Worth transferring exclusively for prestige if it might hurt internship chances?
Currently a freshman at a top public school (UCLA/Berkeley/Michigan) and interested in IB. I've had a good first semester and done really well in terms of grades, extracurriculars, and internships. I don't feel like any doors are closed off for my junior year internship and I should have a decent shot at all the top firms. I also have no complaints about student life, and I would have no issues staying at my current school for three more years.
Staying put is obviously the safe option, but there's some nagging feeling in me that I should take the chance to apply for a transfer to a more elite private school. I'm paying full OOS tuition, so even though it'll be a bit more expensive, it's not that big of a deal. My biggest concern is having to start from scratch in a much more competitive pool of students and not having enough time to build up the necessary connections/extracurriculars for recruiting in the spring. Also the social implications obviously.
I should have a decent chance, but should I even bother applying? What kinds of schools would be worth it? Just HYPSM? Or lower ivies like Dartmouth/Brown/Cornell too?
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Bump
those three schools are not the same in terms of placement
Transferred to a Top Target, and it was night and day in terms of on campus recruiting from all the banks. Being adaptable is important in finance, and the transfer story is a good one to sell. I would apply and see what happens. HYP collectively take like 100 students per year, so the odds are tough. Cornell is known for taking transfers. Be mindful of the recruiting cycle, which started this fall for 2022. If you transfer, reach out to tons of alums and start networking over the summer and into the fall. Bankers are normal people and college is a great time to go out and live your life, don’t stress too much if you don’t get In, you’re already in a great spot. Best of luck.
Just an FYI, while Dartmouth has an equivalent recruiting strength as Yale/Princeton, they have something like a .5% transfer acceptance rate. At this point, even if you transfer into any Ivy League school (on the off chance you get in, as most spots are reserved for veterans), the upgrade in prestige is not worth the reset of your social capital. You'll find it hard to make friends, especially as you'll most likely miss out on the rush process for Greek Life/Houses/etc.
Would Dartmouth be a sufficient upgrade over Michigan/Berkeley? And would the social transition be easier since this year a lot of targets are fully online anyway?
Not OP but Dartmouth would be a huge upgrade over those schools, considering their buy side opportunities are 3rd behind Wharton and Harvard. Per capita, I think Dartmouth is one of the best in the Ivy League, you regularly see them go to MFs, EBs, and BBs, and their alumni network is legendary.
If you're at Ross, I think you'd be foolish to leave. Very strong OCR and can go pretty much anywhere from there.
I actually disagree a bit with the point on ross. i think we see a lot of superstars from ross because it's a big school, but a good chunk of them will go to big 4 consulting or end up at midwest cities (nothing wrong with that, just what i've noticed). i would guess you may have to work harder to get noticed at ross compared to other east coast schools. i am at wharton and i can tell you very very few people will go down that route. at penn at least, the transfers i know have done very well in recruiting. off the top of my head, i know one at MS, one at lazard IB. anecdotally, many transfers also kill it in greek rush.
What’s it like getting into the top Wharton clubs for transfers, if you were already involved in your schools top finance club and have some relevant internship experience? Is there a certain stigma against them?
And in general, how much of a negative impact would the lack of first year connections have on the overall experience?
i’ll kinda answer this question in a roundabout way. i would say joining finance/career clubs at wharton is certainly helpful, but it does not make a huge difference in recruiting, from what i’ve seen. joining clubs is notoriously selective as a freshman, but ive found that clubs actually really like sophomores/transfers because of their relative experience and ambition. i will say that it is pretty easy to get top IB jobs without being in a finance club, most people i know going into banking weren’t in one. there is a slight stigma against “wharton clubs” because there’s a sense that everyone’s just doing it for a resume, and the clubs are low commitment compared to other penn organizations. there’s no guarantee that being on the board/leader of a club will get you any special looks, just based on who i know in those roles. my advice would be to join an affinity group (wharton women, wharton alliance, wharton latino etc), or just an unrelated but interesting group.
in terms of the transfer experience, it really depends. sometimes the transfer classes themselves get really close. if that’s not your thing, people i know have had a lot of success making new friends, and all penn organizations are pretty receptive to transfers joining.
If you're at UCLA I would consider transferring but if you enjoy really the school I would stay put and grind it out. If you're at Berkeley or U Mich I would stay put
There is a huge difference between UCLA and Berkeley/Michigan. The latter are strong targets in their respective regions, the former is not. I'd transfer out of UCLA if I were you; but if you're at UCB/Mich, then you should be fine
pls fix thx
I’ve checked and UCLA’s placement is pretty weak while Ross/Haas place very well in the Midwest/West Coast
Always pick preftige. Even if you don’t get a banking job you will still have preftige, which is what life is all about
Given that lower ivies are still wayyyyy better than UCLA, Mich, Berkeley, would be worth it. Good luck though trying to transfer to HYP.
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