Cornell AEM or Georgetown Econ for Wall Street jobs?

I was recently accepted into Cornell's undergraduate business school (AEM) and Georgetown (not the McDonough School of Business but the College). At G-Town I would major in economics. I was wondering which choice would give me the best chance at a job on Wall St....would going to Cornell's undergrad b-school instead of G-Town's econ major increase my chances significantly? or does your GPA, work experience and interview skills make the difference? I'm leaning toward G-Town because I like DC more than Ithaca and I have an athletic scholarship that would reduce my student loan by about $25,000. Basically, I'm wondering if G-Town econ would still give me a good shot at wall st. or if a finance major in Cornell's b-school would be more beneficial?? Any advice/ feedback I would really, really appreciate.

 

You still will have to work your ass off, but Georgetown sounds like a better deal. I mean they both have a good name and solid recruiting.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

I can speak for Cornell, given that I attended that University, and can vouch for the recruitment efforts. Every major firm including M/B/B consulting firms as well as all the major BB recruit at our school, and we have strong ties with certain BB's. Proximity also allows more recruitment efforts from smaller to middle market firms who are in NYC that may not be recruiting in the DC-area. I am well aware that Cornell is on the bottom of the Ivies; however, we are considered to be 2nd tier Wall Street recruitment target, and I don't believe Georgetown is on that list. This is not to spur on any fights with any students at Georgetown; I'm just not well aware of their recruitment status.

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SirBankalot:
... but it's still miles ahead of a nontarget like Georgetown.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. Georgetown is a target at every bank, and a rather large percentage of the school goes into IBD or S&T. If you're going to talk big talk, you should at least be correct.

To the OP: Either of those schools will present options in Finance if you do well, so I'd pick based on other factors (fit, cost, etc).

Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock
 
Revsly:
SirBankalot:
... but it's still miles ahead of a nontarget like Georgetown.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. Georgetown is a target at every bank, and a rather large percentage of the school goes into IBD or S&T. If you're going to talk big talk, you should at least be correct.

To the OP: Either of those schools will present options in Finance if you do well, so I'd pick based on other factors (fit, cost, etc).

Clearly you are just another nontarget troll. Georgetown is an overrated piece of trash. It's business school sucks. It's campus sucks (and it can't do anything about it). It's endowment sucks. It's not a target because the Ivy grads who run wall street knows that the only reason anyone knows about this shitty school is because of Clinton and Iverson.

Go for AEM if you're an athlete. Cornell might suck, but at least its not a nontarget.

 
Best Response
SirBankalot:
Revsly:
SirBankalot:
... but it's still miles ahead of a nontarget like Georgetown.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. Georgetown is a target at every bank, and a rather large percentage of the school goes into IBD or S&T. If you're going to talk big talk, you should at least be correct.

To the OP: Either of those schools will present options in Finance if you do well, so I'd pick based on other factors (fit, cost, etc).

Clearly you are just another nontarget troll. Georgetown is an overrated piece of trash. It's business school sucks. It's campus sucks (and it can't do anything about it). It's endowment sucks. It's not a target because the Ivy grads who run wall street knows that the only reason anyone knows about this shitty school is because of Clinton and Iverson.

Go for AEM if you're an athlete. Cornell might suck, but at least its not a nontarget.

Yeah, clearly I'm a troll... your analysis just keeps getting better and better. What a joke. Listen to everyone else here who is telling you how it is, both provide great ops if you put in the effort. Focus on which would be a better fit for you, that will be the most important in my opinion. Best of luck wherever you end up, feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock
 

Revsly basically nailed it. Both schools will get you in front of recruiters and give you a good college experience - I know guys from both places going to top banks. It's up to you to do well once you get there - the school name will only get you so far. I don't know which college sport you'll be playing, but while it's true Wall St loves athletes, they love high GPAs more, and D1 athletics is a TON of work. I definitely would choose based on factors outside of job prospects (dude, you're in HS - you might not even want to BE a banker in 6 months, but you'll probably still want to be in college)

 

let me say this. both will get you where to want to go. but Cornell is definitely a bigger target than Georgetown.

After all, no georgetown graduate can attend the ivy league socials, and when your on the street. you say you graduated from Cornell vs. Georgetown, what do you want? "Oh yea I graduated from Georgetown, Big East School" Yea thats what I thought. If you care about prestige, Cornell is miles ahead of Georgetown.

