Hi, would greatly appreciate some help / advice / thoughts in choosing between schools.
I have been accepted at both UCLA (with 40k) and Kellogg (no money) and am torn between schools.
I am currently in Finance (S&T) but want to transition to IB or investment management after school. I feel that while Kellogg is a better school overall, UCLA does have quite a strong program / recruiting for Finance within the LA / west coast area. Kellogg doesn't seem to be quite so strong in Finance. Personally, I live in Chicago so going to Kellogg would be easier, but I feel long term I may want to transition to the west coast.
I've looked at the UCLA employment report and they send quite a few people to Finance, Goldman, investment management, etc. but I'm not sure if those are just sales vs. true quant roles.
Is Kellogg really that much better than UCLA (ranking aside) in terms of quality and opportunities it offers? Is UCLA's Finance program that strong or is it just my own perception?
Kellogg would probably be the better choice in terms of employer recognition, but then again UCLA is offering you a scholarship amounting to 60K pre-tax income. Tough choice, but if you can swing it, I'd go with Kellogg.
go with kellogg
Thanks for the advice matayo and corpfinhopeful, but just want to understand some details behind your choice in Kellogg. Money aside...Do you really think that Kellogg finance program would be better than UCLA finance program and that Kellogg brand would open more doors in the Finance sector? That's what I'm concerned with most
Yes. Kellogg doesn't place a lot of people into finance mainly because a lot of Kellogg people aren't interested in finance.
That said, of those interested in finance at Kellogg, I think that most are able to lock down a position in IB if that's what they want.
You can make it work at either school, but I think statistically speaking, your odds will be slightly better at Kellogg over UCLA. This is just specuation, but I suspect that higher-end banks take a higher % of applicants at Kellogg.
i'd go to Anderson, but that's just me. If you aren't interested in ending up in CA, don't go there. UCLA does have a very strong finance program and there is a great network in Cali for their alums. I'm not convinced Kellogg would be any more of a "target" for finance recruiters than would UCLA. Either place will be tricky to get IM offers from, but it can be done. I know UCLA has a good presence in the LA asset managers (e.g. TCW, WAMCO, Hotchkiss & Wiley etc.) But there's not a ton of jobs even in good years. I'm not aware of many large IM shops that recruit at Kellogg, whereas I know some do at Anderson. I've had several friends go to UCLA and they all loved it. Kellogg gets a lift in the rankings from their consulting and marketing / corp placements, not from finance imo.
I would take the money and go to UCLA for finance.
Kellogg, no questions asked.
Kellogg has the AMP which may do well but UCLA has the Fink (BlackRock) Asset Management center and gives you access to interning at a lot of shops in the LA area . 40k a year or 40k total?
Fwiw most people have no fucking clue about Anderson's strength especially in regards to investment management roles. Its stronger than stern for buy side since it's the only shop in the socal are and you get PIMCO and dimensional among many others therr
What a stupid post. Kellogg > UCLA. Forget the money the $40K is meaningless if you compare the total IRR on a Kellogg education versus UCLA. MBA = rankings. If you solely want to stay in the west coast, then maybe UCLA, but Kellogg far exceeds UCLA's network and prestige, which is worth hell of a lot more than a lousy $40K
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