Vanderbilt (full-tuition) vs UChicago ($15,000 scholarship) vs MIT (full-pay)
Like the title suggests, I'm pretty split between these two schools. Vanderbilt would cost be around $16,000 a year, UChicago around $58,000, and MIT around $65,000. My parents are willing to fund my college education so cost is not that important but I would like it to pay off. At Vanderbilt, I would be a Computer Science and Economics double major; at MIT, I would major in Computer Science, Economics, and Data Analysis or just Econ; and at UChicago I would major in economics (and maybe minor in Computer Science). At Vanderbilt, my GPA would likely be higher than if I went to UChicago or MIT but it's definitely not as heavily recruited. I could also more easily double major at Vanderbilt because there's no limit on the amount of AP credit. However, I don't exactly fit in with Vanderbilt's social scene and I definitely don't have as good of a personality that helps out in job/internship interviews.
My main goal is to get an internship all four years, in investment banking, consulting, etc. Could anyone speak on which option I should choose and whether I could still get a job in IB/consulting even if I went to Vanderbilt? Also, what are IB/consulting companies looking for when considering interns-- GPA, schools, etc? Thanks so much!
If money is really no issue, then I would really consider UChicago. You probably can't do wrong with any of these schools but I know that Vandy is great if you want to work in the south and areas near the school. MIT is fantastic as well. Also a great school if you want to work as a quant somewhere. I think Citadel, a hedefund, recruits kids from there for quant roles. Uchicago might be a bit more well rounded, and they have great recruiting from a ton of firms. Now if we're talking about everything else, I think Vandy would be the most fun with the hottest girls out of your options. And Realistically, you probably won't get an internship in banking as a freshman. No bank has any structured in internship program in IB. Morgan Stanley used to have one, but they chopped it down to a one week shadow Hip in different t groups. It's. ore common for freshman to get a pwm role or work at a boutique asset manager or something just to show interest. If you want to talk more about that then PM me (current freshman). But nonetheless you can't really go too wrong with ur options for school.
Thanks for the response and the great insight!!
Planning on triple majoring at MIT eh? Oh to be young
It's actually a major MIT is introducing next year combining all three lol I can't imagine triple majoring at MIT
Ahhh ok that makes more sense haha. I remember when I visited MIT I heard a story about one girl who tried to triple major in three hard sciences and ended up going crazy.
Was probably crazy to begin with if she tried to do that in the first place.
You can achieve any of your goals from Vanderbilt, and it is very hard to beat your low COA
Thanks for the response!
Yeah you'll be fine at all 3, and I personally would go to Vandy for the $ savings (even if you say it doesn't really matter).
Thanks for the response!
For me it would be between Vanderbilt and MIT. The scholarship at Vanderbilt is nice and it's a great school, but I think that the branding you get from MIT undergrad (especially in more quantitative career paths) could definitely be worth the extra money and pay for itself over the course of your career. I do think MIT has a "wow" factor above UChicago that is probably worth the additional $20k over 4 years.* All of that being said, I agree with the other posters that you will have no problems achieving your goals at all three of those excellent schools. If you have the ability to revisit/stay overnight, that would be a good idea. Congratulations on the admits.
*Disclosure: I'm doing an MFin at MIT next year and from the Boston area, so I am definitely biased.
Thanks for the great insights! I'm visiting UChicago this week, and I've already visited Vanderbilt and MIT
As others have said, you can't really go wrong with any of the three. For what it's worth, I know of bankers that went to Vanderbilt and UChicago. I'm sure MIT has a decent presence as well. I would personally pull for UChicago given your statement that you "don't exactly fit in with Vanderbilt's social scene." You can't go wrong with a major in econ from UChicago. All three are good choices though so just take another visit and try and feel where you would be most happy.
Thanks for the great insight! I'm almost sure that I'd fit in UChicago's social scene better, but I'm not exactly sure if it would be worth paying the high premium if at Vanderbilt I could attain a nice investment banking job as well.
Dude, go to MIT and land a job at Snapchat making 200k+ w stock options, then transition into VC or entrepreneurship (you could even downgrade to MBB consulting) once you have engineering experience.
The caliber of people you meet at MIT will be worth it alone imo.
All three are good options, but if I were you, and my family could reasonably afford it, I would go with MIT. 'Know thyself' and all that....I'm just a stranger on the internet, but you may be overvaluing the IB/Consulting career path.
