Undergrad Choices: Dartmouth vs. Northwestern vs. Georgetown vs. USC vs. Emory

Hi everyone. As the college decision season has come to a close, I just wanted to finally post on here looking for advice for a minority student looking to pursue a career in investment banking after undergrad. As of yesterday, I've been accepted to Northwestern, USC, Dartmouth, Emory, Vassar, and Georgetown (McDonough). All these schools are great schools to be accepted by, but I just wanted some advice on my decision.

Vassar:

It is a great liberal arts school a hour away from NYC! It is very open and comforting. I believe that the finance recruiting, specifically investment banking, is probably the "worse" out of all of the schools I've been accepted, but they will probably be in the top two of giving aid. I would rank it 6th.

Emory:

I live only 30 minutes from the campus. Has the best business school in the state of Georgia and has great proximity to corporations downtown, though their business school is known throughout the country. Emory is notorious for giving out bad aid, even to low income students, so a decent amount of loans are expected to be in my financial aid compared to my other schools. I would rank it 5th.

Georgetown:

Out of all the colleges I've been accepted to, Georgetown is the only one I've actually visited for an extended period of time. I really loved it there and have heard on here that Georgetown is one of, if not the, best in investment banking placement. However, they also give out somewhat bad aid. If I had t rank it on where I would go out if all my choices it would be 3rd.

USC:

I never thought I would have the opportunity to go to school on the West Coast. I would love to experience what the other side of the country has to offer for me. However, I don't know about their investment banking placement over there and I think they recruit more to the finance sector of technology companies, which I really don't have an interest in. I would rank it 4th.

Northwestern:

They have a special place in my heart as they showed me that I could actually attend a top ranked school by being the first school to be accepted to. They have great finance programs for me, such as their certificate program with Kellogg, I want to do the Financial Economics one my junior year, and the Chicago Field Studies, which I want to do my senior year (this is all contingent if I attend, still want to work in investment banking, apply, and get accepted). They do have the best financial aid besides Dartmouth. Also they are flying me out to visit from the 13th to the 15th, so I could get the feel of the campus and the students, which has already reached out to me and are friendly. I would rank it 2nd.

Dartmouth:

I'm not afraid to admit it, but I applied to all 8 Ivy Leagues, as I had nothing to lose and it didn't cost me much, and got denied to 6, waitlisted to one, that is Brown, and was admitted at Dartmouth. I never thought I would get accepted to an Ivy League. They gave me great aid, 63k out of 66k. They have some of the best investment banking placement in the country and have one of the best alumni network too. I know it is essentially in the middle of nowhere, but that means the students are more connected within the college. The main problem is the major fraternity and sorority life consuming a lot of their social life. If I could just coexist with them, then I'll be perfectly fine going to Dartmouth. So this puts Dartmouth at number one.

So my biggest question is where do these colleges fit on the scale in investment banking and where would you go and why?

 

I would advise you not to pick a school just because of investment banking recruiting opportunities. It sounds like you are concerned about Greek life at Dartmouth. If you don't think you'll vibe well with the frat stars at Dartmouth, then I wouldn't go near it (if you can roll with them, Dartmouth is obviously #1.) You don't want to be hating your life while butt-chugging during rush week thinking about how great that elevator ride with Lloyd will be.

God forbid you change your mind about what you want to be when you grow up..

Array
 

Both Dartmouth and Northwestern have a big Greek presence and are on the quarter system. Go with Big Green, Keggy will not disappoint you.

~High GPA Crew~ ~Firms Reach Out to Me Crew~ ~Round Down My GPA to Look Modest Crew~ ~Never Use 'Incoming' on LinkedIn Crew~
 

My opinion - go to USC, enjoy the warm weather and great athletics, and do banking on the west coast. USC has some of the best looking girls in the nation.

"You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are." - Mister Rogers
 

Despite what people might think, USC does have good investment banking placement. I knew a guy who interns at a boutique IB firm right in downtown LA during the semester who got hired FT immediately. It's seen as the golden girl of the West Coast. Firms will want to interview and hire you. Don't forget about SF as a future possibility.

"Two Stolis on the rocks."
 

Voluptatibus fuga corrupti adipisci soluta voluptatem accusantium delectus. Quibusdam vel et et eos optio asperiores eveniet. Eos non voluptatibus neque unde fugit. Molestiae porro est possimus iusto dolores.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”