Booth or CBS (MBA)

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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!

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.

Essentially peers, so I'd go with whoever gives you money. A few specific scenarios from my anecdotal experience:

• Value investing: definitely CBS
• MM PE outside of NYC: Booth by a hair, I think the academic grounding and alumni passion is slightly better
• MM PE in NYC: CBS by a hair if only because you can do more coffee chats and in-year internships in-person, though maybe a toss-up if you fly to NYC from Chi enough
• MF PE: extremely difficult from either
• VC: CBS; since MBAs are less common in venture, the name recognition of Columbia is stronger with other VCs and founders
• Fun: tough call. Booth has a better sense of community, easy access to both coasts, lower CoL, lake days when it's warm, and generally more chill people; offset by tough/long winters, slightly less (though still plenty) "culture"/food/arts/clubs, and you need to get on a plane or drive for hours to do anything exciting outside the city. CBS has a brand new building, the best culture/food/arts/clubs in the world (if you have time for it), and you may have more friends from prior parts of your life there; offset by a long commute to Manhattan Heights and less class cohesion because so many people already have existing friend groups in the city (though plenty still lean in and try to make new friends).

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.