 

if you do well in both schools you will most certainly land interviews with BB/top boutiques. Go to the school where you think you'll be the happiest. I think both schools give you the opportunity to land IB interviews (slighter edge to Cornell) but your only in HS you might change your major/career path come soph/junior year.

same scenario for me, I had to decide between USC and Pomona recruited to play tennis. However, I didn't get any scholarship money and one of the main reasons why USC cause I knew I wasn't going to play on the ATP.

 

Go to Georgetown. Both places will get you where no want to be, Gtown will be a lot more fun and a better environment. Big suicide issue at Cornell, pretty sad. I went to school around there and your first winter will make you wish you didn't pick Cornell.

 

Hey thanks for the replies, most of the comments have been helpful. It sounds like both schools will present great opportunities if I perform well. I'm leaning toward GU because I like pretty much everything about it more than Cornell (DC, campus, M street). Though I don't think it would be smart to go with an econ major in the college at GU over AEM, so I've kind of come to the conclusion that if I can slide into McDonough I'll go to GU, but if not then Cornell. Though I still feel like I'd be giving up a lot on the academic side of things by choosing GU. Just how much more highly regarded is Cornell over GU (more specifically AEM vs McDonough)? Is the Ivy title really as important as everyone says?

 

i think it depends which region you live in. i live in the west coast so people downplay the "ivy leagues" since we have several schools better then the ivies. i know my friend's asian parents think it's a really important title... but they also don't know shit.

 

First off, Cornell is a state school. Second, they are both targets, but Gtown is mentioned more as a target on the Vault guide lists of top IBDs. Cornell has a stronger pull and better placing for consulting based on anecdotal evidence only (people I've spoken to). The OP should look at employment numbers from the schools, and search the web to see placement in the firms he/she wants to work.

 
The Eningeer:
First off, Cornell is a state school. Second, they are both targets, but Gtown is mentioned more as a target on the Vault guide lists of top IBDs. Cornell has a stronger pull and better placing for consulting based on anecdotal evidence only (people I've spoken to). The OP should look at employment numbers from the schools, and search the web to see placement in the firms he/she wants to work.

Vault rankings are absolutely useless.

 
bigparth53:
Does majoring in econ make it harder to get interviews with BBs? Do finance majors have a advantage?

If you go to a school that offers finance, then yes, being an econ major puts you at a disadvantage in terms of recruiting (I'm speaking from experience). A great GPA, and learning basic accounting/4 valuation techniques on your own will help to combat this disadvantage. If I were in your position, though, I would try to get in to McDonough. I took classes there while doing an internship in DC, and it was a great experience.

 

If you can make a Georgetown athletic team with a scholarship you should be able to do the same at Cornell. Either school will put you in front of employers but if one school's team is better than the other's then you may want to go there.

 

I'm definitely going to try to switch into McDonough. If that were to happen, would AEM vs McDonough pretty much be a toss up? or does one have a distinct advantage over the other? I've seen the new businessweek rankings (AEM #5, McDonough #23) but I'm trying not to put too much weight behind that.

 

I can say from experience that at Georgetown, during SA recruiting, majority of students selected for interviews are MSB, however there are close to half also from the School of Foreign Service. International Econ major or International Political Economy major in the SFS definitely doesn't put you at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting.

If you have any more questions, send me a PM.

 

Hey geez thanks for the post. It looks like theres a strong possibility of me getting into MSB. I wanted to get some info from a direct source about what the recruiting ops (for finance majors) are like and how MSB stacks up against other target schools (specifically AEM if there's anything you know about it)?

 

To be honest, I think you've been given all the info. If you do well at Gtown or Cornell you'll get interviews. From then on its on you, school doesn't matter too much. As far as Georgetown, most going into banking come from SFS or MSB, but that might be more because those in the college are generally more interested in academia or are late to figuring out what they want to do. If you were in the College and went in looking to get a job in banking and do well I'm sure you'll get the opportunity, but if you feel more comfortable in MSB/SFS then absolutely switch. If you do it now, it shouldn't be too difficult, if I'm not mistaken if you write them asking to change schools you can convince them before you matriculate.

Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock
 

I would hands down go with Georgetown. The International Business program is one of the best, and if you're interested in the subject this will give you a unique facet come time for recruiting. Not to mention that the community around Georgetown is absolutely phenomenal.

Cornell is a shit hole. There are two types of people that go to Cornell: tools who are way too proud for "making it" into the Ivy League, and douche bags with sticks up their asses because they're still bitter they didn't get in anywhere else in the Ivy League.

I would argue the network from Georgetown is equivalent if not more "elite" than that of Cornell. Cornell is seen as a joke amongst other Ivy League graduates, so from a networking perspective I think the association would do more harm than good.

