Help me pick my school!
So I'm an Asian (Pakistani living in Africa) international student who has the following options available to me. Enrollment is due in a few days, and I'm still undecided.
My options are:
Lehigh college of business - $9k/year
Emory - $21k/year
Colby - $20.5k/year
Wesleyan - $21k/year
Hamilton - $22k/year
Washington & Lee - $21k/year
I'm interested in pursuing IB, and risk & quant roles. I'm leaning towards lehigh because of the huge Big 4 presence, which can act as a cushion in case I don't secure any FT high finance offers. I was reading that Big 4 Transaction Advisory can be a good future pathway to IB.
I come from a low income background. Help me choose my college.
On a side note, i'm wondering if ya'll could rank the above options in terms of rep on the street? Would appreciate it.
Emory is a solid semi-target and in a nice part of Atlanta. I would go for Emory at that point. Debt will be moderate and could be paid off quickly with a job in IB.
Thanks! I'm currently in the process of appealing my aid from them. Hopefully the cost comes down, even if a little. What do you think of Lehigh and Colby/Wesleyan?
Where do you think you’ll have the best time?
Socially, W&L or Lehigh seem to be pretty good options. But then what's the point of heading to frat parties every weekend if I'm going to end up back in my country after 4 years.
What is a pakistani doing in Africa? Never heard of
Pretty significant Asian diaspora in a select few African countries. Indians in South Africa are a little more common, tho.
I’m Indian and have a few extended relatives in Kenya, South Africa, etc.
Yep. I have a lot of family here and actually hold Kenyan citizenship.
Most of Big 4 doesn’t sponsor. Hell, most of finance doesn’t sponsor. If you are doing it based on employers, I would recommend looking at the ones which has the highest amount of high finance placements per capita.
Yikes. Thanks for letting me know.
Ranking In Terms Of REP On Street:
1. Wesleyan
2. Emory
3. Hamilton
4. Lehigh
5. Washington and Lee
6. Colby
I think that 1 and 2 are kind of interchangeable and depends on company. Curious to hear about what you guys think.
I think every school on this list is great, in terms of both academics and social atmosphere-- but you'd be very hard-pressed to find someone that puts Wesleyan over Emory, even in terms of NY IBD. Emory might also give additional optionality in terms of regional offices in the South, though I can't say I'm familiar with Atlanta/Charlotte/Houston.
OP-- You should take Emory, not just for recruiting, but there's also a more diverse student body. I know there's lots of South Asians at the school, whereas it might be more difficult to fit in at W&L/Hamilton/Colby, which are pretty homogenous. Good luck with your decision!
Thank you! Yeah, based on the consensus here, I've settled on Emory. Just waiting to see if I can squeeze out some more money from them before I commit.
Colby, Emory, and Wesleyan are my preference social and career wise. Colby is a bit of a sleeper school—they have a niche on Wall Street and specifically for PE/exit ops some love NESCAC schools in particular. I have a cousin who went there and he loved it—low key school and has friends at Goldman and Citi. Congrats on being accepted to so many great places!
Wow, I wasn't expecting that from Colby. I have settled on Emory though, but will definitely suggest Colby to my sibling who is applying to colleges next year and has similar career interests.
I would go with Emory as first choice. Best brand name recognition on Wall Street. Wesleyan is also well-known generally but more focused on liberal arts.
If I saw a resume with Colby, Hamilton, or Washington & Lee on it, it wouldn't mean anything to me. Have heard of Lehigh but doesn't mean very much to me.
I've decided to go for Emory. Honestly, I don't really like the liberal arts atmosphere so it's good to know that Emory beats out the rest.
Emory. Especially as an international student, you need the general brand for backup options. Emory's a truly elite school in the South (to be fair, big caveat), which ups your odds of finding a decent backup corporate job that sponsors you, while maintaining your BB/EB chances.
Good luck with the financial aid appeal, but even if you don't get it, $21k/year is very reasonable and you can pay it off very quickly if you're frugal for a year or two after graduation.
Yep, have decided on Emory. Good thing is that I've been leveraging the aid Lehigh gave me and one of the schools I listed actually matched it. Just waiting on Emory, but am willing to take on loans.
Congrats and enjoy the experience!
Agree with other posters here that Emory is the best choice. Best brand name, placement, and recruiting resources. Congratulations on your acceptance there.
Thank you! I've decided on Emory.
Agree, good choice with emory. Fellow international here. you need to be better than your competition for recruiting so make sure to do everything as well as you can since day 1 and you can land as good as an offer you want
Emory Emory Emory. Otherwise, Lehigh because it appears to be the cheapest. Emory is a top institution (#20-25) - the others are merely adequate.
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