Yale SOM vs Columbia Business vs NYU vs Princeton MFIN

Which school is better for:

1. Obtaining a job as a hedge fund portfolio manager
2. The network for HF capital raising
3. S&T position at Goldman, etc.

EDIT: Including Princeton MFIN

23 Comments
 
FormerHornetDriver

Never met anyone from Yale SOM on Wall Street......

Not the right framework of reference.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 
Best Response

YALE SOM Hiring Organizations

Employers at which at least one member of the Class of 2012 accepted a full-time position or one member of the Class of 2013 accepted an internship. http://som.yale.edu/yale-som-connect/recruiting/employment-statistics#f…

Finance Ageas American Express Banco de Credito del Peru Bank of America Merrill Lynch Bank of China International Barclays Batterymarch Financial Management Bentley Associates L.P. Burrill & Company Cambridge Associates Carlton Capital Cathay Capital Cava Capital CDH Investments Chicago Mercantile Exchange Chinastone Capital Management Citi Credit Suisse Davidson Kempner DBL Investors Deutsche Bank Dimensional Fund Advisors DMV Consultores Doric Asset Finance Corp Emil Capital Partners, LLC Everest Capital F.B. Heron Foundation Faros Trading First Investors Management Forest Capital Partners Franklin Street Partners Goldman Sachs H&Q Asia Pacific Hillhouse Capital Houlihan Lokey HSBC Invesco J.P. Morgan Kynikos Associates Liberty Mutual Group Lumis Partners Macquarie Mark Ventures Media Entertainment Strategy Advisors MetLife Investments Morgan Stanley Munita, Cruzat & Claro New Island Capital Management Nomura Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. PIMCO PlaNet Finance Plural Capital Rare Enterprises Rockwood Capital LC SFJ Ventures Tarpon Investimentos Travelers UBS Verod Capital Management VISA Wells Fargo Securities Yale Investments Office

this doesn't mean I vote for SOM out of the 3, but I did want to direct WSO readers to available stats on the viability of SOM as a finance school. I always liked the fact that the head of the Yale Endowment (David Swenson) pretty much invented alternatives as an asset class, but not sure it gets you a job in the field.

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 

For S&T, there are plenty of alum in the biz from Columbia and NYU.

All the world's indeed a stage, And we are merely players, Performers and portrayers, Each another's audience, Outside the gilded cage - Limelight (1981)
 

Columbia's value program is good even if value isn't your cup of tea (which if you are considering S&T it may not be). Learning to pitch effectively is transferable into pretty much all equity investing and some credit (distressed, HY). If you already have a NY network from your current role, probably easier to keep up with people at CBS or NYU, that will probably be as helpful for raising capital down the line as a b-school network.

 

Yale SOM has strong links to the investment banking, consulting, and technology worlds but if you're looking to get into HF/PE/VC try your luck at HBS/GSB/Wharton. That said, Betsy is right that David Swensen is probably the single best asset manager on the planet that you can study with and he teaches at SOM. Keep in mind culture and fit as well. Yale SOM is renowned for its collegial and relaxed atmosphere, yet it still attracts top rate talent from around the world. Also, they are opening a new undergraduate campus in Singapore, the capital of alternative investment vehicles in Asia apart from Hong Kong. Also, also they have some heavy hitting alums from SOM like Jane Mendillo over at the Harvard Management Corporation and Yale University alums like Tom Steyer formerly of Farallon Capital. Steyer's daughter is currently at Yale and he is planning on making some visits and donations to the endowment here from what I've heard.

Long V, MA, AXP, DOGE.
 

I don't mind you pitching your school, but this post is misleading. First, for MBA recruiting, quality of faculty does not matter one bit. As a matter of fact, faculty is probably one of the LEAST important things you should look at when deciding which b-school to attend. Second, yes, there are some notable Yale SOM alums in the investment landscape, but they're few and far between and not relevant to current or prospective MBAs looking to break in through on-campus recruiting. Third, Yale SOM alums/students frequently tout Yale undergrad as an asset. This never made sense to me; yes, SOM is part of the broader Yale University, but I've seen almost no evidence that the benefits of the prestigious undergrad program somehow "trickles down" to the b-school.

By and large, Yale SOM is still too new and unestablished. It could change with Dean Snyder's leadership, but the jury is still out. SOM is good however for public sector, social impact investing, and sellside banking. Consulting is OK as well but not entirely sure. For hedge funds/PE/IM, though, I think attending SOM is a mistake, and I would easily take any of the other programs you mentioned (as well as other MBA programs such as tuck, haas, anderson).

 

None would put you at a disadvantage, but I agree with most here that Columbia is the best place for these goals-- it's their bread and butter.

 

OP, you're not getting a job as a HF portfolio manager straight out of b-school. That's a long-term goal.

You could get BB S&T at any of the programs you mention, although I have to warn you that trading desks have drastically cut down on MBA hires. They're basically sticking to hiring undergrads and lateral hires. However, for quantitative trading, risk management, derivatives pricing, etc., Princeton MFin stands out from the rest. Good luck though since the acceptance rate is only 4-5%.

 

Saepe fuga perferendis dolore at quis. Blanditiis veritatis recusandae velit facilis. Veniam omnis dolores animi non. Id voluptatem omnis similique quidem voluptate distinctio. Sed ipsa tempora et voluptate et consequuntur esse.

 

Sunt sunt ut qui et quam in amet. Fuga id minus id id voluptas cupiditate non nemo. Dolorem officia iste temporibus dolor eum aut quaerat illum. Distinctio eveniet pariatur mollitia voluptates eligendi. Tenetur amet adipisci minus maxime nemo mollitia est.

Fuga dolore incidunt iste. Voluptatum labore quod animi qui. Sit impedit minus et. Mollitia aut deleniti autem at voluptas soluta. Delectus expedita assumenda reiciendis qui nam.

Quia omnis laudantium sit. Id et dolor molestiae voluptatibus. Nobis quibusdam consequatur velit voluptas ipsa rerum.

Necessitatibus aut doloremque repellendus libero. Aut aut ea sit dolorem. Eum ab ab aut eaque perspiciatis illo. Voluptas consequuntur molestias molestiae accusamus error non voluptatum porro. Et neque at et aut officia odit.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”