Claremont Mckenna College Early Decision for PE???????(HELP)
I was set on applying to CMC ED (Nov 1st) but now I'm having second thoughts. Because I am 100% set on being on the east coast after I graduate. I also want to do PE. I'm being told it's a bad idea.
I keep hearing that it has a good rep in LA/Cali, but NOT IN NYC and that NOBODY on the east coast cares abt it. Is this true??? Can someone from the east coast give me their perspective on CMC? It's a very small school (1,500 students total), so not a lot of people my age even know what it is.
If I ED and get in, I HAVE to go. Please help. I really want to be on the east coast. CMC is lowk the only reach I have a shot at if I do ED. Can someone give me their opinion on this and if ur on the east coast do u know people from CMC? Or if u go to CMC what's the recruiting to NYC like...their LinkedIn has very very few ppl on the east coast (but idk if that's bc they want to be in cali or if there's just no way to get to ny)
Also if I don't get into CMC or my reaches, I'll probably end up at Purdue or IU Kelley. Will that be terrible for PE?
Henry Kravis went there, shouldn’t be that hard.
He graduated 55 years ago and immediately went for an MBA at Columbia, hard to compare to someone applying today
Are you set on PE, and set on NY? They place very well on the west coast - wouldn't say nobody knows them on the east coast, but NYC IB is always tricky from the west coast schools where people tend to congregate at the California offices. Networking, early internships and strong grades will always help. Purdue isn't a big factor for finance recruiting and IU Kelley you are dependent on getting into IBW which is not a guarantee.
In general, very doable to land IB and filter into PE from there, but unless you are at a top-tier target, the elite PE jobs are very challenging right out of school. You can land MM/LMM PE but that can be a very variable and sometimes negative experience since there is no regimented training program like a larger firm. I would personally recommend IB to guarantee you get solid experience early on, assuming you don't get into a top-tier MF PE program.
What are your other reaches?
Wow thank you so much this was really detailed and helpful. I'm set on NY and PE now, but idk where I will be a year from now lol
Tysm I really thought breaking into IB would be harder than PE but I will look into that if it might be better than trying to go straight to PE. My other reaches are NYU Stern, Northwestern, Babson, Michigan (Ross), and Berkeley. Safeties are just IU and Purdue. Also applying to UIUC and Rutgers.
Does IU Kelley have a better rep than UIUC? I feel like ppl are rly mixed about Kelley. I hear that its a great school. But its also a huge party school w a 90% acceptance rate so i dont rly get it anyway thank you soooooo much!
IB is probably harder to get than the low-end LMM PE jobs, but it definitely sets you up better. BB/EB/MM IB is a very known entity and you'll get solid experience and tons of reps, you can end up way behind your class at some of these PE jobs because many have basically no training program.
Can you apply EA to CMC and see if any of those reaches pan out? What about adding some semi-targets? Some of the expensive private schools will offer significant merit-based aid
I don't know UIUC at all so can't comment... Kelley IBW (you need the IBW part too which is a risk and not automatic) is definitely a different situation than the rest of IU
Top kids do very well in banking recruiting, mostly from SIF. There’s around 20-25 kids doing banking any given year I’d guess with a handful of kids straight to buyside.
There’s not that much opportunity to get to the big MFPE analyst programs but that’s not unusual for a school of CMC’s (very good) caliber.
Totally different to your original question, but spent some time visiting a friend at one of the 5Cs this summer and honestly thought it was awesome. The 5Cs are all right next to each other, and you're pretty close to LA (free train ride for students), so a lot of positives. I go to a state school, so drastically different environment, and if an LAC is environment where you'd do well, you'll thrive. The 5 Cs aren't that pre-professional in general, although CMC is an exception. If you go to campus and you're dialed in, I feel like you'll place well because of the lack of competition. You'll also have a unique college experience, which again, you will really enjoy if LACs are your scene. My friend really enjoys it, but he's always been a little zesty haha.
That being said, I don't think it makes sense to optimize for NY PE since 1. it's hard as shit even at a top top target and 2. it's stupid to build your college decision around that. You'll do the best where you fit in the best; I would hate my life at an LAC and I would place poorly as a result.
Oh ok. I actually haven't seen it in person. But my friend went and she said it looks like a retirement home. This is good to hear though tysm
I don't love CMC a ton. My main reason for EDing to CMC is that I'll get 0 aid from every school I'm applying to but a ton of aid from CMC for some reason so it's the best college that I can afford. My parents are willing to put in like 45k/year + 10k/year (me working part time) for college but any more will be loans and I've been warned to avoid going into debt. So my only AFFORDABLE options are: my state school (Univ of WA (Foster) which is 50/50 I get in), CMC, Purdue and IU. CMC is also the only one that offers ED. I would 100% prefer a bigger school (with a greek system) but in the grand scheme, I probably won't absolutely HATE CMC, I would just have a little less fun than I would at a big school. But I can deal w that for 3-4 years if it means a better education.
For this reason, I wouldn’t go to CMC. I’m a CMC alumn, and people with that mentality HATE it and end up transferring. Which can be a negative since at a lot of big schools, coming in early and joining the finance clubs is important.
So unless the plan is to crush it your freshman year to transfer to another big school target, I would go somewhere else.
The first two random PE funds I looked up had >2 CMC alum in NY.
Do u think this could be because CMC students just have no intention of living in NY after college or that they just don't place?? CMC is also very small in general (1,500 student body) and lot of CMCers are more interested in going into politics or law and so I've been trying to find how many of them are at different funds but they're all ridiculously low. Can't tell if there's no opportunity or they just dont want to.
Personally friends with some CMC ‘25 kids. Apparently a lot of them are Econ and Accounting and looking to come to NYC after grad, but very few makes it, and mostly diversity. I always knew and thought the school was good, for the west coast, but for NYC it’s gonna be a low semi at best.
Oh wow ok. Can you elaborate??? Like what did they end up doing. Are they still in school and graduating this year so do u mean internships? This is my biggest fear. I mostly keep hearing great things abt placement from ppl who go to CMC but other ppl are saying the opposite. But what r they doing now?Did they just go back to LA
They are at regional boutiques. A friend there said he/she feels like people are just Ross/Stern rejects.
CMC is a good school for finance, at least from my personal observations. It has a good pipeline to IB and some MMPE firms do recruit from the 5Cs. I’ve seen a handful of students secure MFPE jobs right out of undergrad but those are an exception and were dialed in from the moment they set foot on campus. Moreover, the 5Cs alumni network is broad and pretty accommodating to current students. Regardless of where you end up, you’re going to do the heavy lifting to reach your goals.
It is a stellar, massively underrated school. It is moreso self-selection within students. SIF has some of the most comprehensive investing curriculum available to students in the country. Lots of kids go to NYC IB and PE from there.
Also… I would avoid doing an ED just because you think it’s the only place you have a shot. If you think you’re qualified enough for CMC, a very competitive school, you have a shot at others, too. A friend of mine got into NYU Stern ED 2 and regretted it because it wasn’t a culture fit for him. He had gotten into another top school just prior, and had his hand forced. Just beware. I doubt ED will massively boost acceptance chances, so only do it if you know you want to attend.
My old cofounder went there and had a pretty linear PE guy career, NP getting into a nice MM size fund.
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