NYU Econ VS. UVA McIntire? I need your advice

I would like to know your opinions (bankers, alumni, current students, I would love for you to share your input) as to which school would be better off for an aspiring FO banker. I am a sophomore in college transferring into one of these two as a junior/third year.

I recently have found out that I am guaranteed admissions to UVA, I would complete my B.A. in Economics and then directly enroll in a 1 Year M.S. in Commerce (Finance Track) at McIntire, which would put me on the market for the better recruiting at UVA.

I am also applying to NYU Econ this winter, and I believe myself to be a strong candidate. If I was to get accepted and enroll at NYU, I would be on the market with just the B.A. Econ.

Lastly, it is understood that NYU is obv gonna have the perks of location and network, but it would be Econ and not the Business School; I've seen a lot of people clowning and shitting on the non-sternies so now i'm hesitant..

Both schools are obviously great to be at and I am definitely not getting ahead of myself, I just want to be prepared! So what is the consensus? What do you guys think? How would you rate the two against each other for IB?

 

Ah yes, I would like to point out a big factor would also probably be due to the quantity of applicants and potential hires. However, there is obv, going to be more recruiting going on for the undergrads. I took a thorough look at that, and it does not seem like it would be a disadvantage; undergrads have higher salary medians/avgs because more of them are being hired at the top end vs. M.S. students, but this is because there are so many less M.S. students; also, a big majority of the M.S. students look like they're more interested in research/analytics vs. banking. I think these lower "averages" are because you've got 10 guys making 85k base in FO IB out of 200 people vs. maybe 100 out of 700 finance grads.

 

Possibly, but look at pages 32-33, the page with the organizations recruiting. The only banks that MS Commerce placed into were JPM, Citi, and Nomura. You say it's just MSC students not as interested in banking, but anecdotally speaking, it's definitely a two way street between the students and the recruiters as to why MSC students don't perform as highly as a group.

 

So from what I see there were 118 students doing M.S. in Commerce. 43% of those went to finance, so we're at about 50-51 students. Now, of the 43% of Finance students, only 48% of them went into Banking, Insurance, and Real Estate. Which leaves us now at ~25 people that went into one of the three.

I see that out of 25 people who did an M.S. in commerce, they were placed into: J.P. Morgan, Capital One, Harris Williams, Nomura, and Citi.

So, even if only ONE person went to each bank, that's 20% placement into investment banking. Worst case scenario, the rest went to financial analyst roles at what i'm going to assume is the Big 4 or also these banks in back office.

I totally agree with you, but I don't think it's significant enough of a "con" for me to consider it one, you know? IMO, that's great placement, and I would love to work at any of those banks. Anyways, your original comment is that it's still prob better than NYU Econ and it looks like it. Thanks!

 
champagnepaki:
So from what I see there were 118 students doing M.S. in Commerce. 43% of those went to finance, so we're at about 50-51 students. Now, of the 43% of Finance students, only 48% of them went into Banking, Insurance, and Real Estate. Which leaves us now at ~25 people that went into one of the three.

I see that out of 25 people who did an M.S. in commerce, they were placed into: J.P. Morgan, Capital One, Harris Williams, Nomura, and Citi.

So, even if only ONE person went to each bank, that's 20% placement into investment banking. Worst case scenario, the rest went to financial analyst roles at what i'm going to assume is the Big 4 or also these banks in back office.

I totally agree with you, but I don't think it's significant enough of a "con" for me to consider it one, you know? IMO, that's great placement, and I would love to work at any of those banks. Anyways, your original comment is that it's still prob better than NYU Econ and it looks like it. Thanks!

The people who work at JP, Capital One, and Citi from that class aren't in IB. The ones that are in IB were former UVA undergrads and that fact probably played more of a factor in getting a job at Harris Williams or Nomura than being in the MS program.

 

Do you know what kind of positions they scored, and how do you know it's not IB?

Also, by "former UVA undergrads" i'm assuming you mean they did McIntire undergrad, correct? I will be doing my undergrad at UVA just not Comm school. I guess they could also have gone to work for a year or two, after uva undergrad, and then came back for the MS program.. in your opinion would you say it's not worth it then?

