NYU (Stern) vs UVA Undergrad

Hi guys, 

I'm a long-time lurker/first-time poster--I apologize if my post is not properly formatted. Anyways, I'm a HS senior looking to go into Investment Banking and need help choosing a college. I was recently admitted into NYU Stern and UVA. By sheer business school rankings, Stern appears to be consistently higher than UVA. However, I am concerned about Stern's culture: with every single student shooting to go into IB, it seems cutthroat. I am also turned off by the lack of campus. UVA, on the other hand, checks a lot of boxes: a spacious campus, big-time sports, and a vibrant social scene. Is the difference in job placement massive between the two? Career preparation is my #1 priority, but if Stern's job placement is only marginally better than UVA, I think I'll choose UVA for the above reasons. I am truly going back and forth between Stern and UVA and any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

13 Comments
 

you seem to be leaning more towards uva and they both have decent placement if you believe UVA is a better environment one which you would thrive in pick it . 

 

Go with UVA if you like it better. UVA is a core school at like 70% of the major places ppl are vying for out of undergrad.

You can certainly get to the same place from UVA. 

FYI - culture is what you make of it. At any undergrad BSchool program there is strong competition for jobs. You will find the same gunners at UVA as you would at Stern and other b-schools. Just have to surround yourself with a crowd that fits your personality best (i.e. make friends that are doing totally different things, join clubs in activities you find interesting, etc.)

 

UVA you dont get into the comm school until junior year. You will be limited in connections and utilizing the comm school. IB recruiting starts sophomore spring now and you wouldn’t have the business school’s prep and resources. Something to keep in mind as the business school is very competitive to get into. NYU stern also grades on a curve so it’s cutthroat. Better resources at stern and you may not even get into business school at UVA

 

Having to apply into the business school is concerning given how competitive it is. If I don't get in to the B-school, I would study something along the lines of Econ/Physics, Econ/Math, or Econ/CS. Would I have any realistic chance to break into IB from the CAS? 

 

I am honestly not sure. The comm school does “gatekeep” resources so you would probably be on your own for recruiting. You ultimately want support in the process. You could always do the route of doing a masters program at comm school and use resources like that.

 

Just visit and ask them tbh. I would also ask how uva preps students for recruiting even though you don’t get into the business school until your junior year. Good to put them on the spot

 

Is everyone above a student at NYU? In my experience as an alum of neither school, I have seen equal representation from each school. Both schools are very solid targets. Waiting two years to enter the comm school does not change anything. Aditionally, UVA has immense grade inflation that is very helpful for recruiting. Overall, if you want to be in NYC, go with NYU. If you want to be in the South/college town, go with UVA. 

 

You'll have no problem getting into banking from either school as long as you have a good gpa. Go where you think you'll enjoy your 4 years more, sounds like you want to go to UVA. No need to overthink it.

 

Thanks for the replies--really helpful for a naive HS senior. It sounds like both NYU Stern and UVA will open doors to IB if I network successfully, get a high GPA, etc, so I'm leaning towards the more "fun" college: UVA. I'll remain on Northwestern's and Dartmouth's waitlists, but I plan on enrolling in UVA in the meantime. 

 

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