Cornell CAS (Econ) Vs Fordham GBHP vs NYU Stern For Breaking Into IB
Hi wso. I'm a high school senior who is looking to break into IB in NY after college. I would like your input as to which school is the best option for an aspiring FO banker.
I have 3 main options: Cornell college of arts and sciences, Fordham Gabelli GBHP (only 20 kids), or Stern. Cornell and Stern would cost 80k+/yr to attend all costs included vs Fordham which would be close to zero. I like Fordham and Stern better w/ regards to location, lifestyle, academic year internships, but have some obvious reservations about forgoing an ivy education and target school in Cornell. From what I hear Gabelli's GBHP is improving, they have a strong alumni network, and internship opportunities in NYC make it a decent choice, and the low price seals the deal imo. I could afford Cornell, but with Fordham as an option, I'd rather graduate with an extra ~300k. What do you recommend? Thanks.
If you want to go IB and your parents can help significantly with cost, throw Fordham out of consideration. Can promise you that 99% of bankers will not care about what GBHP is and only look at school name. Cornell and Stern will get you on Wall Street with little issue.
On the other hand, if you hit the ground running from the start at Fordham with grades, internships, networking, etc. you can place somewhere, it'll just be harder and less certain than with your other options.
Would like to echo this. You certainly can land something from Fordham but the chances are significantly lower than Cornell/Stern even with GBHP. Although GBHP may have a decent alumni network, there are just many more SA spots carved out for target schools. Also keep in mind the lifetime value of your undergrad degree - it goes beyond just getting into IB as an analyst. Also consider the possibility that you completely change career paths while an undergrad - Cornell and NYU are both far more versatile than Fordham
*
Already on it. Thanks for the suggestions
EY and PWC aren't great placements
*
Go to Cornell. People on this forum love Stern because it has solid IB placement, but Cornell beats it in literally everything else (and I would say is still better for IB). You're in high school now, there's a good chance you get to college next year and decide you want to be a doctor, lawyer, or literally anything else. An ivy education will stick with you for life and opens up pretty much every door for you- Stern might open IB, but it is a lot worse for 99% of other things. Even within finance, Cornell will place better into non-IB things like corp dev, most buyside, etc. Never underestimate how much an ivy name on your resume means
This is going to be an incredibly pretentious response, but everyone giving me MS clearly does not attend an ivy league school. I attend a different ivy (not Cornell, but another lower ivy) and there is 100% a difference between how people view ivies and how they view other good schools. I transferred to my current school from a top state school, and the way people respond when you when you say you go to an ivy vs a top public school is completely different. If I'm at a networking event or just casually chatting with someone in the finance industry, mentioning my school is a guaranteed way to establish myself as somewhat qualified, and people treat me completely differently vs when I was at a public school even though that's really the only thing that changed about me. I was talking to a PE partner a few weeks back (a networking call I only got because he went to my school, btw) and he mentioned that he likes to work with one bank because there are a few MDs that went to our same school. This guy is in his 50s but is still basing multi-million dollar deal decisions off of college. It sucks that this is the way the world works and I don't think it's fair or right at all, but that doesn't make it not true. If you have the option, go to any ivy. You won't regret it in the long run.
Correct, this was in fact pretentious (you did warn us), but these are honestly good points. I go to a US News top 15 school that accepts sub-10% of applicants but it's not a big name in finance so it's hard to earn the immediate respect from people that you could with a simple "I go to [ivy league school]". Aside from these small anecdotal references, an ivy league school seriously will always add immediate value to your resume and open a huge network of succesful alumni. Disclaimer: for all intents and purposes if you're dead set on IB/finance I would value Stern in the same regard.
Yea Cornell is a huge target.
Stern or Cornell are your two choices with Stern edging out Cornell for IB. However, I would also consider the differences in fit between New York City and upstate New York.
First of all, all of these people commenting have no clue actually how good Fordham GBHP is at placing their kids in BB. I am currently in GBHP, working at JPM/GS/MS this summer, and can talk to you all about the advantages of GBHP and how highly it is regarded in interviews and recruiting. Also, the free international trips are amazing and once in a lifetime expereinces. Yes Cornell and Stern will also set you up in a good position for recruiting, but being in GBHP makes you a big fish in a small pond whereas going to another school, you don't necessarily have that distinction in comparison to your peers. In my GBHP cohort 8 students are placed in BB for this summer with the rest at top tier MM/Boutiques. You can't go wrong with your decision, but just get the facts from all three versus listening to people who are commenting on a school with no information or basis, since they do not go there.