 
Best Response
champagnepaki:
Do you know what kind of positions they scored, and how do you know it's not IB?
JPM: Project management Capital One: A variety of positions. Many were hired as Business Analysts which is essentially internal business strategy and analytics for CapOne. A few were hired in corporate finance. A few work in project management. Citi: S&T I know all of this because I graduated the program with them and know them all personally.
Also, by "former UVA undergrads" i'm assuming you mean they did McIntire undergrad, correct? I will be doing my undergrad at UVA just not Comm school. I guess they could also have gone to work for a year or two, after uva undergrad, and then came back for the MS program..
You can't do the MS in Comm program if you did business as an undergrad. So by former UVA undergrads I mean they attended and graduated from UVA as non-McIntire students and then did the MS in Comm program usually immediately after.
in your opinion would you say it's not worth it then?
No that's not what I'm saying. If you attend UVA as an undergrad then you have a significant advantage in recruiting during the MS in Comm program. But in your situation you should try to get the job you want as an undergrad instead of planning to do MS in Comm. There's no reason to do it if you still have time and ability to participate in OGI as an undergrad. In other words, if you transfer to UVA use the resources there and only consider the MS program if you don't get what you want by spring of your senior year.
 

A lot of people like to shit on NYU Econ, but truthfully, there are a good amount of CAS Econ grads in FO positions in BB's. CAS Econ kids and alumni definitely try and help out their fellow students. The perks of NYU is you go through the same recruiting as Stern. Another benefit is that Stern kids and brutish and nasty. Econ kids are not the type to sabotage others. For $70k I would go to UVA, but if your financial aid package comes back and is significant, I would go for NYU. If anything, good grades and an NYU name will help you get a MS Fin somewhere else.

 

lofty12345, bummer your thread hasn't had a response yet. Maybe one of these threads could point you in the right direction:

  • NYU CAS vs BC CAS (Econ) currently deciding between NYU and Boston College Econ. The reason why I didn't apply for their ... heavily considering entering IB or BB. Which Econ program is better, and which school (CAS) provides more ... Thanks. Boston College NYU Econ undergrad ...
  • NYU Econ VS. UVA McIntire? I need your advice at UVA. I am also applying to NYU Econ this winter, and I believe myself to be a strong candidate. If ... I was to get accepted and enroll at NYU, I would be on the market with just the B.A. Econ. Lastly, it is ... understood that NYU is obv gonna have the perks of location and network, but it would be Econ and not the ...
  • should I attend UVA Econ or NYU CAS Econ? Let say if I don't attend the business program and major in economics, then which school is better for management consulting and cooperate /commercial banking in nyc? <p class="h4 m-t-none">Site Suggestions Forum Resources</p>&l ...
  • Cornell AEM vs Vanderbilt Econ vs UVA vs NYU Stern Any experiences at these schools? Which would you pick for the best network and recruiting? college undergrad ...
  • nyu gallatin vs uva econ. ...
  • Best school to transfer to for IB: Michigan Econ vs. UVA Econ vs. Vanderbilt Econ I'm looking to transfer and these are the three schools that I am deciding between. I really want to know if one is much better than the other for IB OCR. Also, I want to know how bad it would be if I went to Vanderbilt. I know that many consider it ...
  • Vanderbilt Econs vs UMich Econs vs NYU Econs an offer from NYU Econs). 1. In terms of general job prospects, how do these universities fair ... Hi guys, I've recently received offers to Vanderbilt Econs and UMich Econs (and am awaiting ... in terms of brand recognition in Asia, how are do they stack up? 3. Should I stack Econs with Math? ...
  • More suggestions...

No promises, but sometimes if we mention a user, they will share their wisdom: VioletBlues Zalchas teodora.ardeleanu

I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

Personally, I think you should go to UVA, and for a few reasons... 1 - You'll be in the business school. At both institutions, the b-school will be prime hunting grounds for recruiters. 2 - UVA has a much better campus feel. At NYU, you'll be plopped into some dorm or apt in the middle of the city. I think the "college experience" is something you should enjoy while you can. 3 - More of a (-) to NYU CAS, but I know everyone in Stern is obsessed with getting to Wall Street, so you can imagine the competition, and I imagine this leaves even fewer opportunities for Econ majors and the like.

 

McIntire is not the UVA business school – that's Darden. The MS in Finance program is at McIntire which is the commerce school. It has great connections in finance and consulting. I'm also confused about your post though. You said you would transfer going into third year and then start the MS in Finance program. Won't you be graduating a year early? Why not enroll as a third year in the undergrad Mcintire program which starts junior year and finishes senior year. You'll have a much better shot at a SA IB position if you do that than you would start a one year MS in Finance program.

 

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