So, let's start w/ background. Currently a freshman at a non-target liberal arts university with a growing reputation. It has ties to only two investment banks: Wells Fargo Securities and Credit Suisse. I can only name a handful of kids who graduated from my school and landed an analyst job, but it clearly is possible. This is where it gets tougher.
Again, with background, I was a very solid high school student. I had solid grades, solid test scores, and was well rounded w/ extracurriculars. This first semester at school, I was named sector head of financials in the student run investment fund, a position no freshman had earned before. I had a 3.7 GPA, and things are looking further up in the spring. My question is: do i transfer to Yale?
Obviously I know what you're thinking. How the hell does this kid think he's going to get into Yale? Doesn't he know you need a 4.0, 2400 SAT, with stellar EC's? Again, I know that. I've been told that time and time again. However, I'm fortunate. Both my father's parents attended, their parents all attended, my great uncle and second cousin are both on the board of admissions, and several other connections that I could use to my advantage. If I wanted to go to Yale, I would have a REALLY solid shot at making that happen. Again, I do keep in mind that Yale accepts less than 5% of transfers, but I know it's pretty realistic that I could somehow pull it off.
So monkeys, let's pretend I'm a shoo-in at Yale, and all I have to do is fill out my application. Help me feel this out. I've tried weighing the pro's and con's, but this is how I relate it to investment banking. I know that regardless of Yale's actual reputation w/ landing investment banking jobs, it will get my foot in the door of some of the bigger BB firms. It's obviously not Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, but I think it increases my chances tenfold. Yale is very prestigious and regardless of whether I land an offer at some BB, I'll be able to score interviews with some other firms ranging from top MM's and boutiques.
However, there are obvious negatives. My father believes that if I can manage a 3.8+ at my current school, I serve to stand out a lot more. He believes in the "big fish small pond mentality," rather than being "above average" at best at Yale. He thinks that I'd be bored out of my mind, lose my social life entirely, and eventually become miserable in what he says is this the "best 4 years of my life." I feel like he's right in some regards, but I'm trying to evaluate my future as best as possible. Another con is the price difference, and although I'm paying for a relatively small portion of my education, Yale is about $15k more per year than my current school.
Yahoo! Finance published an article "3 reasons your first job is your most important." Are they right? If so, I feel as if Yale might be the clear and right choice. I do think with hard work I could finagle my way into a BB at a certain point, but it just wouldn't be nearly as difficult if I were at Yale. With all things considered, I'm looking for any advice as to what my course of action should be as I'm truly split. I don't really have any industry experience yet, so bear in mind that I could just be completely wrong entirely; take it easy on me.
You're not a shoo-in at Yale. I'm sure you recognize this, because if you really thought you were then you would have attended as a freshman.
Being at a non-target (or semi-target i guess considering WF and CS) is going to be way more of a challenge to break in than at a target. You're competing with essentially everyone else at non-targets for a spot. At Yale you're only going to be competing against other Yale students for the first round OCR interviews. Provided you're able to do well at Yale and stand out among your peers (which is definitely a consideration you must make in deciding if you want to pursue transferring), then you should be better off there, especially since more firms than WF / CS are going to have OCR.
Social life concerns are legitimate in that you'll have to start over if you transfer. Its really up to you to put yourself out there and make friends, etc. Will it be a more stressful workload? Maybe. You have to learn how to balance work and social life there; I'm sure there are kids at Yale who still have a good time while doing well.
With regards to the cost, this is how someone in finance explained things to me when I was wondering about the increased cost of going to a target v. non-target.
The math is this: Probability of getting an IB job at Non-target = x Probability of getting an IB job at Yale = y Difference in NPV of money getting IB Job versus not = z
Assuming you can make top 10% at Yale, or be at the top of your class at the non-target, to be competitive for internships, the basic probability looks like this: X = 25% Y = 75% Z = very hard to say but at LEAST $2 million over a career....possibly more depending on what you end up doing post-banking
Stay at Nontarget: $2 million * 35% = $500k Go to Yale: $2 million * 75% - ($15k * 3) (debt) = $1,455k
The increased cost is negligible considering the increased expected value of going to Yale. Graduating from Yale will also put you on better standing for MBA applications provided you do well, so that can be factored into your decision making as well.
Right, great response! So many people I talk to neglect the social aspect as well as other outlying factors. I'm really just trying to see if I can break in from a non-target so that I wouldn't have to alter my entire life... this is obviously a big decision. I'm currently happy at my school and wouldn't want to trade it in for anything if I knew that I could somehow work my way into a BB or even MM analyst position out of school.
Again, what would you think about b-school? If instead of only applying for analyst roles for post college, what if I took a year or two and headed to a Princeton, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Wash. U, etc. and got my MSF or Masters in Economics at an NYU or Georgetown? Would that maybe become beneficial and raise the probability of that X value, even while setting me back a year or two? From what I've read, I don't think applying to get my MBA right after undergrad seems like the best approach either, if I wanted to try Yale in the future.
I wouldn't just apply to Yale. Cornell accepts transfers too as well as Cal Berkeley, CMC, etc. if you want to be on the West Coast. I literally can't believe you said ''It's obviously not Harvard, Wharton, Columbia", have you not heard of the "HYP Or Bust" attitude? lol and no comment on "Both my father's parents attended".
Hats off to you for catching that typo. I don't have two fathers (not that there's anything wrong w/ that) lol
transfer. period.
use your connections and assuming you could get in, go and do not look back.
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