Best place to study undergrad business?

<p>And what exactly did those folks who went to the “elite” jobs on Wall Street learn. Certainly not honesty, risk analysis, balancing firm needs and client needs, etc etc. Think about the last couple big recessions that both arose directly out of Wall Street cheating, avarice and stupidity.</p>

<p>Colm,</p>

<p>The point is that a Dartmouth or Princeton will outdo almost any business undergrad program in the country. So a businessweek rank of 5 actually isn’t as strong as it seems. If I had to rank the top 5-6 job placement onto Wall Street or elite consulting it would be a list like this. Lots of experienced people on CC will confirm this. </p>

<p>1 Wharton, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Dartmouth, Yale, Stanford</p>

<p>Also close: Top 3-4 undergrad business schools (Ross, Haas), other Ivies, places like Duke and Williams.</p>

<p>Slipper,</p>

<p>That’s fine. People have their own views and biases, and they tend to like rankings when they support their preconceived beliefs, and to dislike rankings when they aren’t in sync with them. I just felt that the comment about Dartmouth being hands-down superior to Cornell in undergrad business to be unsubstantiated. Cornell’s AEM program, and its alumni support network, are very strong. Additionally, Cornell’s AEM business program recently received an endowment in the name of John Dyson for 25 million dollars, and this new infusion occurred after the last BusinessWeek rankings were published.</p>

<p>Colm: I still agree with slipper1234, and I’m sure many of the more experienced people on this message board would agree as well.</p>

<p>Besides, Businessweek’s undergrad business rankings are a joke. I mean… Notre Dame is #1??? And Wharton is #4? Completely misleading. Again, Dartmouth isn’t ranked because it doesn’t have an undergrad business program… yet it still manages to place its undergraduates in the more sought-after jobs, in much higher amounts than probably every school in the ranking, besides Wharton… even though it’s a much smaller school.</p>

<p>If anyone has the choice between Dartmouth and Cornell AEM, and they want to get the best business opportunities possible, Dartmouth is without a doubt the far better choice, assuming they are comfortable with both schools etc etc.</p>

<p>“Dartmouth is without a doubt the far better choice…”</p>

<p>I’m sure you’ll keep on telling yourself this, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Dartmouth would be an excellent choice for many reasons, but it is not “without a doubt” superior to Cornell for undergrad business, at least not if looked at from an unbiased perspective and having investigated the facts.</p>

<p>But please, don’t get me wrong. Cornell AEM is probably an excellent program, and it’s also very hard to get into. However, Dartmouth’s network, and the valuable D-plan (for internships!) is almost invaluable.</p>

<p>EDIT: Look, I’m open to any evidence that shows Cornell is better than Dartmouth for business. I’m just speaking mostly on behalf of the various opinions that have been presented before me, over time.</p>

<p>Anecdotally I know Dartmouth’s placement is amazing. My brother is an alum and he often cited the Dplan and the alumni network as just extraordinarily powerful.</p>

<p>Haas/McIntire/Ross/Stern aren’t as good as Duke or Williams if one is interested in high finance/elite consulting. They are definitely better for a student who is seriously interested in marketing, advertising, public relations and accounting though because they all specialize in a couple or all of these areas.</p>

<p>For high finance/elite consulting,
Tier 1: Harvard and Wharton
Tier 2: Cornell AEM/ILR, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn CAS/Engineering, Princeton, Stanford, Williams and Yale
Tier 3: Brown, Cornell CAS, UCB Haas, UVA McIntire, UMich Ross, NYU Stern, Northwestern, Chicago, etc.</p>

<p>To answer the OP’s question:</p>

<ol>
<li>Wharton
2-5. Sloan, Haas, Ross, Stern</li>
</ol>

<p>If you want top join in banking or finance, these 5 schools are at least as good as the Ivies + Stanford.</p>

<p>Businessweek’s ranking are hilarious. If you want to study Undergrad Business go to Penn. As for pros and cons, there are too many pros to list and I cant think of a con.</p>

<p>Thank you all! All very helpful opinions. Although I heard that this is not allowed…but I’m not sure, can wharton students transfer to the college and pursue a different degree if they chose to??</p>