College Decision (Canadian vs US schools)

Hi, I am currently a high school senior in Toronto, and don't know any finance professionals so I would like to get some advice. I would like to pursue a career going into the sell-side in NYC. I applied to collection of Canadian and Amercian schools, and am currently not sure about whether the additional cost is worth going south as I have to finance the degree myself. I have always enjoyed working with numbers, and like the competitive nature of banking while working in a team setting. I am not set on any particular position, but would like to be well positioned to go into any part of the sell-side. I plan on majoring in Econ/business. Any input would be appreciated!

Stat Line: 1580 SAT, 3.94 GPA

Accepted:

Western Richard Ivey - Full Scholarship

UNC - 20K Scholarship

NYU- 15K Scholarship

Michigan - 15K Scholarship

Duke - 10K Scholarship

Columbia - No Scholarship

Yale - No Scholarship

Edit: (08/04/2020) I accepted my offer to go to Yale, and would like to thank the WSO community for the advice.

20 Comments
 

Canadian at a top target here. My $0.02: go to Yale. I also got full-rides to most Canadian universities but chose my school over those options. My rationale: (1) If you realize you don't want to do sell-side finance stuff, the opportunities you can get at Yale are unparalleled in whatever else you want to do. Not just the courses but the people you meet and the alumni network is phenomenal. If you don't do Ivey, then the rest of Western is not at all the same calibre.

(2) Many BBs are trending towards hiring fewer and fewer Canadians who are not studying in the US. Pretty much all of the Ivey / Queens kids that worked with me / my classmates who didn't have dual citizenship could not come back and work FT because Trump changed the definition of TN "economist." I have heard people getting denied at the border and the firm cannot do anything but ask them to relocate to the other offices (Toronto, London, etc.)

(3) Arguably, fewer people at Yale wants to do banking versus pretty much everyone at Ivey. From what I see at Yale, pretty much every who wants the job can get it (placement into NYC BBs / EBs happens in the range of at least 20-50 summers / FT) - I'm not sure if that's the case at Ivey (I suspect there's probably 10-20 kids every year?)

Disclaimer: I do not go to Yale.

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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”