Cornell Dyson vs Berkeley vs Claremont Mckenna vs ND Mendoza vs USC Marshall vs Stern

Hi all,

I'm a high school senior from California and I've been fortunate to be accepted to a some good business schools. I'm sitting in front of all my options right now and it seems like this is the biggest decision in my life so far!

Like many others my age, I'm interested in pursuing the BBs and PEs after my undergrad. Knowning this isn't a walk in the park, I wanted to start my first step i.e. school selection with input from people with real banking and recruitment experience on the street to help me gauge the reputation and pros and cons of these schools. Becuase of the coronavirus, I can't visit many of these schools and would appreciate any alums' school specific input. Below is my list of options.

  1. Cornell Dyson
  2. ND Mendoza
    3.Claremont Mckenna
  3. Berkeley
  4. USC Marshall
  5. NYU Stern

Much appreciated!
High School Senior

 

Congrats on your acceptances!! Getting into Dyson is incredible (as is Stern and your other acceptances). I would strongly consider cost.

If you are OOS for Berkeley, I believe your other options are way better because Haas is very difficult to get into. If in-state, saving 40k+ a year on Berkeley is a very good option because with or without Haas, you will get great job opportunities. Studying economics and getting involved in clubs/ ec's will get you similar opportunities to Haas.

Maybe you recieved a half to full merit award at USC? It would be worth considering that because $120-240k is significant and USC offers an incredible student experience and although they are not considered a "target" in the traditional sense, they offer great programs in business and opportunities within California. They recently built a new building just for business undergrads!

Stern is a very good school, but in my opinion, if you are going to the East Coast, Cornell Dyson is incredible. Cornell and Stern will both land you good jobs, but Cornell AEM offers you an intimate community, small business classes, prestige, international opportunities, etc. Stern, on the other hand, will be fairly competitive and difficult academically. Although it does have the city, international programs, pre-professional clubs, and international opportunities, you will not get a campus experience. Cornell offers most of those things as well. (and with the coronavirus, it might be a sign not to attend NYU).

If I was in your position, and cost was the same for all of the schools, I would choose Cornell. Definitely get others input and especially alumni input though.

Array
 

USC student here. For me it would just be between Cornell and USC business and I made that same decision a year ago (I was hotel school though). I would just say it depends where you want to work. USC you will have more fun and be a target for west coast and semitarget for NYC. Cornell will admittedly be slightly more prestigious.. and you will be a target for NYC. When I visited Cornell for admit day it was gloomy and cold, usc just seemed like a happier place to me which is why I chose it.

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd choose Cornell. Great opportunities and great brand name. This is especially true if you're recruiting for East Coast. If you're looking to stay in the West coast then Berkeley or USC would work. If cost isn't an issue I'd probably go with USC but either or you'll be fine. Wouldn't choose ND with these options. NYU Stern is amazing, but Cornell will offer you better opportunities and a better experience. Claremont McKenna is an amazing school, but I'm not sure what the placements are like. I'm not saying they're bad, I'm saying I know nothing about them so if you're sold on a LAC I'd look into that more.

 

Cornell AEM hands down, with Stern behind it for east coast.

If you wanted west coast, a toss-up between USC and Claremont with Claremont probably edging out since it is a very small school with a tight alumni network (Henry Kravis went there)

Schools at that level matter much less than if you were say comparing going to Cornell and a random state school in North Dakota. Realize that just because you go to a top institution doesn't mean you are a shoe-in for IB -- there are tons of kids at these schools that want IB so once you get there you need to stand out with extra curriculars, GPA, and work-experience after your freshman year.

 

While it doesn't place the absolute numbers that USC places, it'll be much easier to get into IB from CMC since it has ~1300 undergraduates while USC has ~20,000. Also CMC isn't the school for "weird liberal arts type kids," it's very fratty and pre-professional as the school is really strong in business areas like finance, economics, and accounting which shows in the student body. Also have you heard of KKR? 2/3 founders came from CMC so it's very reputable in the finance world. Unless USC is significantly cheaper for the OP or they can't live without college football, then CMC will be the better bet for west coast IB.

 

Congrats - you have some nice choices in front of you. NYU and Cornell are two of the most heavily recruited schools for high finance so I would pick between the two if your intention is NYC high finance (BB IB / PE) like you indicated.

Either one can get you where you want to go in high finance both east coast and west coast.

Keep in mind though that they are also vastly different in terms of fit / culture / size / curriculum. I went to NYU and had met a few Cornell AEM / Dyson transfers who wanted a different experience for a few reasons. Most common reasons I heard were change of scenery (city vs. campus) and Dyson being housed within the Agriculture School at Cornell. I'm not sure if that is still the case so maybe do some digging into that.

If you have any inclination towards tech / silicon valley Berkeley Haas will also set you up nicely for Silicon Valley recruiting + West Coast high finance. Think finance / strategy positions at blue-chip venture backed names. But I do think NYU / Cornell are stronger on the west coast than Berkeley is on the east coast. Maybe some Berkeley alums or students can comment here.

 

I go to Cal, this is accurate. Not that big of a difference though for Cal on East Coast vs NYU/Cornell on West Coast.

