Georgetown vs. Vanderbilt
I wanted to ask this to WSO, because I have not made up my decision yet.
I would like to add—high school seniors, please do not comment on this, as it is an important decision, and no offense, but I came here instead of Reddit/CC for this reason.
1) Which college would you choose?
2) Given that cost is equal and I like both of them equally, which would be the best?
3) Assume Vanderbilt is 10k cheaper/year. Which would you go to?
From my extremely limited knowledge of the financial industry, I'm slightly worried that at Vanderbilt it is much more likely I end up in Southern banks, where I would usually specialize in oil & gas (if Houston). I want to end up in New York, especially because I'm familiar to it and I'm closer to my family. (Also exit opps obviously factor in). This is for investment banking.
Thank you, and sorry for asking 3 questions, but if you can, a response to the three different scenarios would be appreciated!
Georgetown, no brainer!
Georgetown is a feeder to Wall Street, whereas Vanderbilt is not even a semi-target.
For all 3 questions? In either case, thank you for the response!
Definitely Georgetown for NY
bump, the more (fundamentally sound) advice the better! pls
1 and 2 are the same question. 3 is a dumb question since we could be homeless or billionares. Stop bumping the thread when the answer is clearly georgetown for NYC.
Perhaps I did not word it clearly enough, but 1 is intended for the reader to factor in their non-IB related reasons to prefer the school, such as the school's culture. 2 is instead asking the question but this time disregarding non-IB factors. 3 is asking if you chose Georgetown, is the added benefit, on average, greater than 40k?
Hi, I'm a current junior at Georgetown who will be doing IB this summer so hope I can shed some light here. Important to note that this is only my experience (I'm involved in club sports/greek life/finance clubs so that's where my social circle is), and others may have wildly different opinions on the school. Additionally, I'm in the MSB and study Finance and Accounting. What school have you been admitted to at Georgetown?
2 - Whether it was the same price or Vandy 10k cheaper per year, I'd pick Georgetown. Aaain, I don't known your financial situation so if 10k is significant for you than obviously let that guide your decision making. From a recruiting/finance perspective, I think Georgetown is much better than Vandy. While the students may be of a similar caliber, Georgetown has a much large presence on the Street (especially NYC) across both the buy-side and sell-side and I think having a strong undergraduate business program definitely helps us on that front. The Vandy kids I met abroad noted that while IB recruiting is somewhat weak at Vandy, consulting recruiting is strong there so that's something to keep in mind (Georgetown consulting recruiting is strong too I'd say). Off the top of my head, every BB other than Deutsche Bank comes to campus and even DB hires a few kids a year. EB placement is a little weaker with PWP and LAZ having the biggest presence. That said, I personally know kids going to Gugg,MOE,PJT, and EVR. We don't have much of a presence at Greenhill but I remember seeing we have a few alums there when looking on LinkedIn.
I hope this helps! Happy to answer any further questions over pm.
Also MSB and thinking of studying finance and accounting because it seems most practical. Thank you for the insight!
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Georgetown definitely has a stronger presence
Georgetown all day. Probably worth like $40k additional tuition per year but it’s obviously hard to quantify that
Vandy is the better school (according to rankings) and has a better student experience (southern, girls, football, weather, etc). however georgetown is better for NYC banking recruiting. up to you and how u prioritize each aspect. if only you got into a school like Duke that balances student life/athletics with feeding to wall street.
^ This is probably the most accurate understanding/commentary I’d say. with this in mind, pick what you feel is best for you. Work hard and you’ll make it either way.
I did get into Duke, and it's definitely a lovely school, but I don't particularly want to go because my brother and mom went there. Perhaps it's out of foolish pride, but I don't want to be seen as someone who got in because of legacy. Yes, a bit weird, but I made up my mind on that a while ago. Regardless, thank you for the insight.
You're not losing out on much going to Georgetown over Duke, but it's definitely a step down. I understand wanting to make your own way and not relying on connections or legacy or anything like that, but that shit matters. You're going into banking where, just like top schools, people recruit with legacy in mind. Literally everything within this industry is about connections and there are more Duke alumni in finance than Georgetown. If you, like the majority of analysts, want to switch over to PE after 2 years Duke will be much more of an asset than Georgetown. If you don't want to be seen as someone who got in as a legacy, don't introduce yourself like "Hi my name is onestepatatime and I got into Duke because my brother and mom went here." No one has once asked me where my parents went to school in college. Also you got in to other amazing schools, if you got in to Vandy and Georgetown you didn't get into Duke because of legacy.
