Uchicago, Michigan, or UVA
For strictly investment banking purposes, which is the best to recruit from? I was admitted to all for class of 27.
Feb 11, 2023Feb 11, 2023
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Comments (37)
Congrats on the decisions! All three are great and assuming out of state tuition for the latter two, UChicago would be your best bet for investment banking placement and even other high finance roles like quant or straight into buyside.
Yes you will likely enjoy the college and campus life at UVA or Mich since the experience is much more universal and the student body is a bit less quirky or research driven. Ask yourself where you fit too, UChicago is pretty rigorous and has an extensive prerequisite curriculum requirement.
UVA and Mich are probably equally good for recruiting with a slight edge to UVA since it has a smaller student body and less competition for spots. Also like the climate and environment at UVA the most personally since it's more temperate/warm.
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UChicago places very well into IB. Major in business economics, which is a light major here. UChicago can be an easy experience if you pick the right classes to build an easy schedule. I'm a comp sci major and I still have free time, so you should have almost no trouble with business economics. You probably will have a more vibrant social life at UVA or UMich, but I don't think that's worth the more difficult recruiting experience. I'd go with UChicago.
Ross breads Wall Street kids and is a good time. Girls are mid but you can just go to Michigan state and find all the dimes for the season
best answer here
Can attest
Graduated from Ross and have plenty of friends from UChicago and UVA. All three place very well across IB, and are targets for most BBs/boutiques. With that being said, I do think that purely in finance recruiting, UChicago is on another level (would go as far as saying UChicago's the Harvard of the Midwest). Especially on a per-capita placement, UChicago's placement into top IB groups, buyside opps, and boutiques (ex. Qatalyst) is ridiculous.
All three schools have very different social scenes, and neither one is better than the other; my friends at the other schools enjoyed their college experiences as much as I did. Michigan's has more of the large party state school vibe, UVA's has more of the Southern greek school vibe, and UChicago has more of the New England prep school vibe.
Appreciate it, thank you
Strictly UChicago is best but I am Pitching in Bc I am strongly of the opinion that kids shouldn't pick schools based off recruiting.All 3 are more than good enough to help you get that first interview. After that it's all up to you to interview well. Pick where you fit in best and have a fun 4 years.
Appreciate it. Been thinking the same, but I just don't know if I see myself as part of a huge class at mich or uva. I think I'd have more fun at either of them, but chicago seems to be more cohesive & has more resources per student.
Don't be tricked by the "big school" mentality; I went to a college with 30,000 students and it felt like a small school most of the time because you don't hang out with 30,000 students -- you hang out with your groups, your cliques, your group of frats/sororities. Yeah, it feels like a big school on Saturdays when you're going to a football/basketball game. But top me, that's a plus.
If you're a sports fan at all, you're going to enjoy the "rah-rah" nature of a big school. I'm not saying you should pick Mich/UVA over Chicago -- but personally, I've always felt that the "big school" deterrent was a fallacy because you're never around all those people at the same time (except at sporting events); you're in your 25 person discussion class (yes, of course there are big lectures too), you're in a bar with 50 people, you're in your dorm.
If you work hard, there's a great chance you will get to the same place from all of those schools. I think too many students these days don't appreciate the big picture of the entire college experience.
You should just go to Wharton
Michigan would be very fun.
UMich/Ann Arbor is an absolutely awesome time.
As a VP who runs recruiting, UChicago without a doubt. Michigan and UVA are both incredible schools. UC is HYPSM level, and I'm stunned its not more frequently mentioned as a rightful peer.
Just checked US News, and UChicago is #6 in the country, right behind HYPSM and ahead of Duke, Vandy, Penn, CalTech, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Cal, Georgetown and Dartmouth.
Full disclosure, I went to a school that's ranked below UC.
Good school but HYPSM level is ridiculous come on.
Anecdotal evidence, but with the placement I've seen in my class and the few classes above and below (NY IB), especially after adjusted for a per-capita basis, UChicago is right alongside Harvard and Yale in finance placement as best of the rest besides Wharton, and is above other strong targets like Duke, Dartmouth, and Cornell. Their placement across buy-side and boutique IB especially outshines a lot of targets that have been historically considered equal a few years back (like Duke). Maybe their overall university isn't on HYPSM, but I'd definitely say based on my observations that UChicago is alongside that HYP tier in terms of finance placement.
Are you getting any money from UVa or Michigan? What about guaranteed placement into their b-school/ commerce programs? If you are just a regular admit at UVa and Michigan, then I'd take Chicago. If the other two are making going there worth your while (e.g., Echols Scholar, Ross Direct Admit), then I'd think about school fit and location a bit more.
Gimme the loot
Crazy looking back that people choose college on a CHANCE of getting a job in a specific industry at the end. Not how much you'll learn, people you'll meet, things you'll do… especially when all three are basically the same.
Go to the one you get the best vibe from, given they're all strong brand names.
College is 4 of the best years of your life. Don't go somewhere you'll regret and waste them away studying
Couldn't agree more. What if your expectations change? what if you want to study something else? These things are far more important especially when the delta between schools is as low as the 3 that OP mentioned.
Thought, I gotta say, I hate seeing the best 4 years of your life being parroted around here. I know what you mean and agree with the concept, but honestly people should be peaking well into their late 30s-50. 18-22 is bliss, but also alot of confusion and self growth that rarely is easy to go through at times.
