Where to go for undergrad?

I'm a current grade 12 student who needs a bit of advice on where I should go for undergrad :)

Currently I've been accepted to the following schools:
UWO BMOS with Richard Ivey HBA AEO
York Schulich BBA
NYU Stern
UTAustin McCombs
USC Marshall
Queen's Commerce (pending)

Given that the extent of the financial contributions that my parents will make towards my undergraduate education is around 100k, and that I will be an international student if I choose a US school...

  1. Is it worth it to go deep into debt to go to a "semi-target" school?
  2. Do the above "semi-target" US schools really place better than Ivey/Queen's for IBD?
  3. Ivey or Queen's if I would stay in Canada? :P

Thanks!

 

I guess if you want to work in Canada

why even apply to U.S. schools if you just want to go back to Canada?

If you want to work on Wall Street then go to Stern, but if you want to work on Bay Street then go to one of the Canadian ones. There isn't much border crossover aka once you start at one you don't really switch,

 

Go to NYU, work your ass off for one year, then transfer to Wharton. Ivy leagues schools have so much financial aid that you won't be paying more tuition than the other schools on that list. You're smart for applying to semi-targets in the US. I'm a kid who got rejected from 5 ivies, and now I have to go to Waterloo to transfer to Wharton.

"The code of competence is the only system of morality that's on a gold standard." - Francisco d'Anconia
 

Alot of Americans on this site will have fun trashing Canadian schools but if you go to Ivey/Queens, network and get a 3.7+ (little higher I'd say @ Queens), you WILL get a NY/SF BB gig. The career management and alumni network at both schools is fantastic, the hundreds of alums in US IBD will help you out, and if you're proactive and get involved you'll be fine and spend considerably less money. Neither NYU or McCombs (only other ones worth mentioning) is going to give you enough of an advantage to justify the marginal added cost. You'll still need top marks, networking and involvement at any of those institutions.

btw. I'm speaking from personal experience, I was admitted to McCombs outta high school, accepted, paid first tuition installment and then withdrew over the summer because it just didn't seem logical it given the opportunities we have on this side of the border at a fraction of the cost.

‎"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns or dollars."
 
Best Response

You guys are all morons. If you're picking a school, as an 18 year old who hasn't even started college yet, purely on where you think will help get you the easiest path into investment banking, you probably have way bigger issues to start thinking about, like what led you to become such a singularly focused idiot.

Those of you who are recommending going to NYU and then transferring to Wharton - are you serious? Even if you're kidding, why would you put such a ridiculous idea in this kid's head? If you'd ever seriously consider that plan, you're probably not worth hiring at all in banking since you clearly don't care very much about developing relationships or being friends with anyone around you.

The only things you should be worrying about right now are where you think you'll have the best time in college, where you think you can develop the most as a person, and what kind of debt the tuition is gonna leave you with (and not in the context of finding a banking job).

 
Accidental_Banker:
You guys are all morons. If you're picking a school, as an 18 year old who hasn't even started college yet, purely on where you think will help get you the easiest path into investment banking, you probably have way bigger issues to start thinking about, like what led you to become such a singularly focused idiot.

Those of you who are recommending going to NYU and then transferring to Wharton - are you serious? Even if you're kidding, why would you put such a ridiculous idea in this kid's head? If you'd ever seriously consider that plan, you're probably not worth hiring at all in banking since you clearly don't care very much about developing relationships or being friends with anyone around you.

The only things you should be worrying about right now are where you think you'll have the best time in college, where you think you can develop the most as a person, and what kind of debt the tuition is gonna leave you with (and not in the context of finding a banking job).

IMO, go to Stern, and if at all possible, transfer to Wharton. Being able to leverage the Wharton name will prove to be very helpful when trying to get an investment banking job.

 
facetime:
Accidental_Banker:
You guys are all morons. If you're picking a school, as an 18 year old who hasn't even started college yet, purely on where you think will help get you the easiest path into investment banking, you probably have way bigger issues to start thinking about, like what led you to become such a singularly focused idiot.

Those of you who are recommending going to NYU and then transferring to Wharton - are you serious? Even if you're kidding, why would you put such a ridiculous idea in this kid's head? If you'd ever seriously consider that plan, you're probably not worth hiring at all in banking since you clearly don't care very much about developing relationships or being friends with anyone around you.