I would agree with this. If you were smart enough to get into all three of these schools, I have no doubt that you could get into IB/consulting from a lesser school is you so chose. I'd choose whichever school would be most comfortable in terms of culture.
I find it interesting that you asked "what are IB/consulting companies looking for when considering interns-- GPA, schools, etc" while also saying that "I definitely don't have as good of a personality that helps out in job/internship interviews." The "personality" would be the main thing I'd focus on in college, because you can develop yourself into a social, confident person at any school you go to. GPAs don't matter after a certain cutoff (I'll be impressed by a high GPA for one second and then forget about it two seconds later when I'm judging a different line on your resume); same goes for the school you go to. Once you get into the interview room, doing cases and answering technicals is more of a check-the-box exercise. At your age, you can REALLY shine if you're socially confident, warm/friendly, can put the other person at ease, and roll with the interview to make it a pleasurable conversation, like one you'd have on a lazy day with a friend at a coffee shop.
All that said, go to whatever school makes you happiest, enjoy the ride, and if you can match your social skills with your academic prowess, you'll be unstoppable no matter where you go (to be completely honest, I'm partial to UChicago because two of my heroes, Howard Marks and Katharine Graham, studied there).
If money really is no issue, I would remove Vandy and take a harder look at MIT/Chicago. Frankly, MIT/Chicago dwarfs Vandy in both U.S. and global reputation, as well as career placement, opportunities, alumni, etc.
I tend to lean towards MIT, if for no other reason that people will instantly assume you're a genius because you went to MIT. They won't make that assumption for Vanderbilt.
Are your parents worth $20MM+, where they can spend $250k without noticing or are they just upper middle class people who value education a lot? If the former, go wherever you want. If the latter, go to Vanderbilt. You will be able to find a group of people to hang out with no matter where you end up. That's a lot of money to be asking of your parents.
eh, I don't think you need anywhere close to a $20mm net worth to splurge on your kid's college. And it's arguably the wisest investment you can ever make.
What's you rationale and how much money should a parent have where a kid should pass on a full ride to go to MIT?
I go to UChicago and grew up around Vandy so I won't speak to MIT.
Classic conception of Vanderbilt is "carpetbagger nerds who have no lives" so I'm not sure the culture would be that different, and Nashville has much better weather than Chicago.
That said, from my experiences/my friends at Vandy's experiences, it's substantially easier to get connected into the finance scene at Chicago than at Vandy--more people want to do it and more people come out doing it, especially going to Chicago/NYC while Vandy places more into Texas/Atlanta. That said, NYC is certainly possible from Vandy.
Personally I would pick UChicago again but I didn't have MIT on the table or the sheer difference in cost.
If money is not an issue then you should absolutely go to the best school you can.
If your parents can swing MIT without being burdened then it's def. worth it. The decent sample size of people I know who all attended is loaded with ridiculously good outcomes. Given your interests, what you intend to study, and the fact you got in, it's not a crazy bet.
Dude, just go to Vanderbilt and save the money for MBA down the road. I've seen plenty of kids breaking into banking from Vandy. IMO, if you can't get banking from Vandy, you can't get it from anywhere else. It's a top school and you'll love Nashville. Maybe even go back there for MSF and skip MBA altogether.
I think it's about time you guys stopped shitting on schools like Vandy. Full tuition is one big opportunity and I don't think you should miss it.
Take it from the guy in accounting.
Just go to linkedin and do some research. Lots of Vandy kids in banking.
The OP says he doesn't necessarily have the social personality for banking, so I would so go to MIT and think long-term about start-ups--the MIT brand is killer and would be a kingmaker for you. I was just watching Shark Tank and a relatively mediocre MIT grad probably in his late 20's said he walked away from a $250,000/year job to pursue his business. I'm going to guess that you'll get a substantial ROI by going to MIT, even in a salaried position.
Yeah MIT is unparalleled in engineering aka the future
OP have you made the decision?
If I had the enviable position as you did at 17/18 years of age, I'd definitely choose MIT. I'm sure the proximity of it to Harvard opens up social opportunities to mix as well.
go to MIT and major in CS. this will give you the best branding and tons of optionality. you can still go into banking as a CS major but you obviously can't be a software engineer as an econ major. you can always grab an MBA a few years down the road as well
I'd suggest MIT. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity which you'll regret not taking
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