Undergrad decision time.....Yale or Princeton?

Congrats, you can't go wrong with any of those in terms of recruiting for IB. I think it comes down to more of where you see yourself for the next 4 years and where you think feels like home

Congrats on the incredible acceptances. All 3 schools that you got into are strong targets for IB (although you would have to transfer to Wharton at Penn to be a “super target”) so you will be great wherever you go. It honestly just comes down to where you want to spend 4 years. Princeton’s undergrad prestige is arguably slightly higher while Yale probably has the more impressive alumni. I would maybe consider your political views as well- Princeton is well known as the most conservative Ivy while Yale is incredibly liberal. Look more at student life than IB recruiting -cause all those schools have you more that qualified- would be my advice. I got friends at both right now and they all love their respective schools

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Yale, as it has more grade inflation = easier to get higher GPA

Would definitely filter out Penn CAS, Wharton would be a different story. That would leave the choice between Yale and Princeton. You genuinely can't go wrong either way. It's solely based on personal preference at this point

Thank you all for your input! I think the general consensus is that Yale and Princeton are roughly equal academically but have pretty starkly different environments. At this point, I'm probably leaning more towards Yale - would I be passing up any potential career opportunities by foregoing Princeton? Are there firms that don't recruit at Yale but do at Princeton?

Was faced with the same decision. Chose Yale. Very, very happy I did. Had the best college experience I could imagine, and pretty much everyone I know that wanted a job in banking got a job in banking. Have several friends at Princeton that wish they were at Yale. Same for friends at Harvard. The community is, in general, much closer, way more friendly, and less uptight.

I know this is basically the opposite experience, and it sucks he's having a bad time, but almost everyone I know from Yale loved their time there. Cannot say the same the same for Princeton.

In terms of recruiting, the schools are about equal. If you choose Yale, apply to YSIG (and go hard on application and interview). Will teach you all you need to know to be prepared for early recruitment cycles, and it makes recruiting way easier bc there are a bunch of dedicated invite-only events with firms. If you have a high GPA, you can kinda cruise right in. Lower GPA, can pull it off with some networking.

I helped several friends prep for buyside roles and can attest to the fact that they were also aggressively recruited, and several good firms (Jane Street, Citadel, D.E. Shaw, Optiver, Blackstone, Warburg, etc) were looking for Yale student...

Also, congrats!

I also went to Yale and ofc can't speak personally to Princeton, but will say the Yale undergraduate experience is super fun, inclusive, eclectic, and recruiting to finance is basically.. don't become an alcoholic and you'll be fine but if you do, you'll probably still be fine (more kids want Bain & Mck anyways).

It's hard to explain why Yale is really fun socially, but it definitely has that reputation among Wharton, Harvard, Princeton, etc.. other schools will admit it. Harvard enjoys the Game more when we host for example. Yale will place fewer kids that the others to WS, but purely by choice and even still ~30% of the student body goes to Mck, Bain BCG or finance i.e. banking or directly to buyside.

Also, talk to anyone: secret societies > finals clubs & eating clubs in terms of creating a fun social addition senior year, while not tearing apart friend groups. lol.

Yale is a great school to go to if you want to figure out who you really are. I know it's a trope, but you'll be exposed to people with different values and life experiences and ambitions and if you still want to do investment banking or private equity in four years, that option will be there for you. I promise.

But at the end of the day, you'll be a more interesting person because you went to Yale.

@Basilius funny my son has same exact choice to make.. Princeton vs Yale..although could change he was waitlisted at Harvard and Wharton. I feel Yale carries bit more old world prestige but I waiver even on that myself. I feel the eating clubs at Princeton really represent essentially Greek life just called by a different name.. when I was in school (Hopkins) I was in Greek life..in hind sight I feel it was a tremendous waste of my experience at a great school if I could have done it again I would never have done that.. spent most time drinking etc..maybe I'm just talking from old guy standpoint now? Also I went into medicine so perhaps the fraternity mentality party hard attitude is more the culture of wall street? I don't know..can anyone educate me on that? What is the general culture of the IB /wall street world..find it hard to believe that fraternity type lifestyle is compatible with the reported 80 hour workweek of IB. Interested to hear others opinions of this Princeton vs Yale choice

If you are at all interested in quantitative finance, Princeton would have the upper hand. Otherwise, make a choice based on the culture and where you could see yourself for 4 years (this should be the main determinant anyway, though career opportunities are important to consider too). If you know for sure you want to work in IB, you should have no problem from either school.