USC (Marshall) vs. UVA (POSSIBLY McIntire)

This is my first post as I just created an account to get an opinion on this.

Basically, I was accepted into both USC (Marshall) and UVA (Out-of-State), but I am currently unable to decide which one to attend. I definitely want to break into finance (work on the east coast - specifically NYC) in something IB or PE related. Because of this, I am thinking of going to UVA; however, the only factor that really is concerning me is the uncertainty of getting into McIntire.

Putting both cost and social life aside (cost is relatively the same for me at both and I love both of their campuses and know they each would provide me with an active social life/sports scene), the only thing that my decision is coming down to is which choice will have a better chance of getting me on the east coast. I already got into Marshall so that is not of concern to me and given that I do want to do business, I feel like I would be at a huge disadvantage if I do not get into McIntire (cause I believe all the McIntire students getting special priority and OCR versus the non-Commerce school kids) even though UVA is a target for east coast banking.

Given that USC is a target for west coast banking, if I were to go to USC, I would intern on the west coast for a firm and then hope to transfer to their east coast firm full-time (or something like that). I feel like going to USC Marshall would put me at a better spot to eventually break into the east coast than UVA non-McIntire (since I may be overshadowed by all McIntire students) but I may be totally wrong.

I am asking if I should really worry about getting into McIntire (since it has a 60 percent internal acceptance rate - and assuming I do not slack off and have decent grades/ECs). Would I be put at a disadvantage if I do not end up getting into the business school at UVA? Given that many kids want to do finance at UVA, is there a lot of competition? Is there a strong chance of breaking into the east coast from USC (or from post-USC SF/LA internships)? And is west coast banking as bad as it seems (does it pay the same as the east coast)?

Any advice would be really helpful!

3 Comments
 

Congratulations on the acceptances! I think you're making this decision more complex than it needs to be. If NY IBD is the goal, which it sounds like from this post, then you should 100% choose UVA, which has a very strong pipeline not only to IB, but also notably to hedge funds, if that is something that interests you down the line. I've always been somewhat confused by the recurring anxiety over getting into McIntire-- the recruiting process takes place before you get in, and frankly no one will care either way. 

 

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