Which should I apply ED to: Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, UChicago, or Wharton?

I am looking to apply ED into one of these schools and looking for a career on Wall Street. Eventually, I want to get into Equity Research or Hedge Fund, but there's a lot of hype towards IB and I guess starting out your career there. So I am asking holistically, where should I ED?

UPenn Wharton- my top choice for a long time, live close by, but my chances are slim, especially as an Indian male. Should I really try for this or try for a more realistic schol?

Cornell- I really like Cornell's campus, but I heard classes are extremely tough. I am not applying to Dyson AEM (2.9% acceptance rate!) but instead to the ILR. Out of all schools, I believe I have a very good chance of getting into ILR if I ED. How does the alumni network, recruiting, and effort needed to get an interview/job compare? Is it almost impossible if I can't get an amazing GPA? My family would still be put back almost $300k at this school, and I need to know if its worth it.

Duke- No business school, much lower chance of getting in. Does it have any more advantages over Cornell? Is the quality of life better?

UChicago- Uber-competitive, but I believe ED or EDII makes it much more likely I will get in. Still lower than Cornell. Same question: will it offer any advantages over Cornell? What is the quality of life?

Dartmouth- This one is tough for me. On WSO, people hype it up sooo much, and I should probably believe them, BUT the greek life and partying is over the top imo. I am not one to ever want to go drink and party, maybe some chill ones. What about Dartmouth's program makes it better than any of these other schools (they don't have a b-school either)? Is it solely the networking? Because then I won't be able to take advantage of that because I don't really want to party and socialize like that, nor am I good at it. However, three people from my school are attending next year. All are Asian and one is very nice and fun to be around. Does this sound like most of the people at Dartmouth? because I could probably find my place there.

5 Comments
 

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If you're asking where you should ED in terms of having the best shot of going into HF/ER, then UPenn Wharton and Harvard are your best bets. Better yet, apply for the dual-degree programs at both schools because they have direct recruiting into stellar banks.

What I think you're meaning to ask is what school do you have the best chances to get into, and that's impossible to determine.

  1. You didn't post your stats.
  2. Even if you were to post your stats, there are so many factors at play in the college admissions process. They literally rate you with 4 numbers at some of the schools listed.
  3. I doubt you've visited all of these schools, and I doubt many people on this forum have visited each and every school listed.

Take the time to visit these schools to get a feel for the culture. Just because 3 asians are attending Dartmouth doesn't mean it's a wonderful school. Duke is the only team here with a legitimate basketball team in March Madness. There are so many things to consider, and you should see them firsthand when making decisions. If you really want people to "chance you" or whatever the phrase is, go to college confidential

 

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