Georgetown University MSB vs. UVA (Undergrad)
Hi. I’m currently a senior in high school, and I was accepted to Georgetown University (McDonough) as well as UVA. Which university would give me the easiest time/best chance and resources (interview practice/networking capability/OCR) for getting into BB/EB IB? I’ve been researching both these schools for a while now on and outside of WSO, and it seems that half of people say Georgetown is better for placement and the other half say UVA. One thing that worries me about UVA is that I have to get into McIntire, which I’ve also heard conflicting reports that it’s easy to get into from some and extremely competitive from others. Whichever university I go to I plan to get good grades and join clubs/get involved. I was also accepted to Boston University, Boston College, UMass Amherst (I live in MA) and waitlisted at Columbia. As for those, BU gave me essentially no money, and from research UMass is a non target and BC is a semi-target. Since BC, UVA, and Gtown cost around the same though for me, I figured either UVA or Gtown would give me the best chances. I signed up for Columbia’s waitlist but I need a solid decision to commit to first. Thanks for reading.
Georgetown unless you get into Columbia
If you are already in at MSB I'd take it over the potential of getting cucked and not getting into McIntire. Both schools are pretty equal as targets when it comes to placement & opportunities.
FYI you no longer "have to" get into McIntire. Recruiting happens before your junior year even begins (which is when McIntire entrance would occur). There isn't a huge advantage to being in the Comm school besides the really cool curriculum. Every bank that visits will openly share they are not looking for McIntire only students and that it just seems that way because McIntire kids are the ones applying most to their roles
Well, because McIntire has grade inflation and the unique ICE curriculum that is awesome and you can't find at any other undergrad b-school. The Econ dept has some pretty hard weed out classes in your 3rd year that aren't even that enjoyable.
When I go on LinkedIn and pull up the BB's/EB's and filter their employees by school and title to "Investment Banking," I see more UVA alumn per bank at almost every bank. These numbers are scary similar though, with UVA only having a handful more at one bank or GU having a handful more at the other bank.
Also what the guy below said about competing against "twice the amount of students" is a blanket statement that is only technically true in theory. It's the same 40-150 kids in your class applying to all of the FO roles on handshake (you can see everyone that signs up for these info sessions). By your 3rd information session at UVA you know everyone already and rarely see new faces.
It really comes down to fit. Pick which school you'll be happier at as a student and the one you'll be able to study what you want to most easily.
Source: I'm non-McIntire at UVA and have had 0 issue getting interviews from any tier bank you can imagine
Is there a reason why? UVA is #10 on 2018 WSO university ranking for BB (1.9%) vs. Gtown at #17 (1.2%). Hell, even BC beats it (#13, 1.5%). For other notable banks it’s UVA at 3rd (2.6%) and Gtown at #27 (1.0%). Yet I’d say the majority of posts seem to say Georgetown > UVA. What’s the reasoning on this? Is there some fact that makes them beat UVA?
Personally, I have met more people from Georgetown than UVA in finance though I wouldn’t be surprised if one or the other places slightly better. They’re pretty comparable in that regard but Georgetown has the better reputation for me and I’ve generally been more impressed with people from there. You will be fine coming from either and should seek advice from people actually attending these schools instead of an online forum. Just note that if recruiting is so accelerated and you do not have the ability to distinguish yourself via McIntire, you will be competing with a student body that is more than twice the size. Good luck