Transfer to either UW-Madison (Business) , SMU (Cox), Notre Dame

Hi everyone,

I am a current sophomore student at Baylor University studying Pre-Business with concentrations in Finance, and I am looking to get into IB. I have a 3.69 GPA with 33 credits. I was admitted as a transfer to UW-Wisconsin, SMU (Cox), and Notre Dame. I am seeking some advice for the school that would put me in a stronger position for IB. After college, my preferred location of work is in Chicago, Boston, New York, or Miami. With that being said, which school would put me in the best position to work in those areas? I listed some extra criteria that are factors in my decision.

UW-Madison
As a transfer student, I would have to take 12 credits (semester) prior to entering UW-Madison's business school to receive admission.
SMU
I can go straight into Cox as a transfer student.
Notre Dame
ND doesn't allow external transfer students to major in Finance or Business Analytics. I can major in Economics but that is not within Mendoza.
Q: Will majoring in Econ from ND still improve my chances of landing a IB job as opposed to majoring in Finance at other institutions?

Lastly, money is not really an issue.

Thanks everyone for your time and advice!

 
Most Helpful

Not sure what ND recruiting looks like, but I wouldn't be surprised if Mendoza kids have access to companies that you wouldn't. Also, keep in mind that there are tons of wisco kids each year applying to get into the b school. Your stats don't seem like a shoe-in, and I would think critically about the possibility of not getting into WSB and how that would effect your decision.

Furthermore, I would step back and think if transferring is the appropriate action for you at this time. Obviously myself or any other member of this site isn't privy to the nuances of your specific situation, but transferring can be a very tough social/academic shift. I know this is a professional chat forum, but I would urge you not to jettison your social experiences just for a marginally better chance at banking.

If you transfer, I think ND is the best option, but I will leave you with one parting thought (and know I'm not trying to offend you when I say this). You were able to muster a 3.7 GPA at a school that I would not consider very rigorous at all, and you will be walking into a premier economics program in the country -- be prepared to work hard and network extensively to catch up.

 

I would eliminate SMU from consideration. You're not going to get into the Alt Asset program w/ your GPA, so if you do manage to place into IB w/out doing Alts, you're extremely unlikely to place anywhere outside of Texas.

Don't know enough about UW's placement to give an opinion on whether it's a better bet than ND or vice-versa.

 

I would try to reach out to some Notre Dame students to ask about recruiting while being an econ major but in my opinion if you're white and are okay with their Catholic culture, this isn't close. Notre Dame is an elite T20 school with a 19% acceptance rate and a 25-75% SAT range of 1400-1550. While you may not be in Mendoza, I would argue the overall school is on a similar level as Vandy/ WashU/ Georgetown/ Northwestern/ Emory. Notre Dame does better or equal than all of those schools other than Georgetown in IB recruiting. Check out the hard data target school post a few weeks back. You even mentioned you're interested in Chicago and New York, the locations for most IB opportunities at Notre Dame.

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