Undergrad - Colby vs. Syracuse vs. Maryland vs. Penn State vs. Rutgers?
Sorry in advance for the typical college decision post. I have heard back from all my colleges and was accepted to Syracuse(Whitman), Penn State(Smeal), University of Maryland(Robert H. Smith) and Rutgers(business school). I was also accepted to Colby College. My question is, which of these schools would give me the biggest chance of landing a job on the street right out of college? I have heard that Colby College should be a no brainier because it is the most prestigious out of the three, but I am worried about the availability of recruitment and networking opportunities, as it is located in middle of nowhere Waterville, Maine. Any ideas about the opportunities as far as banking goes?
Another thing to keep in mind is that Colby does not have a finance major; what would be the next best major to prepare me for a banking job? I had economics in mind but I have been told from quite a few people that it does nothing to prepare you for work on the street.
From some past posts on this forum it sounds like as far as NESCAC's go it's Amherst, Williams, Midd or bust. Is this true? I also got significantly better financial aid from Colby than the other schools, and am not sure if it would be worth it to pay more tuition for a less prestigious school.
I think Penn State based on Nittany Lion Fund placement
If you received great financial aid from Colby, I would go there. The NESCAC schools offer a pretty great education, and if you don't have to pay too much out-of-pocket it's even better. I think all NESCAC schools can offer decent opportunities for finance placement, though Amherst/Williams are a cut above. In general academic terms, I think Amherst/Williams are generally a tier above the others, with Midd/Wesleyan/Bowdoin/Tufts situated thereafter and then Colby/Bates/Trinity rounding it out (Conn College is a very distant last and often omitted when people discuss the NESCAC).
After Colby, I'd probably choose either Syracuse or Penn State.
Neither
So what you're saying is that your sources are biased?
No you're right. I should answer OP's question with information from someone who has never heard of any of those schools because he is therefore totally unbiased.
Colby or SU/PSU.
Syracuse is a good school and has a ton of alumni on the street. Get into the Orange Value Fund if you go. PSU if you can get into their Nitney fund.
Thanks for your advice. What exactly is the Orange Value Fund and Niteny fund? Also what pros do you see with Colby over SU/PSU business schools?
Basically "elite" groups within the business school. You have to work to get into them and they all help get kids jobs on WSO. From the results, it looks like the NF does it better than OVF (much to my dismay as I was a member of OVF when it started).
I worked with a Colby guy. Smart dude. Its a LAC and will have a much different experience and network than a big sports school (Syr/PSU).
Do you want a big experience or a tight knit, smaller experience? Do you want to focus on academics or black out all the time? Are you comfortable with a smaller network or do you want a zillion alumni all over? Do you want to go to school in the middle of nowhere, on a massive college town, in an urban campus (tiny shit city) or in a beautiful northeastern town?
IMO, none of the choices are no brainers. Like if you got into all those schools, plus MIT and Duke, the choice is obvious. You can get onto WSO from all those schools, with varying degree of difficulty. I'd say Colby has a slight edge, but not enough to make you go there if you'd hate it.
Success is a combination of tools and how you use those tools. If you are a freak and go to Harvard, you can find yourself unemployed. If you are rain man and go to bumfuck U, you can find yourself at JPM. Pick the school you will be most comfortable in and excel the most and go there.
Not to nitpick here, but it's the Nittany Lion Fund, not Nitney Fund.
And yeah, the NLF has a fantastic track record. If the OP ends up at Penn State, that should be a goal right out of the gate.
My man. You're correct. I was too lazy to look at the spelling. Smeal does really well though. Much better than my citrus fund.
Thanks for the reply. From what I have read about the Nittany Lion Fund, it is extremely selective and the interview process can be as hard, if not harder than ib interviews; if I was unable to make it into the fund, I think I would be stuck at a mediocre business school with significantly less opportunity to make it to the street, or am I wrong about this? Would it still be possible to get into IB from Penn without getting into the Fund? Also what is your opinion on NESAC placement? Would Colby still have the edge even over those in the Nittany Lion Fund? I have visited the Colby campus and although it is in the middle of nowhere, it is definitely an environment I can see myself in. I would be fine with a large school like Penn or a small NESAC like Colby, its just a question of what each school has to offer.
Well, there are other things that make Penn State attractive, especially for a business minded student. Get involved in Thon (the largest student ran charity organization in the US) on the Finance Committee, go Greek and prove your mettle in a leadership position, get involved in the various organizations on campus and show you are well rounded. Get involved at Smeal and find your way that way. There are tons of ways to prove that you are banking material at Penn State. I would say that given your options, Penn State should rank above 'Cuse, UMD, and Rutgers. And don't let anyone tell you that Rutgers is on par with Penn State, because it's not. Rutgers is not even close to Penn State. Although being involved at LIBOR at Rutgers is a good thing, I'd argue that Penn State is still a better school. And the whole alumni thing? Penn State had one of the largest dues-paying Active Alumni Organizations in the US. Even then, the talking points associated with a casual conversation about Penn State (hello '16 Big 10 Champions and poised to repeat in '17). IF you don't go to Colby, then brand recognition is key. Brand recognition is a huge value play here, and Penn State has it in space relative to the other schools (except for maybe 'Cuse, but that is due to sports.
As an aside, Frank Smeal was a former partner at Goldman, the Schryer's Honor College is named after William Schryer, who was the former CEO of Merril Lynch,. The business school counts John Surma, former CEO of US Steel, Patricia Woertz, former CEO of Archer Daniels Midland, Mitch Cohen, the former Vice Chairman of PwC, The Sheetz Family (if you know anything about Western PA, then you know Sheetz), Dan Mead, former President and CEO of Verizon, Martin Craighead, the CEO of Baker Hughes, Mark Parker, the CEO of Nike, and Ken Fraizer, the CEO of Merck, are all Penn State graduates. All graduated from the business school. Just based on that list, I'm sure you can find your way into Wall Street at Penn State.
And please, stop calling it Penn. It's Penn State. Penn is that school in Philly with whom people confuse for Penn State. There's a reason why the day of rest is on Saturday and God made the skies Blue and White. It's because God is a Penn State fan. Get it right man.
Pretty much exactly what I would have said. Slight edge to Colby in terms of ranking of the school, but it's a LAC which means there will be less name recognition and you'll have to hustle more to find jobs. The college experience will also be very different. I'd probably give a slight edge to PSU vs Syracuse but that's just due to anecdotal evidence.
I'd try to visit all three and get a feel for each.
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