Cornell (AEM) vs. Northwestern (MMSS)

<p>Cornell </p>

<p>Pros:
-Ivy League
-Has the major I want (Finance/Accounting)
-Ithaca is very beautiful.
-Great financial aid: ~8k out of pocket
-Pretty close to home</p>

<p>Cons:
-School might be too big</p>

<p>Northwestern</p>

<p>Pros:
-Evanston is great college town.
-High ranked in a wide range of areas
-Near Chicago, so more internships.
-Same financial aid: ~6k out of pocket but I have to pay for plane tickets/storage space too.
-MMSS is very selective and I like the combination of math&social science.
-Perfect size</p>

<p>Cons:
-Not ivy league
-Does not have finance/accounting
-Far from home (I'm from NJ)</p>

<p>I have read many threads but still cannot decide. ;_; I don't really care about greek life, social life, sports or weather. They're basically equal in my mind.
Which one is more prestigious and will give me the upper hand when I look for a job? </p>

<p>I have already ruled out SUNY Bing, Carnegie, Duke, and UPenn.</p>

<p>Why did you rule out Duke and UPenn? They’re both just as good if not better if you’re looking for a job in finance. Do not let the special MMSS or AEM designations at Northwestern and Cornell lead you to think they’re going to help you stand out over someone equally qualified who goes to Duke or Penn.</p>

<p>For instance, here’s a list of schools represented at an analyst class in an investment bank.
[BB</a> SA List | WallStreetOasis.com](<a href=“http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/bb-sa-list]BB”>BB SA List | Wall Street Oasis)
Wharton: 8
Duke: 6
Cornell: 0
Northwestern: 0</p>

<p>If all you care about is a job in investment banking, then I would say go to Duke, Penn CAS, Cornell and Northwestern in that order. Wharton is going to get a lot of attention from recruiters, but you can definitely get a job in investment banking or consulting if you’re in Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences so that’s a great option as well.</p>

<p>At Duke, you can major in whatever you want and go into investment banking or consulting. You’ll have the freedom to study whatever academic subject excites you so that’s a huge plus.</p>

<p>What’s your financial aid like from Duke or Penn? I feel like if you don’t care about subjective factors like social life or weather, you’re making a huge mistake by not considering Duke or Penn. They are simply better than Northwestern and Cornell from what I’ve seen if you want to get an elite job in New York City, although Cornell’s definitely pretty good in this regard. I would eliminate Northwestern off your list.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply lesdiablesbleus,
At UPenn, my financial aid will be relatively similar to the aid I get at Cornell, but if I go, my major would be economics and I would be competing with those in Wharton for jobs.</p>

<p>Duke is more expensive at 12k but I’m not sure it’s worth the extra money.
From your link, Duke does seem very appealing so I might reconsider it. I’m not sure though.</p>

<p>Isn’t Duke, UPenn, Cornell, Northwestern are virtually in the same league for job recruiting?
Should there be any difference, it would be very marginal.
So visit campus and choose where you feel comfortable (weather,location, cost, etc…)</p>

<p>Unless we are talking about HYPSM and Wharton, go for the fit, as simple as that.</p>

<p>Haha OP don’t listen to someone like lesdiablesbleus ■■■■■■■■. Supporting Duke’s supposed IB dominance with one BB summer analyst class at one bank from one year posted by some random WSO guy? Really?</p>

<p>his018 is spot on; Duke/Penn(CAS)/Cornell/Northwestern are pretty much equal in terms of recruiting in various areas of finance. Both AEM and MMSS are pretty much tailor-made for going into a career in finance, while Duke/Penn are probably marginally more prestigious. At this point you should really be considering cost and fit. You won’t go wrong at any of the four.</p>

<p>Update: Thanks guys. I chose Cornell by the way if anyone wanted to know.</p>

<p>Good choice! Enjoy the good food.</p>