18 year old needs advice

I don't know how much/little you know, so I'll say this: People generally don't get MBAs untill 4-5 years after college.

UG school means very little for MBA's. However, pre MBA exp is incredibly important. If you manage to get a great job out of UG, then it won't matter where you graduated from, as long as you're GPA and GMAT is good.

I frankly don't know what you're chances are of getting a badass job out of Villanove.

Why don't you worry after you get 3.8+ GPA in your first semester.

If you're living two steps ahead like you are, you just might run into a brick wall just around the corner that you were too blind to see.

It may sound counterintuitive to you, but worrying about second base when you're barely in the batter's box won't allow you to concentrate on the ball coming right at you.

To be blunt, trying to horse trade from one school to the next to plan for something 6-8 years later (4 years college, 2-4 years experience) when your resume is barely even written isn't really going to improve your chances.

Focus on getting great grades no matter which school you go to. That will give you the most options.

Alex Chu [email protected] www.mbaapply.com http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

my advice to you is until you learn the maximum you can drink and still keep it up that you focus on that. trial and error

So switching to a "better" school isn't really gonna help my resume? That makes things a little easier. I like Villanova anyways, and it has a really solid program that I think I can do well in.

I just want to do it right in college since 6 months ago, I was excited to go to a school like Cornell or Wharton undergrad, but didn't realize the competition, and how much I fell short at all the Ivies. It pisses me off though that a kid I ran circles around in middle school, got shipped off to Phillips Exeter for 4 years, got 2040 on his SATs and is headed off to Wharton next year, while I worked my ass off for the last two in public hs. Oh well...

In terms of Harvard Business School though, I assume you can't just get A's in college, a job at a big firm, a good GMAT score, and just waltz into HBS, right? You've got to have something really unique like starting a business to have a good shot, correct?

Winrow i'm assuming your a virgin and have never felt the warmth of a women. Relax bro have fun man and enjoy school/life. College is a great way to build up your sex game. By your senior year i expect you to be a sexual Tyrannosaurus and slaying women by the dozen.

how did I know some idiot was gonna tell him to try and get laid first.

winrow:

So switching to a "better" school isn't really gonna help my resume? That makes things a little easier. I like Villanova anyways, and it has a really solid program that I think I can do well in.

I just want to do it right in college since 6 months ago, I was excited to go to a school like Cornell or Wharton undergrad, but didn't realize the competition, and how much I fell short at all the Ivies. It pisses me off though that a kid I ran circles around in middle school, got shipped off to Phillips Exeter for 4 years, got 2040 on his SATs and is headed off to Wharton next year, while I worked my ass off for the last two in public hs. Oh well...

In terms of Harvard Business School though, I assume you can't just get A's in college, a job at a big firm, a good GMAT score, and just waltz into HBS, right? You've got to have something really unique like starting a business to have a good shot, correct?

I agree with most of the above comments. I transferred from a fairly prestigious school to a significantly less prestigious school simply because I wasn't enjoying the first one, and have seen no drop off in my opportunities. If anything, recruiting is easier, because I'm frequently the only one contacting alumni and going for IBD positions. College is much more than a name on a diploma, and going with the mentality that you're going to transfer out will ensure you are miserable, and probably cause you not to have the marks you need to transfer. If you want to transfer to Wharton it should be because you believe Wharton is a better fit than Vandy.

ps Exeter kids are bitches, you should be glad you didn't go to that uptight second rate prep school. I sure am

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Damn. WSO puts a lot of emphasis on these news/businessweek rankings...

Undergrad - All about the name: -I have never met an undergrad from NOVA at my bank -When I meet with clients and chat small talk, bringing up 2nd tier schools will FUCK you (unless they're from a 2nd tier school). I went to Stern, and my clients seem surprised I didn't go elsewhere. -Anybody that tells you a 2nd tier school is ranked highly, they're fucking limp dicks that couldn't do better.

Recommendation: -Get a high GPA at nova -Transfer into NYU-Stern, Columbia-FU, Penn-SEAS (NYU CAS = Waste of $, CC/Wharton = Slim chance). -Freshman Summer: GET A FUCKING JOB

your school matters. not saying you can't get somewhere from a school like nova, but to say that your opportunities won't be helped by transferring elsewhere all else equal is bullshit.

Agreed. Stern is weak shit. (I'm assuming you're in CC)Columbia is in the shithole of iveys with Cornell, Dartmouth.

And if Stern is categorized there, might as well stack the fucking Sterns, Dukes, Columbias, Cornells, UC of the fucking world as 2nd tier as well.

