UF or FSU for undergrad?

I am trying to decide between FSU and UF for undergrad and am still unsure what area of finance i want to go into. Is one of the two generally much better than the other and should i be pursuing a msf or mba after undergrad. Any opinions are appreciated.

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The UF MSF program isn’t an extension year program. You have to be admitted to it during the fall of your sophomore year and take the coursework during your junior and senior years. It’s extremely competitive. Freshman have to be involved in a pre-cursor training program from day one of their fall semester to basically even have a chance at being admitted. The program has a lot of alumni connections as well. Lots of kids go to Evercore and other BBs every year for banking. If you’re a top tier candidate compared to the rest of your class, you can easily be one of those. The others end up at banks that are strong in the South or pursue consulting.

OP, if you go to UF, the MSF program is the way to go. Take a look at the website and see the student profiles. The lady who runs the program is top tier, and she, more or less, guarantees that 30 kids will get placed every year.

 

Do you know anything about the program? It’s not another year, is the same price as undergrad, and is incredibly useful for getting into banking roles. Goddamnit don’t comment if you don’t know what it is.

 

FSU, doesn't even come close to UF's undergrad business school. Look at the university stats and look were UF places vs. FSU in terms of investment banking.

 

Currently go to FSU and have friends at UF. Very few people break into NYC IB from either school. The only ones that do are geniuses or are diversity. There are few alumni but both schools are target schools for Bank of America, Raymond James, Wells Fargo, Suntrust, and other Southern banks in Charlotte that take a good amount of students per year. Surprisingly, there is a lot of consulting recruiting coming from the Big Four at FSU and other non MBB firms mostly for government work.

The few people who break in are the best of the best or diversity candidates. Currently at FSU there are 3 organizations that have atrack record of placing students into IB but for every 100 members only 1 breaks into the field. This is not because students are stupid, but because IB is very competitive. Regardless of school, you will have to spend your first 2 years preparing for recruitment because both schools are non targets. That is a fact. Breaking in comes down to what you do as an individual and how you allocate your time recruiting, preparing, and making sure ou are the best possible candidate.

As an FSU student, I do not regret choosing FSU over UF. I love the university, professors, life, friends, etc. Sure I have a biased view and someone from UF can say the same thing about their school, but I do not think there is an objective way to say "yeah this school is better". Before anyone from UF gets mad/intimidated, UF has better programs, but FSU also has better programs. This is also a fact.

If you are choosing between schools choose based on financial aid, friends, quality of classes, vibes of campus, and courses (you can google course outlines) not on the amount of students who went into IB because either school does not make breaking in easier. As long as you set yourself up for succes school choice does not matter.

BTW, FIU places more students than UF and FSU combined. This is in part due to everyone being diversity and the Phoenixian fund.

Also, the head of IB of Credit Suisse is an FSU alum so a lot of recruiting takes place.

 

I know some really bright kids at UF and think that you’d benefit from being around higher academic talent. One school is better than the other, that’s how the rest of the world sees it.

"Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry."
 

I would strongly suggest going to UF and trying to get into MSF. If not, you can network and get to the same place (a person on this forum actually told me didn’t get into MSF but still landed a role). That’s just what I would do though. UF is basically the school where smart Florida students who want to save money end up. I’d assume it’s got the best relationship with any Miami or Tampa offices, as well as some NYC, Atlanta, Chicago, etc. offices. I’m not sure if FSU could claim any of that.

 

All rankings from US News & World Report: University of Florida Gainesville, FL #34 in National Universities

Florida State University Tallahassee, FL #57 in National Universities

I was wondering why Analyst 1 in IB - Ind was badmouthing UF and the MSF program (inaccurately, as it turns out). It is a highly competitive 4-year program. Period. Then I read that he chose FSU over UF, which explains part of it. No offense to FSU, it's a good school, but it is not considered on a level with UF. Check the local FL papers (Sun-Sentinel), the vast majority of Vals and Sals, if they don't go to Ivies or equivalent, end up at UF.

University of Florida #22 in Business Programs

Florida State University #50 in Business Programs

 
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