McGill Desautels vs Queens Commerce vs Western Ivey? for undergraduate business with an end goal for investment banking

I am deciding on where i want to go to university next year. I am deciding between McGill Desautels (hopefully honours in investment management), Queens commerce, and Western Ivey HBA. My goal is to be recruited to a big bank in NYC right out of school, get an MBA and go work for a hedge fund. pro's for McGill: Internationally renowned, big city, fun night life, great residency, ok recruitment, and great exchange program. cons for McGill: not the top business school, not the best recruitment but those who do get recruited generally stay in Montreal, and it is an expensive city to live in. Pro's for Queens; a great business school, good job placement (but idk how many people got internships or jobs in an nyc bank), good school spirit cons for queens: small town, not the best residency, not very well known, small university pros for western ivey: great job placement in finance, lots of recruiting, party school, supposedly great program, opportunity for a double degree in 5 years. cons for western ivey: small town, 2 + 2 program, might not get into ivey if i cant maintain a high GPA,

I would love any and all opinions about these schools and which one would help me achieve my goal of becoming an investment banker.

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Best Response

If you're going into investment banking, you need the high average. Go to Ivey hands down; even though many of your claims about the other institutions show how little research you've done. Any of the three will give you plenty of opportunity (choosing between Queen's and Ivey is essentially down to preference, both place extremely well, and you need to crush both to get those opportunities).

 

Queen's students do secure positions at NYC banks. For example take a look at some of the members of these clubs resumes.

http://www.quiconline.com/

http://limestonecapital.co/

As for what school you should attend, I think McGill sits slightly below Queen's and Ivey and so my suggestion is that you choose either Queen's or Ivey. They are both similar in terms of IB opportunities. The differentiation between the two lies in their teaching methods and their communities. It really all comes down to your personal preference. I'd suggest you do your own research on these distinctions and come up with your decision that way.

 

If you want to work in Finance, especially in US, I would say Western Ivey is best for recruitment and starting salary. Here is a video my friend made about the best Canadian undergrad b-schools: youtube /watch?v=6lV-jc_3RtQ

 

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