Best Undergraduate School for IB

I am an international student (Dominican-Italian) who was recently to a diverse set of schools for undergraduate. After some research, I narrowed my list down to these schools, taking into account their location and price tag. So, if price is not a factor, how would you rank these universities, from #1 to #7:

  • University of Toronto - Scarborough: Double Degree: BBA, (Co-operative) Specialist program in Management and Finance/Honours BSc, (Co-operative) Specialist program in Statistics, Quantitative Finance Stream in 5 years
  • New York University: Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Data Science/Quant Econ/Stats/Business Econ (not sure which 2nd concentration to choose or if I should choose one) in 4 years
  • University of Southern California - Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a possible 2nd major in Economics in 4 years
  • University of Warwick - BSc in Accounting and Finance in 3 years
  • London School of Economics - BSc in Finance in 3 years
  • University of St. Andrews - BSc (Honours) in Economics in 4 years
  • Bocconi University - BIEF - BSc in International Economics and Finance in 3 years

I don't really have a preference if the decision comes down to deciding if I want to stay in Toronto, LA, NYC, or London. I am fine with all those locations and my main concern would be which school is the best one for IB/make me have an easier time for recruiting.

 

Inaccurate. Bocconi isn’t too far off LSE and Warwick is also a decent alternative (not as good, but still strong). And if OP wants to work in the US, Stern is a no-brainer.

 

I think “isn’t too far off” and “decent alternative” say a lot here. Why would OP pick worse options if they’ll ultimately end up in London anyway? Stern might be worth considering if they want to work in U.S.

 

You're international, so recruiting is going to be tougher for you regardless. So if I were you, I would consider where I want to work first. On your list, LSE is the top London feeder, Stern is the top NYC feeder, and UoT is the top Toronto feeder.

 

I would also stress that LSE's position in London is better than NYU's position in NYC, so assuming the OP is agnostic with respect to these two locations, LSE is an arguably better pick.

 
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I'm baffled by thr fact that all of you ignored one major administrative point:

As an international student/graduate, it is way, way, way more difficult, to: (1) Secure internships; (2) Secure a full-time employment offer; (3) Acquire a comprehensive immigrant work visa post-graduation (granted employer sponsorship); IN THE US (H1B random lottery system, limited OPT if non-STEM) than in any other country in Western Europe: settling as a full-time employee in the UK would merely be a very quick a non-relevant prprocess, for instance.

Many (undergraduate) international students (from the EU, from the APAC region) - typically kids from wealthy backgrounds - end up going back and forth from the US to their home country in order to fulfill their summer internship requirements, year on year, and end up interning and ultimately securing full-time employment in their home country.

You don't see that quite often with international students and graduates in Europe. The norm is quite the opposite there.

I am not saying it's impossible, just that the ease of the process in Europe would enable you to have a more relaxed student experience there and better focus on your academics.

That is why, if you really want to be non-naive about things, I would suggest that you pick a European OR CANADIAN undergraduate school, rather than an American one.

 

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