Then again, I'm just a pompous prick at another Ivy League school so take what I say with a grain of salt :) But seriously go to Georgetown.

 

Since this is a wallstreet blog- I assume banking/trading is what you would like to do. That being said- AEM is probably top 5 in getting its students on the ‘street’. If you get good grades there and network properly, a FO or top consulting job would be yours to lose. Don’t get me wrong, Georgetown is a terrific school, but not for your traditional wallstreet jobs. They do have decent on campus recruiting, but not nearly as much as AEM and about half the network (sooo many Cornell kids in finance). Additionally, when people are looking for quants they go to the big engineering schools- MIT, CalTech, etc. Georgetown may have the brand name in a lot of things, but math or CS is not one of them. Now, if you are unsure about your career path, or interested in Law school or computer programming or whatever, this discussion is much different.

"Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."
 

I know far more Cornell kids on the Street. Anyway, there are number of things you should consider. For example, I grew up in a city so I'd probably choose Georgetown because I'd be more comfortable there. Both top schools but different environments. Visit both campuses.

 

Thanks for the responses. I realize that Cornell is huge for getting kids on the Street, but I thought GTown was just as good. Basically, Georgetown is the best school that I got into that I'm able to study CS, whereas Cornell is the best school (ranking wise, at least) that I got into, but I have to study business. Is it really worth it to give up the quant major (CS) to study business for the bump in rankings? Thanks!

 
thenba:
Is it really worth it to give up the quant major (CS) to study business for the bump in rankings? Thanks!
Absolutely not. Study want you want to study and do your very best. Either school will offer you the resources to succeed in whatever it is you want to do. Sounds like you've made up your mind. Hoya Saxa.
 

I would go to Cornell AEM in a heart beat. It's Ivy league, and the interviewer will not second guess your interest in the finance industry. You would be fine at GTown, but your chances are better coming from Cornell.

 
Connor:
I would go to Cornell AEM in a heart beat. It's Ivy league, and the interviewer will not second guess your interest in the finance industry. You would be fine at GTown, but your chances are better coming from Cornell.
Please, the Ivy League is nothing more than an athletic conference. OP, go wherever you feel most comfortable - that's the most important thing. This is one of the biggest decisions of your life and one of the first of which you have complete control. Don't let it come down to the fact that one school is in the Ivy League and the other is in the Big East.
 

sounds like you already have your mind made up and just want to be convinced that going to Georgetown will not backfire on you in getting a job on the street. Everyone is right in saying that you should do what your gut instinct tells you to do, but know that everything has its opportunity cost and going to Georgetown may diminish your chances of getting a job on the Street.

 
keensetofpeepers:
sounds like you already have your mind made up and just want to be convinced that going to Georgetown will not backfire on you in getting a job on the street. Everyone is right in saying that you should do what your gut instinct tells you to do, but know that everything has its opportunity cost and going to Georgetown may diminish your chances of getting a job on the Street.

Georgetown sends a ton of kids to Wall Street, and they aren't just from the MSB. Georgetown is one of the larger feeder schools to BB banks and has a fantastic alumni network. Go with your gut and what you actually want to do, but neither of those schools will hurt your chances of making it to the Street....only your academic track record and your interviewing skills will hold you back.

 

I studied math in school and my advice to you would be to study what you want to study. Go to your local library and check out a couple books on abstract algebra, intro to analysis and linear algebra. Work through the first couple chapters in each and see if that interests you, not all math is like the Calculus you've seen and it gets extremely abstract. Also, if you are going to study math I would suggest at least throwing in a econ/finance minor so that you show interest to recruiters and at least have some knowledge about how it all works. It's silly how little I knew about finance and now I am going to be jumping in head first after studying chaos theory. My .02

This to all my hatin' folks seeing me getting guac right now..
 

Thanks again for all the responses. Again, I think I'm leaning towards Georgetown for the fact that I'll be able to study CS or Math as opposed to being forced to study business. Cornell is a great school, but I feel Georgetown is on the same level of prestige (at least very close) as Cornell. Add to that that I can major in CS, which will literally open any doors that someone could want..whether it be IB, software, or anything else.

Also, I forgot to mention that I currently have my resume padded towards an SA position in IB for next summer, with virutally no CS experience yet, which could hurt or help me. I have a BB PWM Internship, a Boutique IB firm internship in NYC (tech focused), and am now doing some Economics research for a professor @ a local school (NYC). Kinda wanna get a break from all this econ/banking and go the tech route if you see what I mean, lol.

 

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