UCL or Cornell

Should I go to UCL or Cornell if I'm interested in a career in investment banking? Was accepted to a physical science at UCL - at Cornell I could change to whatever I wanted. I'm an American - similar costs. I don't mind studying abroad if it is better.

4 Comments
 

They're both borderline targets in their respective countries. If you were British I'd say go to America where the opportunity set is higher as it would be near impossible for a British kid with no us work authorisation to break into the us high finance market straight out of uk undergrad. Considering you are American this obviously would not be to your disadvantage so genuinely just pick whichever one you think will have a more enjoyable experience. Basically, if you want a chance to fuck about for 3 years straight in Europe before starting full time then ucl is obviously the place to be and you probably won't regret it.

It's also worth noting that even though UCL ranks slightly higher in QS rankings that's purely due to research, Cornell and other Ivy's still clear UCL in prestige and alumni success. The only UK Schools that are really comparable to Ivy's a.re  Oxbridge, LSE (Purely due to their inherent similarities to Wharton), and Imperial (Comparable to Stanford/MIT, both of which are comparable to Ivy's so..).

 

Go to Cornell.

Easy to access US market and easier to get into UK market with a degree from there then vice versa.

 

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