The only things you should be worrying about right now are where you think you'll have the best time in college, where you think you can develop the most as a person, and what kind of debt the tuition is gonna leave you with (and not in the context of finding a banking job).

I don't know if you're serious or not, but college is not about "having the best time".

Please be trolling.

 

I think the transfer to Wharton thing must have been a joke; they take like 1% for external transfers.

Stern will place best in NYC of the schools you listed; I would think very carefully about the debt though. NYU is a small fortune. If I were Canadian, you had better believe that I would be taking advantage of that cheap tuition.

I think the consensus is Ivey places slightly better than Queens on Bay Street. However, Montreal is a much more fun place to spend four years in my opinion. It won't make much difference opportunity-wise.

 

Yeah :) I'm really considering Ivey for their 2+2 program. Might change my first two year program to a Comp Sci/System Engineering program. Apparently going in with two years of a nonbusiness related program will make you more attractive for employers.

Western would be close to free for the first two years (Western offered me 10k/year). Queen's only gave me 15k flat :/

 

Okay the transfer to Wharton thing is not a joke. At least three people in this thread have mentioned this strategy. My Penn interviewer transferred into the M&T program (Wharton + SEAS special program) after a year at Waterloo architecture. Donald Trump transferred to Wharton from Fordham. You can transfer to one of Penn's other schools (SEAS or the college), and Penn will let you pursue a dual degree with Wharton after a year. It's easier to transfer to SEAS or the College than it is to transfer to wharton, and you get a nice back door to Wharton. Even if you can't pursue a Wharton dual degree, you'll still get better opportunities from Penn than Ivey. GS, MS, and JPM employ the greatest percentage of Penn students from all schools (except nursing). If you don't believe me, check Penn's employment records. Of course, Wharton kids place better than the other schools on wall street, but the employment for SEAS and College is still better than in Canada. If you choose to transfer to SEAS or the College, you're facing a 10% transfer admission rate, which is even standard for freshman ivy acceptance. If you decide to transfer to Wharton directly, you're looking at a 3% admission rate, which is doable if you're really motivated. If transferring to Wharton was a joke, then nobody would try to transfer, then transferring to Wharton would be a piece of cake.

"The code of competence is the only system of morality that's on a gold standard." - Francisco d'Anconia
 

So just become three people transferred into Wharton makes it possible? Stop putting false thoughts into this guy's head. To the OP, there's a greater than 99% chance that you won't get into Wharton. I have friends who went to Ivies/Duke quality schools and were rejected. Unless you do something to really stand out or are a URM, I would definitely not bank on it.

I doubt going to McCombs over Marshall or any of the other business schools you mentioned with the exception of Stern is really going to impact your chances at IB. I would say that NYU has by far the best placement, albeit at a price. A few of my friends there find the place absolutely miserable and the school is really expensive.

 

Donald Trump, your interviewer, and most of the people you might have heard about transferring to Wharton did so at a different time. Penn was kind of considered the crappy ivy up until ~2 decades ago, and admit rates were high.

It's not that it's a joke, it's just a crapshoot. I would not plan my education around a 3% (or even 10%) probability event. Sure, apply, but don't think "I'll just transfer to Wharton if things don't go well here".

 

That's what I mean. Just apply. The cost of applying is virtually free, and you get a shot at improving your career, which has value. Something that has value for free? Sounds like a good bargain. I don't understand people who are too lazy to apply, or can't write an essay. Therefore, apply.

"The code of competence is the only system of morality that's on a gold standard." - Francisco d'Anconia
 
God of the Orient:
ahhh fuck it.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa1.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa2.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa3.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa4.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa5.jpg

if anybody goes to Queens or Schulich, feel free to post yours too.

Damn I remember getting excited seeing ONE bank post on my career board. Can't imagine having a list to go through.

 
JeffSkilling:
God of the Orient:
ahhh fuck it.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa1.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa2.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa3.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa4.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18155396/sahiring/sa5.jpg

if anybody goes to Queens or Schulich, feel free to post yours too.

Damn I remember getting excited seeing ONE bank post on my career board. Can't imagine having a list to go through.

whats ur school?

 

That depends on your political disposition and the political disposition of the firms that you are "eyeballin." If you and the firm are "tighty whitey" then, UT AUSTIN is still "mad" conservative. If you and the firm are "lefty loosey" then NYU is probably your top pick.

 

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