UIUC vs UC Irvine vs UC San Diego vs Baylor

Hopefully someone can assist me in making a decision.

I'm currently a California Community College student hoping to break into Investment Banking. I've applied to a handful of schools and these are the ones I've heard back from so far:
UC Irvine (Business Economics)
UC San Diego (Economics)
UI Urbana-Champaign (Economics, will probably double major in Accounting)
Baylor University (Finance)
UC Davis (Econ, but I've heard this school doesn't have a great business or econ department)

Can someone let me know what the best school is for breaking into Investment Banking. I honestly don't mind working in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, or anywhere for that matter as long as I can work my way into New York in two or three years.

Thanks for the help!

 

Hey man, congrats on hearing back from those schools. They are all great places to be. That being said - probably UIUC because you want IB. IlliniProgrammer may be able to provide more advice regarding the school.

The UC schools really don't recruit into IB unless you are at UCB or UCLA. I don't know anything about Baylor's pipeline - but they may do well with the Houston / Dallas offices.

...
 

UIUC is a great place for IB. Their IB "academy" (club) has a 100% placement rate for internships and full time positions into BBs and other notable IB firms. Very competitive application process to get in, and its going to be harder being an ECON major, although the ACCY will help. Most students that join are ACCY & FIN double majors. If you have good high school credentials and were heavily involved, you should be competitive to get in.

On another note. UIUC is a blast overall. I am graduating (FINANCE) in 3 weeks and it is the most upsetting thing I have experienced. Campus life is great (19-y.o. bar entry), as well as an infinite amount of clubs you can join. If your looking for a place that you can have the most fun while getting into IB, UIUC is the place to do it, so long as you get into the academy. Google search "IBA UIUC" (Investment Banking Academy UIUC) and you can see current students as well as get more information on the program.

Hope this helps ILL

 
Best Response

UIUC gets some placements into IBD. Perhaps 10-20% of business majors break into IBD, S&T, or ER every year. maybe 1/4 of that is at a large NYC firm. Some of the balance comes from firms like William Blair, RW Baird, and the Chicago offices of the major banks. (To be sure, my information is now 10 years old and you're talking to an engineer trying to remember what happened to his friends in Accy and Finance) A lot of Accy majors wind up at Big Four firms; there's also a lot of placements into insurance. So there's a nice white collar safety net if you don't land IBD.

As a transfer student, you'll be at a disadvantage. There are several business fraternities and a lot of clubs on campus; they can help you break in, but you're a year behind in the connection-making process.

TBH if you're willing to do HFT, the best route into finance out of UIUC is ECE or CS -> Chicago Prop Shop. Jump, Citadel, TMG, etc hire more UIUC CS majors as traders than they hire from many ivies. And the pay is better than banking.

In my view UIUC gives you some good options and is probably the best choice, especially if you can get into the College of Business. That said, if CA is in-state for you, and $100K is kindofa big deal, there's nothing wrong with the UC schools you mentioned. I don't think you're going to regret choosing UC Davis over UIUC if it's to avoid $100K in debt. I also don't think you're going to regret paying $50K extra for UIUC.

One thing worth looking into is Business Honors as well as the Campus Honors Program. CHP offers a $4K/year scholarship to out of state students IIRC.

 

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