Know these two schools are pretty similar in finance recruiting, but have to pick one - which one has slightly better edge in banking with goal to transition to PE down the road?
Is it better to build connection in Chicago and try for smaller local PE shops in Chicago, or NYC all the way?
del
Thank you for your insight. I thought CBS might be better for NYC networking but maybe not so much help?
del
Can we clarify buy side here? I don't think a fundamental shop is going to look at the schools any differently. If anything, they might appreciate Columbia's value orientation a bit more . . but that would be splitting hairs, basically schools are viewed the same and it comes down to the individual.
I could imagine some quant shops appearing to prefer Booth but suspect that's more self-selection and again hair splitting. A heavy quant person isn't being hired out of MBA.
So I'm wondering which part of the buy side thinks Booth is materially better.
I think mrharveyspecter has a good answer to be honest. His analysis puts what I said more eloquently and accurately. Realize why I may be getting MS’d because I made it seem like it’s clear-cut but probably projected my personal preference for Booth’s comparative academic rigor.
Can confirm and I`d vouch for Booth if you want to go to the buy-side eventually. Currently an MBA at Booth and the curriculum here is hardcore even though there's a grade non-disclosure policy. You can network in NY being from here no problem as Zoom is now very prevalent. You can also organize short trips to NY every couple of months - it is a little mode work, but very doable!
HBS alum here so no biases. Did extensive research on all of the M7 schools (and some). I would consider Booth and CBS to be peers across the board. Disagree with those saying Booth has stronger placements, haven’t seen that at all (maybe in Chicago, but no one wants to work there…). Worth mentioning that it’ll be really hard to land a buyside role outside of H/S/W so if you’re dead set on Booth or CBS, make sure you have some backups that you’ll enjoy.
Pick the one you like more of the two - I think CBS wins the cross admit battle because of the location and the Columbia/Ivy brand, but they’re peers.
Booth grad here, and agree with you.
I love my school and really credit the top finance professors there with making me a better thinker. Everyone always says MBA is about the network, not the classroom, but I got a ton out of the classroom at Booth that I suspect I might not have gotten elsewhere. When living in times where foundational principles are being questioned (e.g. the great central bank experiment of the last decade or so, is money worth anything etc), it helps to learn finance from the best teachers who will get you to think confidently from a first principles basis. This has done more for me than the network.
I'd imagine the same applies for, say, learning marketing at Kellogg. If the landscape is changing, having the best professors in a field can really pay off.
All that being said, even though I love Booth, it seems 100% to be a CBS peer in the way schools are typically peers . . same access to interviews, held in equal regard etc. Someone above said Booth is a lot more respected on the buy side, I'd love to believe that but I asked for clarification because they seem equal to me.
One thing I'll say since I'm seeing some comments elsewhere that are wrong on this: before deciding Chicago is less of a fun/nice spot than NYC, ask anyone who's ever lived in Chicago. I know both places extremely well, they couldn't be any more comparable in terms of the social experience. I'd also say that if all the US cities were ranked by popularity but only current & former residents are allowed to vote, Chicago might be at the top.
I maintain that anyone who shits on Chicago has never been there and gets all their information on it from Trump rallies.
Wait, you really think its hard to recruit for buyside/AM from CBS? You know that's what the school is known for right? Lol
Went to CBS, so I don't have a good flavor for Booth.
CBS has the value investing program that's pretty well regarded. They've done a nice job with the private equity program, set up to provide similar type education and networking.
Definitely still need to work your ass off to get placed, but there seems to be some focus at trying to get folks into PE.
Not sure if helpful at all, I was a Saturday program person, but it seems like even though they're trying to move away from finance and into entrepreneurship, there is still a pretty solid contingent that focuses on PE.
Id argue they’re about the same in tier. You will have great opportunities at both. However, have heard the culture to be very different at both schools so choose based on fit at this point. Also, NYC>Chicago especially in your 20s.
Kind of 6 vs 1/2 in my opinion. Booth has been rising over the past few years, it's always been a good school, but I feel like it's done a lot to move up in the rankings. Columbia on the other hand has gone the other way. I think most of this can be chalked up to marketing to be honest, but that feels like the perception across the board. Columbia does have pretty dated facilities, but they just opened up (or are opening?) a new campus, which I'm sure will be good for perception.
