Undergrad Programs Stern vs Columbia

I'm a senior in high school trying to decide between Stern and Columbia, purely for the prospect of ib recruitment. I realize that similar posts such as this have been made but they seem to be either pretty outdated or contradictory of one another. A couple of my concerns are that

  1. Is there significant grade inflation/deflation at either of these schools?

  2. Does it matter that Columbia doesn't have a finance major? I think it has something like a finance-econ hybrid major but I wasn't really sure if that plays a part in recruiting at all.

  3. Which school is more competitive for recruitment? (or are they on par with one another)

  4. Does the prestige of an ivy really carry any weight over Stern when it comes down to solely finance?

And to a far lesser extent, does anyone know if there are any significant differences between the social scenes of the colleges, or are they very similar for the most part?

Thanks in advance

10 Comments
 
KTMI'm a senior in high school trying to decide between Stern and Columbia, purely for the prospect of ib recruitment. I realize that similar posts such as this have been made but they seem to be either pretty outdated or contradictory of one another. A couple of my concerns are that
  1. Is there significant grade inflation/deflation at either of these schools?

  2. Does it matter that Columbia doesn't have a finance major? I think it has something like a finance-econ hybrid major but I wasn't really sure if that plays a part in recruiting at all.

  3. Which school is more competitive for recruitment? (or are they on par with one another)

  4. Does the prestige of an ivy really carry any weight over Stern when it comes down to solely finance?

And to a far lesser extent, does anyone know if there are any significant differences between the social scenes of the colleges, or are they very similar for the most part?

Thanks in advance

Are you looking anywhere else? Why are you so worried about IBD recruitment? You already know that both of these schools place pretty well.

Anyway, if I were forced to choose between the two I'd go Columbia in a heartbeat -- NYU won't impress anyone, and Stern is full of fucking grinders. NYC for college seems fucking miserable though.

 

To be honest, I think Stern is a bit overrated.

By the way, you should consider a lot more factors. I personally wouldn't like to go to NYC for school, like the poster above me. The city smells like piss all the time and is full of shady people. I grew up in a suburb so I prefer the clean air, lack of traffic and open space.

 

I'm in a similar boat. I'm in junior high school and am trying to decide whether I should apply to Harvard or Yale. Any advice.

P.S. I'm sick thus am not in school today.

 
Best Response
  1. Is there significant grade inflation/deflation at either of these schools? Heard NYU has a very tough grading curve and is often difficult to do well. Columbia (and many other ivys) are notorious for grade inflation, not tough to get 3.6+

  2. Does it matter that Columbia doesn't have a finance major? I think it has something like a finance-econ hybrid major but I wasn't really sure if that plays a part in recruiting at all. Doesn't matter, you'll still get top recruiting opps

  3. Which school is more competitive for recruitment? (or are they on par with one another) Not on par - Columbia students get more ops without question

  4. Does the prestige of an ivy really carry any weight over Stern when it comes down to solely finance? Yes - the network/prestige is more important than more people give it credit for. Obviously if you're a standout student at NYU you can get GS TMT / MS M&A and the likes but all else equal the Columbia student will have notably more opps and overall a better 'brand' attached to his/her name.

Think for law school Columbia and NYU are generally on par with one another and for the arts NYU is a top dog, but in all other fields Columbia outshines NYU by a long shot.

 

Ignore everything you've ever heard about grade inflation and deflation, because it's mostly BS and extremely overrated.

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." --Abraham Lincoln
 

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