UMD In-state or UVA

This past year as a freshman in college I attended a CC, applied to UMD & UVA (my dream school) for transfer admittance with hopes and dreams of working in finance, possibly Wall Street, not exactly sure yet. I got in to UMD (in-state for me) and am currently on the wait list at UVA, I just sent my transcripts last week with a 4.0 this past semester, & a 3.86 cumulative for the year. I still have hopes of getting in to UVa, which I believe would better set me up for getting jobs out of college. However, money is somewhat of an issue, my parents want me to go to Maryland, thinking I can still get to Wall Street if I work hard enough, however I would rather go into debt, go to UVA, where there is better OCR and higher chances for higher paying jobs upon graduating from college. Hypothetical situation: say I eventually am accepted to UVA off the wait list, is it worth the debt and approx. $50K a year tuition, or would I be better suited to, as my parents are persuading me, to go to UMD in-state and try to network from there?

 

exactly, I'm set to go to umd as of now, paid my deposit & all. say I get into UVA what would you suggest I do? Still go to umd or go to uva? just trying to take care of all the hypotheticals b/c if I do get in to UVA i have only 48 hrs to think about it and let them know

 
CaliforniaAnalyst:

u havent got in uva yet. no worries

This. The waitlist acceptance rate for them is under 10% overall and definitely lower than that for transfers

 
Best Response

Only go to UVA if you're prepared to work your tail off. I'm saying this because I think people get the wrong idea of what happens when you attend a highly-ranked school. I personally know 7 people at UVA, all rising seniors. Two got exactly what they wanted because they killed it in the classroom and put in the time to network + all the other bs. Four landed in middle market (on the border of middle of nowhere) IBD because even though all had 3.5-3.6 GPA's, they thought simply going to UVA would get them the job they wanted no questions asked (they all wanted top tier IBD). The other kid just thought UVA/his parents would get him a job and it didn't happen. UVA will put you in a great position to do what you want to do related to finance but you still need to go in with the mindset of nothing is given to you.

 
SECfinance:

How much debt for UVA?

Not sure yet b/c I'm not exactly sure how much FA i will get, though probably not much. I'm in that situation many middle class people probably find themselves in, my parents make enough money to not qualify for much aid, but not enough to put me through a $150k bill for college. I have a good bit saved up for a kid my age if I had to guess, but if I were to use all of it, it would only get me through a semester or so.. so assuming I get no FA, i would probably have say 70-75k in debt at UVA. Probably none at UMD
 

Thank you all for your inputs. Yes, I know I haven't gotten into UVA, its good to dream is it not? Originally applying I thought I had no chance of getting in, but got wait listed so we'll see. I just want to have my mind made up in case that astronomically small chance of being accepted actually happens. Worst case scenario, I don't get into UVA & i go to Maryland

 

I just graduated from UMD with a double major in business (finance & management), and I had a pretty average GPA (3.4). I really didn't put much emphasis on school -- skipped classes when I wanted to, studied the bare minimum, etc. But I was active in my fraternity and enjoyed school as much as possible outside the classroom. I also found some good internships that set me up for what I wanted to do post-grad.

School will only take you so far; a well-rounded resume is far more beneficial. I'm starting work soon at a big bank in NYC doing CRE. It's not IB, but I've always wanted to get into RE and couldn't ask for a better opportunity to do so right out of college.

UVA might give you an advantage over UMD, but you'll still be in good shape if you play your cards right.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions at all.

 
rgoldfar:

I just graduated from UMD with a double major in business (finance & management), and I had a pretty average GPA (3.4). I really didn't put much emphasis on school -- skipped classes when I wanted to, studied the bare minimum, etc. But I was active in my fraternity and enjoyed school as much as possible outside the classroom. I also found some good internships that set me up for what I wanted to do post-grad.

School will only take you so far; a well-rounded resume is far more beneficial. I'm starting work soon at a big bank in NYC doing CRE. It's not IB, but I've always wanted to get into RE and couldn't ask for a better opportunity to do so right out of college.

UVA might give you an advantage over UMD, but you'll still be in good shape if you play your cards right.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions at all.

Thank you, I most likely will be doing that in the near future
 

I'm from the Washington, D.C. area. I have friends who went to UVA, UMD, Virginia Tech and other large state universities in the area. I know people who got into investment banking from all 3 of the aforementioned schools. All else being equal, UVA is the place to go for IBD. However, all things are not equal. Taking on $75,000 in debt is crazy when getting a strong GPA, participating in UMD's finance clubs and networking will get you to approximately the same place.

The difference between UVA and UMD is that you can spend 4 years at UVA, have no idea what you want to do the entire time and then do on-campus recruiting and get a job in IBD or other areas of high finance. That's the primary advantage. You can't do that at Maryland. But the fact that you already know what you want to do nullifies the advantage of UVA over UMD. Since you know what you want, focus on doing well in school, obtaining relevant internships, participating in the finance related clubs and network. There's absolutely no reason that an intelligent person who attends UMD and already knows he wants to do investment banking at the age of 19/20 can't get in via Maryland. It happens every year.

 

Biased here, but go for UVA. But... Don't assume that being a UVA student automatically gets you the internship/job. UVA means getting interviews (pretty much any big firm you want) is very likely. Advancing beyond that is the hard part.

 

DCDepository- That's basically what my parents are saying, that if I work hard enough, i can break into IB or Wall Street from UMD, & hearing that you know people who have done it is relieving. Also, do you know anything about Wall Street Fellows at UMD & what exactly that organization does? Their website came off as vague to me in that regard.

