UNC vs Notre Dame vs Georgetown vs UMich for Investment Banking
Hello,
I'm currently in the college decision process and I'm seeking opinions and insights to help me decide between the business schools at UNC, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and UMich. I'm looking to study finance with the goal of getting into investment banking in New York. I am a low income student. Here is where I'm currently at with schools:
UNC - I'm an Assured Admit into the Kenan-Flagler Business School and I've been awarded the Morehead-Cain Scholarship (full 4-year merit scholarship/leadership program). I really like the summer experiences and unique opportunities that Morehead-Cain provides. I'm unsure how well KF places into IB firms in NY.
ND - I have been guaranteed admission into Mendoza. My first year is fully funded (will have to apply for aid every year and hopefully receive a similar aid package). So for all intents and purposes my cost will be the same as UNC. I really like ND's social/dorm life and their strong alumni network. I think ND has decent placement with NY IB firms.
Georgetown - I'm waiting to hear from them on April 1st. Hoping for a good aid package if I get in. GT meets 100% need so I'm expecting a similar aid package as ND. I hear GT/McDonough places really well into investment banking firms in NY. I
UMich - Admitted into Ross. But it will cost me 25k a year more than UNC/ND. This would be a financial hardship so it's hard to justify $100k for Ross over my other options.
Any thoughts about employment outcomes, curriculum, social/dorm life, etc. at these schools would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to include your opinion/ranking about which school I should choose.
Thanks
UNC student here, based on what you said you haven't gotten into Georgetown so I'm not gonna take that into consideration but if you do I'd go there over everything. I wouldn't go to UMich over UNC/ND if it will cost you 100k more. Between ND and UNC I'd go to UNC since you're a Morehead Scholar (every Morehead Scholar I know has placed very well into banking) and most people here are interested in consulting so competition is less with you already having an advantage. Also, UNC has strong placement in BBs all in NYC with only BAML placing some people in Charlotte (most still go to NYC) so don't worry about getting swept into the Charlotte wave. That being said, if your skills are more technical and aren't as conversational I would go somewhere else since we don't place well at all at EBs if you are interested in that. It all comes down to what school will help you with your skillsets and strengths and give you the best chance at getting into a top bank.
Morehead at UNC is a no brainer against these schools. KF sends kids to GS, MS, JPM, BofA, BARC nyc every year.
What makes Morehead better than the rest of UNC? There's the study abroad programs but those exist at most schools.
I’d go with UNC. They don’t hand out those scholarships to just anyone and if you go there chances are you will be a cut above the rest of the talent pool there.
Just a prospect so take my word as you will but, I think it’ll be between Georgetown and ND depending on your preference of location. From there, I understand Georgetown places better in NYC, ND does better in Chicago. I’d probably go with Georgetown over ND because there are more opportunities in NYC and it’s just a better place to be in my opinion factoring in cost of attendance, placements, etc., but you can’t go wrong with any of the schools you listed if you work hard.
I don’t think UNC has the same opportunities as Georgetown and ND, and Ross will be too expensive.
Also, please factor in if you’ll actually enjoy the student life there. That should be a much, much bigger factor in your college decision than IB placements, especially if you’re between GTown and ND. Just my two cents.
In terms of IB placement
Morehead Cain is a big deal at UNC and with that, along with being a strong candidate overall, you should get into one of GS/MS/BofA/Barclays. Georgetown and Michigan place the highest volume, and have a pipeline at the highest number of shops, but the competition will also be much higher because there’s a lot more interest. Can’t speak to ND, but I believe the placement is also pretty good.
Assuming costs are similar across UNC/ND/Georgetown and Ross is most expensive, then I'd choose Georgetown. If Georgetown ends up being more expensive, then UNC with the scholarship + the opportunities that come with it is probably the best option. Id put Ross somewhere up there with Georgetown but not worth it for the cost.
UNC looks like the best opportunity
Can someone at nd or an alum speak to notre dame placement
I’d go ND, especially if potentially free. Mendoza is well regarded, and my EB always takes a look at a quality resume from Mendoza. Alumni network and ability to utilize that is also underrated. This is also coming from someone who vehemently hates ND people in general, since they’re so damn obnoxious.
Mendoza recently placed students at Evercore, PJT, BX and KKR out of undergrad. Also alumni network is very strong.
2 out of 9 or so PJT RSSG analysts came from ND last year. Not a ND alum and I know at least 1 ND kid is going there this summer. Have an ND friend at Evercore and they took 4 last year out of their analyst class of 25 or so. When ~20% of kids at top EB's are from one school and its not Wharton, might be worth looking at.
Baml hired more IB summer analysts from ND than any other school last yr
Is this nyc office only, or across all offices?
nyc
Dude if you have the Morehead Cain that's 100% the way to go. It will open doors for you way beyond IB, and if you want to do IB or MBB you'll be able to pursue it. Morehead Cain is more than just a full ride, it is a life changing experience. Definitely agree that placement at UNC is worse than Ross but morehead is just impossible to turn down. people turn down Stanford, Ivies, etc. to go for the Morehead-Cain.
