Undergrad: William and Mary or University of Richmond

hey all. with the college decisions cycle complete, i now have two financially viable options. i am struggling greatly in making a final decision. i was admitted as an economics major to both W&M and richmond, and would declare a finance major my sophomore year at either school. cost is around the same at both schools, and any loans i take out will be insignificant.

i am pursuing a career in high-finance, but understand both of these schools are “non-targets” respectively. and, i am totally fine with entering another industry after college. so, any insight on the professional value of these schools, whether in IB or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated.

i am unable to find the placement data for either business school, so all help with that would be phenomenal as well. thank you.

5 Comments
 

William & Mary 100% imo. I went to W&M and have UR friends that have struggled to get into finance outside of Virginia. If you plan to stay in Virginia both schools are great for smaller banks like Capital One & Town bank. W&M has great alumni connections for T10 MBA afterwards too if you want to add an Ivy to the resume or change course in careers.

 

William and Mary is a "better" school overall. More reputable and stronger academically. I don't think of it as a powerhouse for recruiting, but I'm sure kids each year make it into top jobs. If you're trying to optimize for having the most optionality, W&M is the safer bet.

Richmond is also a solid school and from what I hear, a ton of fun. With that said, it's probably a little tougher to recruit out of for top jobs. Probably a little more of a southern/regional focus and for first jobs, I don't see them sending too many kids to NYC BBs or the equivalent. 

 

Just from what I've seen with peers, is definitely recommend W&M. I've seen W&M kids but haven't seen any Richmond kids. So for my perceived better alumni network and just the overall better "prestige" of the college I'd say W&M is the safer bet

 
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