Apr 05, 2011

Undergrad B-School Bonanza: Tulane v. UT Austin v. Boston University

Hey Guys,

Recently I have been accepted to the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin, the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, and the School of Management at Boston University. Financially I am paying the same amount as UT Austin in-state fees since I am a Texas resident for Tulane and Boston University due to generous scholarships, so finances are not a problem for me. I would like to pursue a major in Finance, then hopefully work as a Financial Analyst for a pretty good company like Bank of America, Ernst and Young or JP Morgan for two years then go back to school and get my MBA/JD and then become a Tax or Corporate Lawyer or go into IBD somewhere in the midwest or northeast (Chicago or DC?).

Now before everyone bombards me with strong suggestions towards UT/McCombs please hear me out one what I am trying to get out of these undergraduate schools:

Great networking (alumni and jobs),
job opportunities/availability upon graduation
Great Internship opportunities
strong connections in the Midwest or Northeast
Good Finance program
easy to thrive (as far as grades, competition, accessibility to faculty and facilities during freshman year goes)
good connections when moving on to receive my MBA later on
good faculty.

Which school will help me achieve all of these desires?

Any help is greatly appreciated

Thanks

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16 Comments

O

13y

I can vouch for McCombs

Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne

HF

13y

PM me.

Authored by: Certified Hedge Fund Professional - 1st Year AnalystCertified Hedge Fund Pro

HF

13y

McCombs is the best school on paper, and especially with in state tuition it'll be tough to beat. It also has phenomenal placement into finance, and a strong alumni network. The caveat is of course tougher competition.

Authored by: Certified Hedge Fund Professional - 1st Year AnalystCertified Hedge Fund Pro

?

13y

I don't understand why high school seniors already want to get MBAs before they start undergrad.

?

12y

JeffSkilling:
I don't understand why high school seniors already want to get MBAs before they start undergrad.

100% agree with you on this

214 Horned Frog

IB

13y

Sounds like you know the answer.

Authored by: Certified Investment Banking Professional - 1st Year AnalystCertified Investment Banking Pro

?

13y

^^ haha but with all that stuff aside though, I should have clarified, as an UNDERGRADUATE business school of course, which one would satisfy those criteria?

Anonymous Monkey

?

13y

McCombs by a mile.

Senior Orangutan

IB

13y

Best Response

artfuldodger23:

I will only provide information for McCombs, since I do not know anything about BU or Tulane.

Great networking (alumni and jobs), In Texas, McCombs will be the first choice of the IBs and energy trading companies for recruitment. They have good MBA alumni base in Houston and Dallas.

job opportunities/availability upon graduation Job is 100% guaranteed. All the McCombs BBA student get good job offers before graduation. It is a target for New York based IBs like Goldman-Sachs. GS drops in and hires like 20-25 BBAs in one day.

Great Internship opportunities In Texas, for sure.

strong connections in the Midwest or Northeast In Chicago, maybe 20-30 alumni would show up for the Cubs baseball games and the bar meet-ups. If you want to see 1,200 people wearing Cowboy boots and Cowboy hats in Manhattan, you can crash this event: Event: Lone Star Chili Cook-off Tickets ON SALE NOW!
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Good Finance program They have good faculty whom you will see in the brochures. Most of the undergraduate courses will be taught by adjuncts. Be prepared for some required non-Finance courses where 300 students will be seated in a huge auditorium.

easy to thrive (as far as grades, competition, accessibility to faculty and facilities during freshman year goes) The BBA students are really smart so competition is high.

good connections when moving on to receive my MBA later on Depends on GMAT and work experience.

good faculty.
You will see them in colorful brochures. I don't know how many of them actually teach the BBA students. Most of them are only interested in research. The senior faculty tend to teach in the MBA and Executive MBA programs.

Thanks

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AM

13y

UT. this is a shameful question to ask.

Authored by: Certified Asset Management Professional - TraderCertified Asset Management Pro

O

13y

Mccombs undergrad has excellent companies that come to recruit.

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PE

12y

Definitely McCombs. Keep in mind though, a lot of what artfuldodger23 said is not necessarily true lately. Sure, bulge bracket IB's used to come in and hire tens of analysts, but when I graduated last year there were only a handful of folks with offers and they were the ones that had been summer analysts since their Sophomore year. You will have to work your ass off to stand out.

Since you haven't even started school and you already know you want to be a banker you will have to really fuck something up to not be able to land an IB offer. I transferred in as a Junior who didn't even know what investment banking was and still managed to secure a BB offer (that I turned down to be a "struggling" entrepreneur ;-). The program is solid and every bank you can think of will come for on-campus recruiting. Only thing lacking in the finance program is in-depth exposure to modeling. But all you have to do is get in with the Investment Banking Association and University Investors Association folks and attend their modeling seminars.

Oh and its in Austin, which is one of the most legit cities in the US. Good luck!

Authored by: Certified Private Equity Professional - PrincipalCertified Private Equity Pro

?

12y

smabs:
Definitely McCombs. Keep in mind though, a lot of what artfuldodger23 said is not necessarily true lately. Sure, bulge bracket IB's used to come in and hire tens of analysts, but when I graduated last year there were only a handful of folks with offers and they were the ones that had been summer analysts since their Sophomore year. You will have to work your ass off to stand out.
Since you haven't even started school and you already know you want to be a banker you will have to really fuck something up to not be able to land an IB offer. I transferred in as a Junior who didn't even know what investment banking was and still managed to secure a BB offer (that I turned down to be a "struggling" entrepreneur ;-). The program is solid and every bank you can think of will come for on-campus recruiting. Only thing lacking in the finance program is in-depth exposure to modeling. But all you have to do is get in with the Investment Banking Association and University Investors Association folks and attend their modeling seminars.

Oh and its in Austin, which is one of the most legit cities in the US. Good luck!

Conflicting post is conflicting.

Anonymous Monkey

?

12y

smabs:
Definitely McCombs. Keep in mind though, a lot of what artfuldodger23 said is not necessarily true lately. Sure, bulge bracket IB's used to come in and hire tens of analysts, but when I graduated last year there were only a handful of folks with offers and they were the ones that had been summer analysts since their Sophomore year. You will have to work your ass off to stand out.
Since you haven't even started school and you already know you want to be a banker you will have to really fuck something up to not be able to land an IB offer. I transferred in as a Junior who didn't even know what investment banking was and still managed to secure a BB offer (that I turned down to be a "struggling" entrepreneur ;-). The program is solid and every bank you can think of will come for on-campus recruiting. Only thing lacking in the finance program is in-depth exposure to modeling. But all you have to do is get in with the Investment Banking Association and University Investors Association folks and attend their modeling seminars.

Oh and its in Austin, which is one of the most legit cities in the US. Good luck!

Was your offer in TX?

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PE

12y

My offer was in New York. Fellow grads also ended up with offers in New York if that is where they wanted to be. Many went to H-Town because pay is comparable, Texas has no state income tax, AND you can lease a 4 bedroom house for the same cost as a one bedroom shithole above a Salvadorian pupusaria in Manhattan. Not to mention M&A work in energy can be very interesting. And yes, my post was conflicting, I just wanted to emphasize that where BB's used to come in and hire 20 analysts each from McCombs alone, now you are lucky to see them hire 2 or 3.

In summary: Go to UT.

Authored by: Certified Private Equity Professional - PrincipalCertified Private Equity Pro

ST

10y

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