Ohio State vs. Vanderbilt Undergrad

My question is which college will have a better return on investment and job opportunities for IB. Cost is not a limiting factor, however, I still do not want to pay 4x the cost of OSU at Vanderbilt and get roughly the same education, opportunities and experience. In short, which college would I get the biggest ROI and the most opportunities for IB and financial services.

Vanderbilt Business Undergraduate

There’s no denying that Ohio State has a great football team. However, if you’re the goal is Wallstreet and not tailgating then Vanderbilt is the better choice. According to the here. Breaking into investment banking will be much easier from vanderbilt with a high GPA, solid resume, and some great networking.

from certified user @MonkeyMath"

I'm a Vandy grad. Go to Vandy, dump this whole bio idea and do Econ and Compsci with a minor in Corp Strat. You'll be set for any business type work you want to do and have your choice of jobs with a 3.6 or higher.
That is unless Vandy is costing you 50K a year and OSU is like 3K and you'll have loans. Then the path is OSU finance + math + econ, 3.95 GPA + honors thesis if available, and network your ass off. There are not enough big money jobs at Vandy to take the 200k in debt risk.



Are you ready to step up your networking game? The finance networking guide has detailed guidance on how to network with Wall Street professionals. Learn the most important skill for a successful career in finance.

Recommended Reading

 

I'm a Vandy grad. Go to Vandy, dump this whole bio idea and do Econ and Compsci with a minor in Corp Strat. You'll be set for any business type work you want to do and have your choice of jobs with a 3.6 or higher.

That is unless Vandy is costing you 50K a year and OSU is like 3K and you'll have loans. Then the path is OSU finance + math + econ, 3.95 GPA + honors thesis if available, and network your ass off. There are not enough big money jobs at Vandy to take the 200k in debt risk.

 

Cost does matter.Vandy will cost about 61k per year while OSU will cost 15k per year, the only reason i'm really considering ohio state is because of the cost. I will be able to afford Vandy without any loans b/c my parents will be paying for it, but it still is quite a bit of money. Will I be able to recoop the difference with a better job from Vanderbilt?

Society only sees the problems that it already has a solution to.
 

So are there no negative effects to having your parents pay more? If so, then I think Vandy's a pretty obvious choice (unless you're a REAL buckeye fan). Also, Vandy has lots of hot bishes; definitely an important factor (don't overlook this aspect like I did). And Nashville is much sweeter than Columbus.

"Yes. Money has been a little bit tight lately, but at the end of my life, when I'm sitting on my yacht, am I gonna be thinking about how much money I have? No. I'm gonna be thinking about how many friends I have and my children and my comedy albums."
 

The cost side is important. You can't tell your manager FU when you've got 1K+ a month payment coming down the pipe for 10 years. That affects your life forever. Nothing is guaranteed, particularly in finance. Sometimes you can't be a slave or need to say no. Read Eddie's posts on debt and selling your options.

Vandy for me only cost 20K due to generous grants and parents. If I had to go again and didn't have that financial support, I would have much preferred going state school and crushing it.

 

Here is some advice that hasn't been mentioned but worth looking into: Go to Ohio State (or even a worse in state school like Dayton/UC for free) CRUSH IT then get your MSF at Vanderbilt. You dont have the 4 years of undergrad Vandy debt, get an extra year of internships/networking, still get the Vandy name and network, the only downfall would be if you want to get an MBA later (do people ever get both MSF and MBA?) and starting a year later.

But it is worth consideration

 
Best Response

I go to Vanderbilt, and spent last summer at a BB. There was one analyst I met in the entire investment bank that was an Ohio State grad, and he had lateraled from another firm, and there was nobody in my summer analyst class. Vanderbilt had multiple people in the summer analyst class, and I was overwhelmed by how helpful the alumni at the firm were in helping me get situated and offering advice. Feel free to PM me with questions, but I really think this is a no-brainer.

 

Eum voluptas aspernatur et nihil repudiandae ut est. Atque iusto perspiciatis voluptas sed quisquam unde enim. Quidem et repudiandae reprehenderit rem vel porro molestiae qui. In occaecati necessitatibus doloribus eius aut natus. Modi tempora autem inventore.

Minima ut est et molestias corrupti ut molestiae. Molestiae eius omnis voluptatum rerum. Beatae sit facere corporis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”