UChicago vs UIC?

Hey guys! I just got accepted into UIC for 8k/yr and UChicago for 40k/yr, both early action. I got in for accounting and finance at UIC and math at UChicago. UIC has a business school and so am going to be taking more business relevant stuff there. It's also wayy cheaper so I'm kinda thinking of choosin it. Is uchicago worth it for IB, consulting, PE, etc. and will I be hurt in the recruitment process cuz of my major if i go there?

21 Comments
 

UChicago is a t10 school and Math is a quantitative major, you will be more than fine. You can also add an Econ major/minor later on if you are compelled to do so. Just make sure you join relevant clubs, network a little, and know your technicals and you will be golden

 

UChicago is one of the top ranked schools in the nation for math; you can't go wrong with a math major here. Also look into the math major with a specialization in economics, or simply a double major in math/econ. Lots of overlap if you pick the right courses

(keep in mind you can declare whatever major you want after you start)

 
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Depends on if you can afford UChicago, if you can then UChicago without a doubt. If not, try and ask for more aid. At most private uni's you can change major pretty easily if thats something thats important to you. Either way a uchicago math major > UIC finance major

 

UIC alum here. Highly suggest choosing U Chicago if you can make the finances work. The best outcomes from UIC are in accounting with placement into big four and its frankly all the business career office cares about. Opportunities for finance majors through the school are very limited. In each class of finance majors there are a few standouts that manage to get decent jobs but a strong IB / consulting role right out of undergrad is nearly unheard of. The people I know who have made it into these roles usually had to have a stepping stone before transitioning to IB / consulting / whatever their target job was (usually big four accounting). And those people who manage to get decent stepping stone jobs have some combination of being very bright (i.e., they really shouldn't have been at UIC in the first place other than usually due to personal circumstance), leadership positions in multiple clubs, and a crazy amount of hustle (working winter / spring internships while taking a full course load while endlessly networking).  Don't let the UIC business school marketing fool you into thinking its a "top undergrad business school" in Chicago like they claim - usually the way the administrators define that is in some completely meaningless way to your actual outcomes from the school. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can make UIC work for you if you absolutely have to, but if you have a specific, competitive career in mind you would do yourself a service by choosing something else. I was probably in your same position and chose UIC, and at the end of the day its all worked out ok for me, but it has been a massive effort versus the career paths of some of my peers who came from U Chicago. 

 

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