Baruch Zicklin (Basketball) or NYU CAS

Currently a freshman at a state school. I’m planning on transferring in the spring but I’m not sure on where to go. I was accepted into NYU CAS (deferred admission), where id study Philosophy and/or Econ. For Baruch, I’d study finance and play basketball. Ive heard it helps significantly with recruiting but either way, a lot of players are in there clubs that place well. I’d love some advice. NYU 240k debt vs Baruch 95k to keep in mind.

8 Comments
 

NYU name certainly carries more weight and will give you a great network. That said, Baruch is decent and places kids here and there but it will be a serious grind to get yourself into a spot as an SA - the basketball component might make this more difficult given it will take up much of your time. Generally the appeal for Baruch is that it really is the best bang for your buck in NYC in terms of cost (assuming you are in state) / just getting the piece of paper. That said, it’s largely a commuter school for kids that live across the boroughs so there is little if any campus life compared to NYU. If it won’t break the bank, I’d say to gun for NYU to give yourself the best shot

 

I’d say Baruch if cost is a issue , I go there and it’s a definitely possible to place in IB , your aren’t going to get top looks without really really working / networking hard. Best bet is to join a club, maintain as close to a 4.0 as you can and interview well. It’s for sure an uphill battle but possible.

 
Most Helpful

Both are great schools. I think that given proximity of schools in NYC it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that if you were to take a Baruch, Hofstra, Rutgers, Yeshiva, Fordham etc and put them anywhere else without a high concentration of top colleges (putting aside short hops to Boston or CT) I think all of those schools would rank even higher vs where they are at today. 

I would encourage you to take a balanced short and longer term view. On the short side what do you want to do? Probability weight that this may change, and what can get you there. Talk to recent grads who have gone down the path you are contemplating to see what puts and takes are and try to talk to some alum some years out to see about views gleaned in hindsight - specifically trade off on if debt was manageable given average salaries, network and school connections 10/15/20 years out. 

If basketball a passion, you are flexible on career etc I think Baruch an amazing option. I also think you do see grads there place in great firms. With that said if you are narrowly focused on a set of banks, would see if those banks do on campus recruiting at Baruch, as it is very hard to get into some banks unless you are in a core school and I think the numbers of students at Baruch looking to get into top shops is understated when I think about the number of resumes I see in non-core resume drops and cold emails I get. 

Good luck to you. 

 

i went to nyu(stern) and would recommend baruch. recruiting from rest of nyu is pretty tough as most feeder clubs won't even let you apply, many stern alumni won't respond to you, and you'll still get grilled in interviews because you're competing vs 200 stern students. back when i was recruiting, getting a 1% networking hit rate was p common even from stern so can't imagine what it would be like in cas. if you walk into sophomore year prepped and ready to go, i could see you placing better from baruch than CAS, especially w/ the student athlete angle. if both were same cost i would say nyu but if cost is any concern i'd rec baruch

 

Mollitia sed blanditiis labore repellendus commodi esse. Natus sint soluta minima est et tempora optio. Eaque delectus labore reiciendis porro qui molestiae. Velit maxime sunt exercitationem ea. Quo qui in itaque et sint dolores.

Aliquam architecto voluptate assumenda. Ad unde vel necessitatibus ut modi et. Nulla accusamus voluptas sit velit aut. Eligendi ex ipsam consequatur aut ipsa.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”