I am what I am- Do you think that UVA would be going into a large amount of debt for?

 
lrs2050:

DCDepository- That's basically what my parents are saying, that if I work hard enough, i can break into IB or Wall Street from UMD, & hearing that you know people who have done it is relieving. Also, do you know anything about Wall Street Fellows at UMD & what exactly that organization does? Their website came off as vague to me in that regard.

I am what I am- Do you think that UVA would be going into a large amount of debt for?

I'm a William & Mary grad and most of my close friends went to Virginia Tech, so I know much more about those 2 schools' individual programs than UMD's. I know they've got a few amazing professors who are semi-famous. I've heard one guy on the radio a lot recently talking about economics--he is super charismatic (and conservative), so he is getting booked a lot.

Like I said, all else being equal, UVA is the place to go for investment banking and other areas of high finance. But there are 10-20 finance students that go into investment banking every year from Virginia Tech, a place which is not known at all for its pipeline. You know how they did it? They simply knew at a young age that finance was what they wanted to do so they laid the ground work--good grades, finance clubs, ingratiated themselves with professors, networked, got internships, etc. If you already know at a young age what you want to do you could go to George Mason and get into investment banking. Really the only difference is on-campus recruiting. I can't tell you how many people in my IBD training program (we had a 3 month training program prior to starting) were target school grads (Harvard, UVA, Penn, etc.) who knew absolutely NOTHING about finance. They literally showed up to OCR and got a job. (Frankly, as a finance major myself it was kind of offensive...)

Maryland is considered a good school. It's not a target school, but if you're a finance major with excellent grades and good, relevant internships you'll have no problem whatsoever breaking into high finance. None at all.

 
DCDepository:
lrs2050:

DCDepository- That's basically what my parents are saying, that if I work hard enough, i can break into IB or Wall Street from UMD, & hearing that you know people who have done it is relieving. Also, do you know anything about Wall Street Fellows at UMD & what exactly that organization does? Their website came off as vague to me in that regard.
I am what I am- Do you think that UVA would be going into a large amount of debt for?

I'm a William & Mary grad and most of my close friends went to Virginia Tech, so I know much more about those 2 schools' individual programs than UMD's. I know they've got a few amazing professors who are semi-famous. I've heard one guy on the radio a lot recently talking about economics--he is super charismatic (and conservative), so he is getting booked a lot.

Like I said, all else being equal, UVA is the place to go for investment banking and other areas of high finance. But there are 10-20 finance students that go into investment banking every year from Virginia Tech, a place which is not known at all for its pipeline. You know how they did it? They simply knew at a young age that finance was what they wanted to do so they laid the ground work--good grades, finance clubs, ingratiated themselves with professors, networked, got internships, etc. If you already know at a young age what you want to do you could go to George Mason and get into investment banking. Really the only difference is on-campus recruiting. I can't tell you how many people in my IBD training program (we had a 3 month training program prior to starting) were target school grads (Harvard, UVA, Penn, etc.) who knew absolutely NOTHING about finance. They literally showed up to OCR and got a job. (Frankly, as a finance major myself it was kind of offensive...)

Maryland is considered a good school. It's not a target school, but if you're a finance major with excellent grades and good, relevant internships you'll have no problem whatsoever breaking into high finance. None at all.

The number of UMD grads on the street or at MM shops is far, far less than UVA. I haven't been impressed with finance students I came across from UMD. They are not on the same level as UVA and Georgetown students.

 

I think you need to look past the "which will get me into a wall street/finance job" aspect. I've met guys from both schools across IB/S&T/ER, admittedly more UVa. If you want it bad enough you'll land something from either school.

Having visited friends at both schools, they have a very different vibe. I'll let you come to a conclusion, but UVa was more collared shirts to UMD's flat brim fitteds.

 

DCDepository- Thank you for your in depth responses and view, I will definitely take them into consideration, if I do even have the decision to make, if I don't get taken off the wait list then I will for sure be taking your advice and attending UMD. Do you think it would be beneficial or a smart idea if I was to go to UMD and come out with no debt, to then get my MBA at a better school or would that just be a waste of time and money?

 
lrs2050:

DCDepository- Thank you for your in depth responses and view, I will definitely take them into consideration, if I do even have the decision to make, if I don't get taken off the wait list then I will for sure be taking your advice and attending UMD. Do you think it would be beneficial or a smart idea if I was to go to UMD and come out with no debt, to then get my MBA at a better school or would that just be a waste of time and money?

Don't worry about an MBA right now. That will only enter the picture after a few years of work experience.

"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 
duffmt6:
lrs2050:

DCDepository- Thank you for your in depth responses and view, I will definitely take them into consideration, if I do even have the decision to make, if I don't get taken off the wait list then I will for sure be taking your advice and attending UMD. Do you think it would be beneficial or a smart idea if I was to go to UMD and come out with no debt, to then get my MBA at a better school or would that just be a waste of time and money?

Don't worry about an MBA right now. That will only enter the picture after a few years of work experience.

Sorry, just saw this. Yes, I agree with this statement. Don't worry too much about that right now. But to answer your question, yes, what you're thinking is a completely legitimate route. Most people are getting MBAs in high finance with or without a prestigious undergrad degree. Frankly, except for a handful of weirdos, nobody is going to care that you didn't go to a target school, so to speak, once you start working. Also, it's not like the University of Maryland has a bad reputation or no reputation--it's not like it's Northwest Missouri State. We're talking a top 50 national university, a major research institute in the AAU, and a school that competes in a BCS conference in sports.

 

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