I've done recruiting at both Stern and CC. Stern kids are a bunch of uptight yuppies that know their technicals and have good exp. CC kids are a bunch of uptight fucks that have no fucking clue about technicals even though their resumes may beg to differ. Interestingly, more Stern kids than CC kids at my bank every year.

In other words, CC = horseshit

Come back to me when your out of college and see 6 figures in your bank account.

I'm not adding anything relevant, but Villanova has significantly better looking girls than any of the above listed schools.

I'm guessing you got a fatter bank account than mine. If so, good shit.

And if you're in your 20s, and hit 7 figures... You probably do not pay shit out of your own pocket (college, rent, etc.). If so, you can continue to wipe your ass with your parent's benjamins.

This thread's a joke. Sorry but most of the above posters sound like such tools; there's more to life than money, your career and most of all your damn school prestige and business week ranking.

Can't wait to see the flak I get for this one. Couldn't care less though since I went to what is aparently a "second teir school" (not listed above though), had a f'ing amazing time there and yet I was able to find my way into the industry just fine.

Advice,

Get done with fall 09 and make some good grades, hit on some girls, get to know your new town and campus. Just try to learn more about yourself and were you want to be during the summer even if its back home doing something. I started college pre law and set on law school by spring of soph I hated lawyers. So things may change. Enjoy college.

To everyone else, its great you went to such awesome schools but who gives a shit. My college shows up on no rankings, I dont have 7 figures in my bank and I could care less what anyone thinks of my career.

PS I went to Villanova, so if you have any questions feel free to PM me. The bottom line is Nova is an unbelievable school, and I honestly think this school would be more enjoyable than NYU or your other alternatives. That being said, you certainly would get more resume looks going to NYU. However, if you maintain a solid gpa you should have no problem getting a job.

I worked at Goldman Sachs (yes, they do recruit on campus) when I went to Nova and currently work for a hedge fund. The LSE program is an unbelievable program and I know kids who have done it. One of my friends interned at BB while at LSE (I think it is a two part thing where the internship is guaranteed), and eventually got an offer in their london office.

Third year ass = London Reincarnate? Amazing how we can only have one mega douche on the site at a given time. Welcome to WSO douchebag. I went to a non target and I would kick your ass. Silly WSO elitists over compensating for their lack of social skills.

"Oh the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion" - Frank Slaughtery 25th Hour.

The only guy I know who went to Nova worked for Drexel Burnham Lambert, opened their Paris office, and quit when Milken bit it. He then staked a buddy's start-up that eventually turned into a massive winner during the tech bubble. He now runs a sizeable VC shop on the east coast.

The moral of this story is that you're looking way too far ahead. Who's to say you'll even need an MBA? Just focus on getting good grades for now and the rest should follow.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Forgive my ignorance, but what does CC mean?

As for girls, I was amazed at Villanova. Just 2 fat chicks. The ratio of hot girls to normal ones was staggering. Definitely a positive.

In terms of NYU, it is 15th on the B-school list this year for one reason or another. Since NYU is not exactly a top level school, I don't know if its worth me sacrificing the experience I would get at Villanova...

Right now though, I don't seem to have a ton of other options. Schools that I might be interested in transfering to usually have insane prerequisites, or extremely low transfer rates.

I think I'll take most of you guys' advice and just get solid grades at 'Nova and look to do things like the London program to get companies on my resume early. Then maybe try transfering after sophomore year to get a more elite name on my diploma. Wharton would just be a hail mary transfer, but I might stand a shot at somewhere like Notre Dame, which I got rejected from. It would be nice to say I went to an Ivy and try for Cornell, but its in the middle of hicksville, and was god awfully cold, quiet and depressing. No wonder the suicide rate is so high. Plus the business school buildings looked like they hadn't been updated in 40 years.

Otherwise I'm sticking with Nova and seeing where it gets me. I hear double majoring is easy, and its getting 16 bloomberg terminals next year, so they seem committed to improving.

Would definitely not transfer to Notre Dame because it is more prestigious, because, well, it isn't, unless you plan to work for a bank in the Vatican. You're still young though, you'll get a handle on these things once you are in school and know a bit more

I agree it isn't the most prestigious school, however their alumni network is unreal. That school is one giant fraternity. Not sure of the volume of alumni in NY, though. However, if the OP is interested in banking in Chicago, then it might not be an entirely bad idea to transfer.

Keep your GPA as close to 4.0 as possible.

2 ThirdYearAss, I am very curious, what's your honest opinion about non-targets? Do you seriously believe none of non-targets could ever match "tier 1" candidates?