<p>Where is the way to go?</p>
<p>I am deciding b/w Columbia College and Amherst College.</p>
<p>Having made a similar decision last year:</p>
<p>Stanford >> Amherst=Columbia >> Swarthmore</p>
<p>Amherst and Williams are very strong in finance. As is Stanford, thanks to it being one of the much-desired ‘HYPS’ schools and Columbia since it’s an Ivy in NYC.</p>
<p>No idea about the others, but if you want to do investment banking in New York City, Columbia is the way to go. Just be aware, there’s no ugrad business (or finance) major.</p>
<p>Iamnapp, what would you study at Stanford to get into the field of finance? Do they have any specific major that would lead towards a career in finance?
My daughter is interested in a business/finance/accounting career and was looking at Stanford, but crossed it off her list because there was no major that looked “business-y” enough.</p>
<p>You’d probably major in Economics, Math, or some sort of Engineering. Financial institutions just want to know that you can think analytically.</p>
<p>My sort would be Stanford > Columbia > Amherst > Swarthmore. Columbia is going to have an advantage over liberal arts colleges, even of the quality of Amherst, just by nature of (A) being a “target” school at more institutions, (B) having more frequent touch-points with the firms’ recruiters, and [C] a deeper alumni network from the school already working on wall street.</p>
<p>Lastly, finance careers are a long way from being “all that they’re cracked up to be”. It would be a tragedy if you picked a school that wasn’t a good fit for you just because you think it’ll help you get to wall street, and five years later you’re working till 3am almost every night (not an exaggeration, that’s <em>reality</em>) and trying to understand why you wanted this for yourself. The usual advice is still the best: Go to the school that’s the best fit for you, where you’ll make the most friends and find the most passion for things you want to do. The way forward after college will become clear later.</p>
<p>Denzera speaks wisely. Heed the advice.</p>
<p>I am deciding b/w Amherst and Columbia (both giving me nearly full-ride–ruled out Stanford and Swarthmore)</p>
<p>I will be doing premed with Economics/Neuroscience major. </p>
<p>In terms of getting good premed preparation (GPA/research/letter of recommendation etc.) for top medical school, where would be the best choice?</p>
<p>I dated a Columbia 08 girl who was Neuroscience, she spoke very highly of her professors and the research opportunities available to her. Columbia also has a very strong pre-professional program (including medical school) and supports large numbers of students and recent students in applying to medical school each year. At Columbia, you’ll have a deep support network and opportunities available to you to help you (A) refine / validate your interest levels and (B) help you stand out in applications. I can’t speak to what Amherst offers.</p>
<p>Economics, while a powerhouse strength of Columbia, is a bit of a surprise to hear from you. If you want to work on wall street, major in Economics and you’ll be “in the funnel”. If you want to learn Economics more deeply (which may include graduate school), major in Math, or at least the somewhat-common Econ/Math double major. In either case, Columbia has one of the best educations and communities that money can buy within those disciplines.</p>
<p>The general advice about Columbia still applies: If you want to get a well-rounded liberal arts curriculum (the Core) while still having access to world-class departments for a wide range of specialties, go to Columbia. If the idea of a Core curriculum annoys rather than excites you (which is fine, and true for many people), don’t go to Columbia.</p>