I think Vandy has the better social situation, and Georgetown the better recruiting situation. But Duke has both. I know you seem to have made up your mind but I think you should reconsider.
Tell me you chose Duke. Best of all worlds. Georgetown student here lol.
I don't have all the answers or insight, but I can provide some thoughts from my experience. I am about to graduate from Vanderbilt and I am fortunate enough to be going into IB (not in NY). Solely based on getting into NY IB, I agree with others that Georgetown is a better bet. With that said, there is NY IB recruiting on campus at Vanderbilt, although not as much as Georgetown. The opportunity to be at a college with a great reputation, strong academics, and good social scene, in a city like Nashville, is a unique and enjoyable experience with a perfect social | academic balance. I can't offer insight into what Georgetown is like, but know that it would be hard for me to duplicate my time at Vanderbilt elsewhere. While my experience was great, that experience is based on my personality and what I was looking for. I think your final decision is based on what you are hoping to get out of college, but in determining what that is, I would encourage you to consider factors outside of IB placement. I don't think you can go wrong with either school and I am happy to elaborate on my experience if it helps. Good luck!
If you're sure you want to do banking then Georgetown. Otherwise I would choose Vandy especially due to the fact that it's 10k cheaper.
I go to Vanderbilt and have friends at GT. I would say GT has better NYC IB recruiting without a doubt. A large amount of the OCR at Vandy occurs with banks like WF who recruit for the Charlotte office. However, you can still get a NYC IB SA offer from Vanderbilt it just takes more networking and effort.
Vanderbilt has much more of a traditional college experience with greek life. You don't need to have a fake to have fun basically. At GT it's largely a bar school and some house parties at upper classmans houses "off campus" in DC.
If you're main priority in college is to work in IB in NYC then go to GT. If you want the traditional college experience go to Vanderbilt and accept you will have to work a bit harder to get a NYC IB SA offer.
U can PM. At vandy, most students interested in banking end up at baml, Barclays,Wells Fargo, Nomura, Rothschild, Cain brothers, and some other boutiques. If u have a 3.7+ and banking/vc/pe experience before interviewing junior year u should have a good shot. That said, very few at Ms, JP, Goldman, and not as many at boutiques compared to gtown. That said vandy does send select few students to those more prestigious firms but u prob need a 3.9, being female seems to help these days as firms are doing springboard/sophomore recruiting for ladies, but my guy friends were able to do well at vandy. Wanted a change of scenery and enjoy my four years while being surrounded by normal, fun, and well rounded people while acknowledging that I would have to work slightly harder. Even if banking doesn’t work out, u have the masters program at vandy for a 5th year which should lead to a good IB gig in the end. Also, recruitment is more chill at vandy than other schools so you can definitely stand out if you start prepping sophomore year into the summer. Better be a finance superstar at vandy than mediocre at gtown or any other place imo. But definitely hard to land a top NY position. Just wanted to share my experience for your benefit. I ended up at a BB with a 3.7-3.9. Would 100% go to vandy again for the overall experience. Super fun being in Nashville, good professors except everyone hates econ dpt, beautiful new dorms coming to campus, great aid, and good people. Golf courses, tennis courts nearby. Nice park to do runs at. Off campus apartments are insanely nice and beautiful and not too expensive. And southern vibe is incredible - way less stuck up than northeastern schools. Definitely a good place to be if ur conservative or liberal as people r more accepting. That said, Greek life is still present by dying severely. A lot of kids disbanded and not sure what the scene will look like later. Trying to think what else to add but u can message if ud like
Junior here at vandy going into bb banking next summer in nyc. I was accepted to both vandy and georgetown and ended up choosing vandy for financial reasons. i feel that vandy ib recruitment is weaker in comparison to georgetown but if you spend your time wisely (ECs, networking, grades) then the prospects are good. we have a solid number of kids at goldman, boa, rothschild, and houlihan. the alumni network at goldman and boa are very strong. we are also target schools at those two banks and they have annual on campus recruiting teams. recruiting aside, i’d say that vandy offers a more liberal arts and “well rounded” education. i’ve had some incredible professors and classes here. social scene is also great too with greek life and nashville. i’d make the same decision if i had to do it all over again. anyways, feel free to pm with any questions!
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