Yes. Thanks for the input. That pretty much answers my question about how good is GBHP at placement.
What the fuck is Frodamh? Never heard of it, I go to Princeton.
Also in GBHP. While most people outside of Fordham obviously won't know what it is (just like I wouldn't know anything about the honors programs at other schools), Fordham alum know what it is. More importantly, GBHP alum will go out of their way to do as much as possible to help you. I'm talking above & beyond. We have alum in banking, HF, PE, corp. development, real estate, etc. So look, do we have as many alum in FO positions as NYU or Cornell? Of course not. But keep in mind you will be in a cohort of only 20-25 people with an alum network of 150+, all of whom will do whatever they can to help you get wherever you want. Upperclassmen are just as, if not more, helpful for recruiting and anything else while you are at Fordham.
It doesn't really matter how many random people recognize the GBHP brand name when you have enough alum of the program to get you where you want to go.
I agree that big fish small pond can be an advantage. Had the same situation for my undergrad. School sends 2-4 kids to BB/EBs a year but there are only about 5-10 serious IB candidates each year, so placement rates don't turn out bad at all. Although this worked out for me (and most others), I would have chosen to go to a target school if I knew I wanted to do IB earlier. There are just simply more opportunities to go around and the larger alumni network and respected brand name of your school will follow you wherever you go in your career (PE, HF, RE, CD, VC, etc.)
You definitely have a point, too. I don't think there's a wrong decision here. Obviously I am biased towards GBHP but I completely understand the brand name advantage long term. I think the OP should choose based on the type of school they want - all three are very different and there is more to college than just recruiting and IB.
I would argue the fact that no one knows about this Fordham program is a reason not to take it. sure, I believe there’s alumni going to bat for you, but the average person in finance has never heard of it and is just going to be unimpressed by the Fordham name. everyone on the planet has heard of Cornell (and to a lesser extent, NYU).
Imagine the regret you'd have if you don't land a BB/EB gig from GBHP?
This is a tough choice. I would really take the time to carefully vet Fordham GBHP
If you can find 15-20+ alums in that program on the street then you could make an argument for taking that over NYU / Cornell. Obviously NYU & Cornell are household names in the financial services industry and have large networks but a benefit you will have at Fordham that can help you is the ability to do 1-2 internships during the year (prior to junior summer recruiting) and take the time to build some relationships at firms you might be interested in joining after graduation (networking)
$300k is no joke - that is a massive amount of loans for undergrad. I went to NYU and if i had to pay $300k to do so that probably would have been an easy pass for me, but there are a lot of folks who take on that kind of debt for these schools because it is worth it for them to have the brand and access to opportunities such schools provide. There are also folks who turn down schools like NYU and Ivies to take a generous scholarships at their state schools. Those kids who do that (and continue crushing it in college) usually end up doing great after graduation
Qui velit ab minus sed. Ut fuga asperiores autem mollitia doloremque. Dolor aspernatur eveniet sit magnam sed dignissimos.
Libero amet quis debitis velit dolorem. Ex minima illo officiis.
Deleniti in soluta velit aspernatur. Sunt autem placeat accusamus et asperiores. Aspernatur pariatur architecto minus cupiditate quia consequatur amet. Doloremque optio voluptatem eos sed occaecati quia omnis adipisci.
Quo perferendis ipsam fugiat qui. Vel ipsa et quasi magni culpa fugiat. Fugiat voluptates tempora aut et illum. Sapiente ducimus ducimus porro accusamus ea.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Quaerat et cumque praesentium laborum. Sed qui neque voluptas porro maxime. Ipsam sit eius dicta hic. Expedita nisi magni molestiae cumque.
Et ratione deleniti consectetur molestiae. Aut quis incidunt occaecati voluptatem harum et repellat. Laboriosam rerum exercitationem et eius laudantium dicta ipsa. A labore voluptatum vel architecto ut nesciunt ea ratione. Hic tempore sint consequatur mollitia ratione laboriosam et et.
Qui harum qui ut quis. Aut occaecati incidunt accusantium totam consequatur necessitatibus. Illum officiis quia cumque et iusto perferendis.
Necessitatibus explicabo et non ea. Hic laborum beatae delectus modi vel officiis beatae. Corporis laboriosam quia consequatur sed laboriosam et. Sit nihil dolorum quaerat distinctio cum dolorem. Deleniti quo aperiam quod ipsa maiores consequatur.