Agreed on all your points.
To clarify - I don't like the notion of college being the best four years of your life either. Since leaving I've had times just as good. Post-college imo isn't "better", just different. Both are fucking amazing.
Know both UVA and Chicago well. Went to UVA and Booth, and while at Booth was dating an undergrad so knew that scene too.
Resist the urge to break down the situation as fun vs academics. Those differences are way to small. Chicago my be superficially a stiffer environment but those kids have plenty of fun too. UVA might, in useless circles of the world, be considered less elite than Chicago but on every circle that matters they're honestly in the same tier. Sorry to whoever didn't like hearing that, but other than Harvard/Princeton/Stanford/MIT and maybe Yale, there's no point splitting hairs between these nationally renowned places.
The right way to break it down is ask yourself which environment you will develop the most. I think physical comfort and gut are super underrated and I'd recommend visiting both schools for as many days as you can. Take an extended weekend if you must. Wherever you feel right is the right place. None of these scorecard differences amount to much.
I predict UVA will take it but honestly you can't go wrong, both are great places.
I would disagree. The caliber of people at UChicago is a cut above vs UVA / UMich. This matters for immediate placements out of college, but also for your long-term network going forward. Most people at schools like UChicago who are serious about "the path" go to Harvard / Stanford for business school, with Booth being more of a safety / fallback option. Meanwhile, most people at UVA / UMich would be very happy to go to Booth, Kellogg, Columbia. Don't get me wrong, they're all great schools -- but there's a clear difference in outcomes that should not be understated.
But at the end of the day agree with everyone here, college is some of the best 4 years of your life -- if you go to a school and you absolutely hate it, you'll regret that way more than you'll regret not getting the best IB placements. Go off vibes bro, life is too short to take your career that seriously.
This is just wrong. My brother went to UVA and I went to an Ivy (not HYP) so the below is a comparison. If you are a good student your opportunities from UVA are limitless. The school is kind of like an old boys (and girls) network. People love helping out fellow UVA alumni. The finance (PE & HF) alumni base at the school is insane. Obviously, my school's was quite strong too but maybe because Charlottesville has much better weather and it's on the coast, the alumni donate a lot of time to the school in a way that seems pretty unique. They have classes taught by pretty famous hedge fund managers, there was another class he took where the guest speaker list included Paul Tudor Jones, the founder of Susquehanna, another tiger cub founder, another Macro L/S PM, and a few other impressive people.
The other thing to think about that's a bit longer-term is what kind of person you want to be. I think both Michigan and UVA produce a lot of well-rounded people maybe because of both the social & academic aspects of student life. I've seen him go through interview processes where people say they really like UVA grads from people who didn't go to UVA. The school's network in finance (particularly on the L/S hedge fund side but also on the PE side is insane). Can't speak for Michigan but that's probably similar.
I'm not trying to downplay UChicago but the school isn't that fun. I think that makes an impact on the sort of person you are when you leave school as well. Thinking about prestige in banking placement is a little short-sighted.
If the caliber of people at Chicago is higher (and I agree on average it's a bit higher) that actually cuts *against* the placement stats. It means that part of the school's ability to place better is just a function of better individuals. Meaning it may not be the school brand that's boosting the placement.
In other words the true measure of a school's ability to place is that it can get weaker people into IB. For example I've met some pretty average Harvard kids in IB (family money I guess). That's a true testament to placement ability.
Your other point is that stronger classmates will mean a stronger network, which I agree with directionally. I'm just not sure a Chicago class puts out more successful people than a UVA class. Keep in mind averages aren't everything in that comparison, bc you can seek out successful people if you want. Also well-roundedness is a factor.
UChicago is strongest IMO, lots of buyside and IB opportunities. UMich if you want to have more fun :)
BB recruiting is pretty much the same at any target IMO (even Harvard vs. UVA), but where schools like University of Chicago differentiate from the Duke / UVA / Michigans of the world IMO is buyside and (to a lesser extent) boutique recruiting. If you're really set on working at Qatalyst or something (which is a weird thing to be thinking at 18) then Chicago will give a meaningfully better shot compared to the other options. Or if you really want to go direct to a HF or MF PE out of college.
Also last I heard EVR has scaled back UVA recruiting significantly after a bunch of their interns chose MF PE FT over returning as analysts. Can anyone confirm / deny? My news is a bit stale.
Lol this same rumor occured with Penn too.
ahh yes, go to a school so u have a chance at getting 1 of 2 total qatalyst spots lmao
Can confirm the EVR thing, kinda sucks but ill never be sad to see a fellow hoo go to a MF
Evidence that Chicago places better into buyside than Duke?
Optimizing chances of getting an IB summer analyst first round interview (i.e. several interviews and an internship away from a full-time gig): UChicago without a doubt
Note that your offer is still contingent on the person behind it. Plenty of people from the other two land banking gigs (anecdotally I've seen a bit more success from UVA than UMich but I'm sure people have other perspectives on this)
College is four of the best years of your life. Have you toured these schools? I'd go with the option that seems like it would give you the experience you want the most, and worry about recruiting once you get there. All of these have substantial alumni networks, and I'm sure you won't have a problem if you're truly committed to this.
(And as an attendee of a Southern state school, I highly recommend going with this option, but I am heavily biased lmao)
I think they're all solid but U Chicago is the best of those 3 I would go there - you will get interviews in NYC even if you go there.
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