Ah yes, turning down Stanford for the one and only University of Northern Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. Of course!
I mean you can weigh the trade-offs for yourself if you gave it a quick google. The person on youtube who turned down both Stanford and Duke on a full ride for it explains why she did it. Everyone values different things doesn't mean you should be ignorant about the opportunities you have in front of you. It's a UNC-affiliated scholarship, not KFBS.
idk about Stanford, but personally know multiple students that turned down HYPW for Morehead Cain.
Georgetown by FAR
Uh... Georgetown, Mich, and ND are essentially peers, with Georgetown having an edge. Morehead Cain is potentially a better option than all of these.
I’m not sure why everyone here is freaking out about this but Georgetown has sent more people annually to IBD than any of these schools. Is that not a worthwhile fact to mention to OP?
I know people who've picked UNC over GT/ND without the Morehead-Cain just as regualr students simply because they are ultimately comparable schools but these particular students were also lower incoming and felt more at home at UNC from a social perspective. ND/GT can have really preppy/elitist culture if you're into that, but most lower income students won't.
Ultimately, your college experience is going to be far beyond what bank you place at Junior summer. As someone in similar shoes as show as a senior in high school, so much changes once you're here and personally would recommend going to UNC for a more fun social/dorm life, the morehead cain's superior college experience, and ultimately for the optionality you will have. If you stick with IB, you get solid placements at all the top BBs in NYC, but if you want to explore consulting or just something else altogether, you'll have so many connections and be treated liek royalty on campus cuz of the M-C tag.
I know a kid who chose Morehead-Cain over Wharton. They went to GS and now work at Blackstone. Morehead-Cain is a super legit program and I would take it hands down among these options even if you get into Georgetown.
I'd say pick Gtown or ND. You can and probably will succeed at all of these programs, but I think the smaller student populations would be better for you. Of course, it depends on your preference. If you don't really like Catholic presence, then go to Georgetown (although I would probably pick ND if I were you). You are splitting hairs in IB recruiting, and I would imagine smaller schools who are relatively overrepresented would push for you better. Also, your packages for ND/Georgetown are going to be full-rides/close to full-rides every year (it should stay the same or deviate by +/- 1k).
Isn’t Georgetown a catholic school too
Yes, but like anything there are levels to this. Gtown’s Catholic culture is definitely not as big
Georgetown sends more to IBD than the others...depends what you want
Morehead-Cain is no joke, you will be set up for success vs. being a regular student at GT or Mendoza. Close call with GT and Morehead-Cain but I'd take Morehead-Cain
.
The Morehead scholarship at UNC-Chapel Hill is really prestigious. Most of the students that get it also get into ivy leagues. You didn't get into any.
I know about the study abroad trips but lots of schools have stuff like that. What else makes the program so great? Big advantages in recruiting with direct Superdays with MBB/BBs?
Where did you find this?
.
This chart is a good guide but what it fails to mention is how many students go to each school. 214 from Michigan sounds great until you realize they have like 30k undergrads. Same for UT, UNC, and some of the other state schools here. They are massive schools and based on their size they SHOULD be sending a large number of students into these positions just based on volume. Georgetown and ND have tiny student populations, many of which don't target IB and they still send a ton into banking. If I'm making a judgement on what gives a better shot of getting a career outcome, per capita is a better metric.
This chart isn't entirely accurate. For example, current UNC student and we send way more kids to BAML than Barclays. If you include the BAML CLT Lev Fin office, there are close to 10 kids in a given year that go to BAML. So there's no way there were 10 kids total over a 5 year span.
I think it only picked up people who had "Investment Banking Analyst" in their title on LinkedIn. If you didn't have a LinkedIn or used a different title (i.e., Analyst, M&A Analyst, Restructuring Analyst), I think you would have been excluded from these figures. I could be mistaken though.
Georgetown or Morehead easily. Georgetown's recruitment is insane (if you're taking advantage of the clubs there). I hear a lot of people say that you don't need to be in the top investment clubs at Georgetown (which are pretty difficult to get into) but clubs like GUSIF and the credit union have exclusive networking opps with firms like GS, Ares, and BX. So just know that you need to be on top of club recruiting from day 1 at Gtown (my friend there is a part of the BUILD program which is a pre-orientation you shoud look at).
Morehead is a super good opportunity too. I know one guy who went there for it and he's had a blast, but he's definitely more of a law school type instead of a finance hardo. I would put all recruiting differences aside if you get Morehead and Georgetown and just focus on each school's culture. Gtown is more preppy/cliquey while UNC will be more southern/state-school vibes
Both are on the same level imo (from someone who went to neither)
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