to separate Dartmouth’s College of arts and sciences from Tuck SOB. The quality of the education is as good as it gets, and yes, recruiting is quite solid out of the west coast. I see this as a very common misconception from international students who only care about a name since they go back home and that’s all that matters. If you took schools like UCLA, Emory, Wash U, Norte Dame, you went for the name over quality of education 1000%.
“If it’s academia, CMC will get you nowhere”… “I know my way around the academic market / Econ PhD programmes”. CMC is a top 10 LAC which is catered towards economics / business studies but from an academic perspective. This is probably the most inaccurate statement of all that was said because academia, especially in economics, are liberal arts schools’ bread and butter. This would be like saying that Williams, Amherst, or Swarthmore would get you nowhere in academia… or for an analogy, NYU would get you nowhere in business. It’s just nonsensical.
As for the general tone that’s CMC will not get you anywhere in finance, as someone below mentioned, CMC alums have done inexplicably well and there are no bigger names in finance than some CMC alums. Henry Kravis, George Roberts, and Parella all went to CMC. I know you can’t conflate those guys with immediate success as a 22 year old out of undergrad. But if you actually took the time to do a LinkedIn search, you’d see that per capita IBD roles are probably higher than Berkeley or half the ivies.
Not trying to be malicious or snobby here. Just don’t want misinformation floating around for important life decisions. Ultimately one should go to a school where there’s a mutual liking because you can recruit from any of these names. FWIW, I didn’t go to cmc but went to a top LAC, so have a soft spot here I will admit.
Going to CMC for free is a no-brainer! Henry Kravis went there and they actually have really solid placements. Also it's a fun school in an awesome location.
Is it Ivy League though?
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I’ll go against the crowd, if you were able to secure an offer at a non-target, and it is what you want to do, do not get in 6 figure debt for a name.
120k debt is a shit ton and future you will hate yourself for going in debt when you could’ve avoided it especially when your entire first years comp (and likely second) is going to student loans.
I can think of a lot of other things to do with 120k personally, so with that experience already you should be fine and have something to put on ur resume that’ll help you wherever you want to go.
Going to a well named school isn’t going to necessarily open up more opportunities for you other than networking, maybe? Seems like a lot of money wasted for no reason
Everyone on here is saying “go to Columbia take the debt” but they aren’t the ones who are going to have to pay it back, that’s gonna be you
CMC is one of the most prestigious LACs in the country. I would take no debt CMC over Columbia any day.
CMC no debt over Columbia. CMC is quite a prestigious school and you already have an internship with a Hedge Fund. Its not as if its Columbia versus random non-target.
Go to the Ivy league. you only live once. This will live with you forever--better career wise, pussy wise, etc.
Listen to Pizz. He knows things.
This is going to sound really douchey, but I'm just going to lay it on you straight. If you plan on working in NYC post-grad, no girl is going to look twice at you when you say you went to Claremont. Now, if you don't care about dating life or already have a girlfriend, then you can kind of discard this, but my parents and my friends' parents would threaten to disown us for even going to dinner with you. These girls are also all 7 or above, slim bodies and nice clothes, and that's a New York 7. Ofc there's girls that don't care about this as much, but they're mostly going to fall outside of the Tech, Consulting, Law, Medical, and Finance industries.
Ya high quality women want high quality dick, listen to this
Just remember OP, college is temporary, prestige is forever. Go Ivy League.
Any update OP?
Sorry this is a super late reply, but I did end up picking Columbia!
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