 

I am in Berkeley Haas rn, got admitted into CMC/USC/NYU/etc. and visited the campuses and know people there as well. You haven't mentioned your financial situation (you're in state for Cal tho if you're from CA), so I'll ignore that.

Haas is a target for West Coast groups, especially tech coverage since many people here double major or minor with something technical. Not super great on-campus recruiting compared to HYPSM but it's there (lots of consulting). Berkeley itself has a weird vibe that you may or may not like, but Haas is generally removed from a lot of that. Unless you’re a direct admit to Haas (GMP/MET) or if in-state for Berkeley is significantly cheaper than everything else, I would narrow your west coast options to CMC and USC.

My friends at CMC/USC generally are less depressed than Berkeley students. Most people ik there also recruit on the West Coast or for LA groups. There’s also a size differential between Haas and USC Marshall undergad (600ish vs 4000+), CMC is obviously smaller. I’d give CMC the edge over USC imo, it’s a great small school which will help with networking, esp for West Coast roles.

East Coast… you can throw out Notre Dame and focus on Cornell vs NYU. I’m not super qualified to comment on those two so you can decide. I think it’ll come down to CMC vs. Cornell/NYU and where you want to end up working long run.

There are a lot of other things to keep in mind when deciding a school other than IB recruiting. If you want to attend college on the West Coast and work in NYC… it’s perfectly possible. And vice versa. Choose where you actually would be happy to go. You’ll set yourself up for happiness and good performance that way, vs. working backwards from a job you think you want in the future.

 

Current Cornell student here. In terms of jobs, I've seen AEM students do exceptionally well breaking into high finance. The major is pretty easy which has its pros and cons. The average GPA in AEM is 3.7, and is fixed high to help its students go into industry. I've heard complains about how AEM students don't learn much from their curriculum due to its easy nature. On the flip side it also gives you a lot of free time to network and just have fun in college.

 

USC Marshall alumnus here. I'm not really sure what "target" means on this site anymore, but based on the number of banks that were doing on-campus recruiting and partnering with student organizations for events, I would say USC, and Marshall specifically, is a target school, at least for Los Angeles and San Francisco offices.

USC is a large university, and Marshall is one of the larger schools within the university, but just from my circle of peers and friends, three guys went to MS M&A LA, Barclays FSG LA, DB Tech SF. MS guy is now in PE.

Goes without saying that you will need excellent grades and strong involvement with on-campus organizations, specifically the Trojan Investing Society. If you feel confident that you can get excellent grades and be active on campus with free time left over, you should head to USC because the social life and the unlimited number of activities to do in Los Angeles will make you a much more relaxed, cultured, and chill person. I imagine someone could say the same things about Stern here if you want to work/live in NYC.

DM me if you want more info on USC and congratulations on your acceptances.

 
Most Helpful

Anywhere but NYU.

College is not only just an IB prep, but will be a place to make friends you will love to be around with, to find what you really love. You will enjoy campus life at all the school you got admitted to but not at NYU.

You will love great upstate nature at Cornell, the nationa's greatest football team at ND, good sunshine at all 3 California colleges. But at Stern? You will find a number of depressing, selfish student who are in shade of failing to get into Ivy, competing against each other, and never have anything outside of their career.

If you want to choose NYU because of the location, try CMC and use their 3+2 program for Columbia.

 

Stern’s placements are top notch. literally every bb and or eb has representation, and the analysts from there always are extremely well prepared for the job. but I have seen great analysts from all over - it’s n out restricted to school.

advice? go with which school you like the most. none of these will hold you back. don’t listen to slanderous students trying to shit on other schools. they’re all good.

 

Congrats on your acceptances! I'm a current USC student, and wanted to let you know that you have some great options on the table and with hard work, you will have no problem breaking into IB and PE through any of these schools. One thing I would recommend is that you choose a school based off of general fit and not solely on IB reputation - this is because you are still young and your interests may change within the next few years. Look at the type of organizations that you would be interested to join on campus and see if you can envision yourself in that environment. However, like other people have said, your school selection should also boil down to where you hope to work after college. CMC, USC, Berkeley have a strong presence on the west coast, while Stern and Cornell are NY, ND is Chicago and NY.

I can't speak to the other schools, but one attribute that I love about USC is the work hard, play hard vibe. Students here know how to juggle between academics while knowing how to have fun, and I personally value that balance. In addition, one thing to keep in mind is that Geoffrey Garrett (Wharton's Dean) was recently named as USC Marshall's new dean for the 2020 school year, so this may improve the credibility of the business school for the years to come as well.

I wish you the best with your selection process, and I know you will do great whichever school you choose.

 

Congrats! So many great options.

Currently at Cornell. I think if you serious about a career in finance, the east coast is the place to be. Both Stern and Dyson are great target schools. I personally considered USC because I grew up in LA and I will admit it is such a great place to be. However if you are focusing on a finance career, I would choose between Cornell and NYU. USC is great for la-specific opportunities. I have personally experienced how strong the Cornell network is on an international level. Being a target school, everyone I know has internships and secured offers. While I have friends who graduated from USC without jobs. I can't speak to NYU but Cornell is truly a unique experience and not for everyone. If you haven't visited, you should do your research. Coming from SoCal, I'm not sure I would've gone if I had visited. It is isolated and very cold but, also beautiful and traditional.

 
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