Northeastern vs BU vs Fordham vs IU
I'm currently a Senior in high school hoping to break into VC or IB. Not sure how but I was rejected from all of my top schools (UPenn, NYU, UMich, Dartmouth, Columbia) with a 4.4 GPA, 1500+ SAT, and all finance-related extracurriculars. While I understand that none of the schools listed in the title are targets, Northeastern is currently the most selective/prestigious with an acceptance rate of 6% this admissions cycle. To clarify, I was accepted into the business school for all these colleges and plan on studying Finance. From what I've heard, utilizing the co-op system at Northeastern and landing 4-6 month roles at firms like Morgan Stanley gives you the most real-world experience and increases the possibility of being recruited after graduating. From the tours I've done and meeting with current students at each school who are pursuing a similar path to what I hope to do, Northeastern D'Amore-Mckim was the most impressive. Talked to a guy going to Goldman and another going to a pretty good VC firm. I'm leaning towards Northeastern but would love to hear what you guys would recommend.
Former Northeastern student, transferred to UVA/NYU/UNC type school. Northeastern isn't remotely a target. It was super tough to break into IB so I transferred. My friends at BU have been getting absolutely no looks either. IU Kelley isn't the most “prestigious” school, but I'd imagine there are numerous banks on campus that recruit regularly from them. Anecdotally I've heard good things from students there.
How easy was it to transfer out of Northeastern? Agreed, Kelley has decent recruiting but I can't stomach living in the corn fields. Just toured it. If everyone says that's my best bet I'll absolutely consider it.
Northeastern's the best out of these. None are targets, but each will have a handful of IB postings on their job board and respectable alumni on the street. I went to Northeastern and there are about 50 front office finance co-op roles every semester (spanning IB, VC, MM PE/GE, Credit, and Public Equity) so you can keep trying every semester. Clubs are decent but tons of hardos fighting for all the same co-ops and club spots. It always seemed like these kids were always sucking each other off for interview insights etc, but if you're prepared then you'll get good offers whether you're in the "In crowd" or not. My rec is to do 2 solid middle office - front office roles and then gun for SA spots outside of the co-op program since you'll be a more well-rounded and competitive candidate than all non-ivy applicants at that point. The city of Boston offers a lot of opportunities too in the VC world, and you can directly use that to get a step up on other applicants for VC co-ops.
Meant to make a new comment not reply sorry lol
Thanks, super helpful. What co-ops did you do?
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What have you heard about BC CSOM? Considering it as a potential option.
Tough spot to be in because the admissions cycle was pretty brutal this year. Looks like Northeastern is prob the best bet for you. However yes they are still non targets. Did u apply to Boston College? BC dominates BU and Northeastern in terms of recruiting and placement in Boston. Also Northeastern is notorious for artificially inflating their admissions metrics and rankings on US News. I’m sure the students there are smart and hard working but wouldn’t be basing your choice just off of acceptance rates. Like the previous comment said, it may be best to transfer to a target. Or if you really end up loving Boston, go to BC.
agree with this
Appreciate it. Got rejected from BC. You're right though, transferring to a target is probably the easiest route to IB. How about for VC, is Northeastern solid in that respect? I've heard of numerous co-ops at VC firms.
I was in a semi-similar situation as you, but I was torn between IU Kelley and Fordham. I am pretty sure I will be going to Kelley this fall, because everyone I talked to felt that Kelley was better than Fordham. I talked to some people that worked on Wall Street for decades, and all either said that both were the same, or that Kelley was better. Honestly, if I was in your position, I would go to Northeastern. For Kelley, you need to be in the IBW to really get the semi-target feel. Otherwise it is a non-target. Northeastern is in Boston, which has good IB opportunities based on what I have heard. Northeastern is in the northeast and has the amazing co-op program, which is great for networking and internships. Oh yeah, and BU is an overpriced Rutgers imo.
Appreciate the advice. Yeah, BU wasn't super exciting. Congrats on Kelley.
ty bro. And congrats on Northeastern, this admission cycle was brutal, and getting into a school like Northeastern is a huge deal.
First, congratulations on having options. While each college you listed will have a few challenges prestigious-wise, you can make each work if you put in the work! Do not completely write off Fordham. Attending a college in the City matters especially since you may spend your early years in MO/BO internships. Boston is a great college town but I am not sure it is great for IB recruiting (better for insurance, asset management, and consulting careers).
By the way, grades and test scores are generally not enough to break the T20 ceiling! Best of luck on the next leg of your journey.
thanks for the insight.
Check this out!
None of these have great placement into the roles you'd want except for IU but only if you got into their IBW. Your best move would be to transfer so try that eventually but in the meantime choose the college where you think you'll fit best. I've heard BU's social life is pretty bad (can't imagine Northeastern's is better).
Where would you recommend trying to transfer to?
Wouldn't try for the Ivies as they're next to impossible but I would focus on schools like Northwestern, UVA, UNC (possible safety?), Notre Dame, Georgetown, Michigan, etc. Some transfer acceptance rates are skewed for various reasons so definitely look in that. There are also various strategies for better transfer odds so look into that as well.
I got into all of those same schools and chose IU. IU is by far the most fun and probably the best for banking. It depends much more on what you want in a college experience (i.e. you want to live in a city/college town, whether you care about college football/basketball, Greek life, etc.)
Can PM me about Kelley if you’d like.
What extracurricular activities did you do that is related to finance? I’m a rising senior and I am just curious.
IU Kelley
Going completely against where you seem to be at, I see the least people at my firm from Northeastern out of any of these schools.
Just wondering what you decided. I am in a pretty much identical situation aside from BU. For me Northeastern is just two expensive compared to the prices of the other two after scholarship. IMO Kelly is definitely better if you can get a spot in IBW but Fordham has the advantage of being close to NYC and may be able to build a stronger network. At both schools you need to work to be at the top of your class to get any looks so if thats the case I would lean to the one closer to NYC to build a network but thats my thought process. If you have made your decision please let me know where and why because I'm still in between the two and time is most definitely not on my side.
Ended up committing to Northeastern. I toured Fordham (Lincoln Center) and absolutely loved it. It's definitely rising in the ranks and it's quite easy to get internships in IB given the location. Also, a substantial portion of the business majors go on to work on Wall Street. Ultimately, I just wanted to go to a more prestigious school.
lmk what you decide and PM me if you want to stay in touch...
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