Rank Transfer Schools: UNC/Northwestern/Vanderbilt/UVA/Duke

I am an instate student for North Carolina hoping to land an investment banking career out of undergrad. Note that I am not in any of the business schools as I am an incoming sophomore transfer and could not directly apply to their professional schools. UNC will also cost around 30-50k less per year than any of the other schools I mentioned.

 

From what I hear, Northwestern is a big target for MBBs but is not really a top target for IB, especially when compared to Duke. I would also be paying 50k more a year for Northwestern while UNC is very cheap and has good placement into BB/MMs. You still think it's worth over Duke though that's surprising? What leads you to that conclusion?

 

If you are smart enough to get into Duke you can definitely do well at UNC (whether that be as Econ major or in KF) but you will get much more looks from Duke period. If Duke is significantly more money then it might not be worth it for you, but your degree follows you for the rest of your career and it can only help you down the line if you have Duke on your resume.

 

I think recruiting advantages are very marginal for UNC/Vanderbilt/UVA. If your family can afford NW, it’s clear choice, but you won’t get hurt from going UNC.

Edit. Couldn't see Duke on my phone. Clearly Duke then.

 

Strictly from a recruiting perspective: Duke UVA UNC NW/Vandy (depending on where you want to be)

As a current student of one of these universities who applied to all of these and got into a couple back in high school, my take on overall prestige outside of the finance community: Duke NW Vandy UVA UNC

That being said, these schools are all very good and from a prestige perspective you're splitting hairs and it would be better to decide based on cultural fit. If you're in-state and money is a concern, go to UNC.

 

Wow these rankings are absolutely atrocious. Is anyone actually putting in some thought and some research on linkedin before offering their opinions? This is the real list that makes a lot more sense.

Duke - the best school in this list by quite a lot UVA - places lights out every year NW - a killer for Chicago offices, but still see plenty of NW kids all over the street Vanderbilt - decent placement NYC surprisingly for a southern school (semi target) UNC - solid semi target

I'd probably tie Vandy/UNC, but some might make the case that UNC places better than Vandy. Nonetheless, both are semi targets and would only transfer to these schools if no other choices. OP, try your hardest to get into Duke. Its an amazing school with top of the notch OCR and its name carries heavy pedigree with it. Still, I'd say UNC in-state for you is the very logical choice and if you really want IB, you'll get it from there.

 

I believe the fact that you applied to both vanderbilit and Northwestern seems a little bit suspicious given these details. I think you applied to those schools to screw over other people who also applied. I think you probably stole other people's college list and applied based off that.

 

I transferred, so maybe I can shed some light. I was accepted to similar schools as yourself (Notre Dame, Vandy and Georgetown were my three). I chose my state school once I got accepted and withdrew my other apps, but I had a verbal acceptance at Vandy and feel confident that I would have been accepted to the other two. I do not regret my decision to enroll in the "lower ranked" school that I was accepted to. Not to sound arrogant, but I am a rockstar at my school; partying like crazy, great GPA and placing in all the internships I could want. I knew that had I enrolled in a school like Vandy (or in your case NW or Duke), I would have much stronger peers, and thus have to work my ass off to be competitive.

Another mild consideration is that your peers at your next university have 1 year of networking above you. I have found that alumni were more than willing to help out the stellar academic student (again, not trying to sound like a dick but trying to illustrate a point) than a student who transferred in and sits at a 3.5

 

I have friends in both Duke and Northwestern.

In terms of academics and college experience, Duke and NU are similar. Both are amazing schools. However, if you are interested in investment banking in the NYC, I would recommend duke. Duke is a feeder school to Wall Street, while NU is a target for Chicago office and a semi-target for NYC.

 

People complicating this shit so much.

  1. Duke
  2. McIntire (if available once you get to UVA)
  3. Northwestern (tied w McIntire or close behind)
  4. UVA/Vandy
  5. UNC but it’s not far behind UVA/Vandy so I’d take the $

Obviously, if UVA is going to give you a good shot at McIntire then that’s a plus factor

 

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