As others have mentioned, Columbia has the value investing program, Booth is known for a more quantitative rigor, quant finance type of approach. I think Booth outranks Columbia in most recruiting metrics outside for things like MBB, Tech, etc where as Columbia has a little bit of an edge for traditional NYC finance types of roles, likely given proximity. With that said, banking should be almost a slam dunk from any of the M7 business schools, it just isn't that desired anymore, especially at HSW, so I'd think that even with the schools one tier down, so Booth, Kellogg, MIT, Columbia, etc that it won't make much of a difference.
As far as PE recruiting goes, Booth has the best brand for any Midwest roles (Kellogg too) so I think if you're ok with PE in the Midwest/Chicago, you'll find a ton of alums willing to help. Columbia will give you the New York network, but among post MBA PE, it's probably a crapshoot, no idea how strong it is.
At the end of the day, go where you think you're a better fit. New York is a better city in general, but it's more expensive and from what I hear, Columbia is a little less of a cohesive B-School experience because so many people come in with friends/network in New York prior to school. People also live all over the city, so it has a little more of a commuter feel. Booth on the other hand, still has Chicago nearby, and most of the students live in a cluster of a couple of buildings up in Chicago, so it has a little more of a community feel in the sense that lots of people room together or live within a stones throw of each other. With that said, if you're from New York, don't have any care or ties to Chicago, then I wouldn't go just for the better branding, with the hopes that a Booth brand will carry you further if your ultimate goal is to be in New York.
Thank you very much for detailed response. Although I have liked NYC so far, I am not sure if that's where I want to be in the long term and I wonder if Booth will give me more geographic flexibility down the road with potentially more connections in the west coast or south
In a CBS vs. Booth decision, I would only consider regional connectivity from the perspective of networking with smaller PE shops or other "pound the pavement" type recruiting situations. And if you truly have no city preference, then slight edge to Booth because its a bigger force within Chicago than CBS is within NYC. i.e. there may be some Chicago PE firm that has less formal hiring and maybe you can use the Booth name & location to get your foot in the door and make something happen. Similar for NYC & Columbia but perhaps a bit less just because its a bigger city and a student at their best school isn't as special there.
Once you get outside informal recruiting in those two markets, there's not going to be a regional edge.
Essentially peers, so I'd go with whoever gives you money. A few specific scenarios from my anecdotal experience:
Thank you very much for such detailed response! I got very similar amount of $$ from both which makes it harder to decide. Although there will be a significant difference in COL I must admit. I am not sure about where I want to be in the long term which makes it ever harder to decide. I wonder if Booth is safer for having more connections across the country compared to what I assume for CBS will be heavily concentrated in NYC.
Sb'ed, spot on
This brand new CBS building is being spoken about since 2015, which is when I was considering applying to bschool. I have no idea how a "brand new building" helps build school camaraderie
And at any MF you will find either UChicago or Columbia MBA grads. They aren't as abundant as HBS, which has the best rep, but you will always have someone there. do a check yourself if you don't believe me. You might be hard pressed to find Kellogg or Sloan grads though at MFs.
Since you want to go to banking first, it's entirely dependent on where you want to wind up. If you want to do Chi/West Coast banking, Booth maybe has the edge. For NYC banking (and maybe SF is a tie, idk), CBS will be easier from a recruiting standpoint. Most people wind up at EB/BBs from both, and your personal ability to recruit well will be more dependent on you personally than anything else. I really don't think you can go wrong with either one.
Going to PE later on, it will depend way less on the school you went to vs. the bank you're at, connections you've made, and where you are geographically. I don't think going to CBS or Booth matters here other than where geographically you want to wind up.
FWIW I went to CBS and was in the VI Program. A couple of of my VI classmates (who had IB/PE backgrounds) wound up in PE at MM funds/family offices so it's definitely doable, albeit not as easily as at HSW.
Also, just to squash the consistent thing people say they "hear" about CBS - the school absolutely has a cohesive student body, despite being in NYC. Social events happen every night and I made some of my best friends in school, despite many of them having networks in NYC prior to attending. Events are probably less college-like (i.e. not house parties, instead you're going to open bar events around the city or renting out venues with clubs you're in), but the social scene definitely revolves around the school rather than this perception that it's just disparate groups of people doing random things with their friends from before school.
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