ED NYU Stern vs. UChicago for IB Recruiting
Hey everyone,
I’m a high school senior finalizing my Early Decision choice (deadline’s tomorrow) and could really use some perspective from people who’ve been through the process. I’m deciding between NYU Stern and UChicago, with the goal of recruiting for investment banking (BB/EB) post-graduation.
A few key points:
- I’m fairly competitive for both, so it’s more about fit and long-term IB outcomes than admissions odds.
- UChicago has the overall prestige and a bit less cutthroat internal competition, but its semi-target status and distance from NYC worry me slightly.
- NYU Stern obviously has incredible access to NYC networking and placement, though I’ve heard the internal competition and culture can be intense.
- If I ED one and get deferred/denied, I plan to use ED2 for the other.
Given my focus on breaking into investment banking, which school would you recommend I commit to first (ED1)?
I’ve read older WSO threads on this topic but would really appreciate a 2025 perspective.
Thanks in advance.
well... i mean if IBD is the goal then NYC is the road. I lived in Chicago and had Booth friends worked in Chicago. The finance sector in Chicago is much more limited. There is a wide range of coverage but usually a small satellite office with the main office out of either East or West coast. NYC is the mecca of deal flow. That's where you will make the most connections for career advancement. The sector of finance that NYC is weak in from a deal flow perspective is probably Oil & Gas (cuz that's Texas) and oddball niche markets. However, I doubt the environment & overall business will change in 5 years by the time you graduate and start working. Meaning NYC will still be a powerhouse in 5 years.
IBD is definitely the goal, but I've heard NYU is incredibly competitive and cutthroat internally. I've also been looking through old pages on this forum and see a lot of people place UChicago higher than Stern for target school rankings. Do you think NYU is definitely the move here?
This isn't 2010 anymore, those arbitrary geographic divides no longer exist - UChicago people recruit for NYC easily
NYU
i think they’re relatively similar but gun to my head and i would say NYU.
UChicago!!!
Chicago for sure. I led recruiting at my BB group and we bucketed Chicago with the other Ivies. Stern went into the group with solid schools like UNC, UVA, etc.
UNC, UVA, and NYU are huge schools, while UChicago has 7,569 undergrads - prestige aside, I would go for this alone, as it greatly makes competition for top roles a lot smaller.
Smaller undergrad population also means you get to enjoy smaller class sizes, get closer with profs, and have a better academic experience.
What tier would Northwestern, Georegtown, Duke, and UChicago go?
I'd put them all in that catch-all Tier 1. Ivies + Duke + MIT + Stanford + Chicago. I guess Georgetown would be like a 1.5 with Vanderbilt but point stands.
UChicago easily. Probably already decided but it's easily one of the best schools for recruiting (primarily for NYC). Probably 70% of IB offers are to NYC and the rest are either Chicago or SF. Most people who want an offer can usually get something they're happy with, and if you set yourself up starting from freshman year you have a much better chance.
UChicago recruiting beats Stern easily, IB is not even as high as you can go given that various MF PE analyst programs have seats for UChicago, Qatalyst is mostly UChicago, etc.
Socially UChicago isn't great but it's still leagues ahead of Stern
This is just objectively untrue
UChicago places better lol - if you're comparing the % of students that place into top IB/PE programs vs student body - UChicago's definitely higher. Stern does place well but there's just a lot more finance hardos recruiting that it's a lot more competitive there than at UChicago since not everyone does finance recruiting. Plus prestige wise I mean UChicago is seen categorically higher than NYU (the school itself).
Earum consequatur minima voluptatem accusamus officia. Tempora iste aut excepturi molestias aliquid. Voluptatum repudiandae atque et nesciunt voluptas. Accusamus alias recusandae tempore quis sed quia vel consequatur. Et numquam est aut aut. Aliquam qui molestias est aut exercitationem deserunt.
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...