<p>but then again, I’m sure Georgetown with enough connections to find you a job outside of Washington DC too.</p>
<p>It is difficult these days to find a job - US national or otherwise. Unemployment is near record highs. Language requirements, diversity requirements etc. make it more difficult, but these are advantages for an international student. In this economy, the international financial institutions are some of the only beacons of hope for international students hoping to stay in the US. Another reality is that short term employment contracts are becoming ubiquitous. Companies do not want to pay for benefits, retirement packages, etc. and they don’t have to in order to attract talent. This is sad, but true. Jobs for life are almost extinct.</p>
<p>The 150-200 are junior professional associate positions. The vary and include everything from economics, finance, policy, accounting.</p>
<p>Bottom line is that a G’town grad has a much better shot at the IFI’s than someone from NU because they can network year round and develop more contacts. Hence G’town’s comparative advantage in DC. These opportunities may or may not be available to your friends from China and France. However, China is a developing country so she has an advantage over an American. Out of curiosity, would these two be better off in Chicago? Are they looking in any other cities? It seems that the economy is tough and few companies want to sponsor visas or Green cards.</p>
<p>Perhaps NU is better for an international who wants to stay in Chicago. I am not familiar with the Chicago companies that sponsor international students. </p>
<p>Also, G’town, being a target school for Wall Street is better for an international that wants I-banking in NY, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc. GU is also better for an international student interested in the international financial institutions.</p>
<p>Everything else being about equal NU has the advantage in Chicago job market and GU has the advantage in DC and with the banks in NY and around the world.</p>
<p>“Also, G’town, being a target school for Wall Street is better for an international that wants I-banking in NY, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc. GU is also better for an international student interested in the international financial institutions.”</p>
<p>Northwestern is also a target school for Wall Street. Kellogg >>> Georgetown.</p>
<p>1789, Kellogg is arguably among the top 5 business schools in the country. NU may not have an undergrad business school, but its business affiliation is much stronger than Georgetown. NU students can take advantage of the numerous business-related programs. Chicago has a far more robust financial industry than DC.</p>
<p>Agreed, but I think that there may be some confusion. I thought we were talking about undergraduate, not MBA.</p>
<p>Kellogg is NU’s MBA program and is ranked higher than Georgetown’s. For MBA NU is better than Georgetown. Unfortunately, an undergrad can not major in accounting or finance at NU. Not that that is necessary to go into business.</p>
<p>For undergrad business GU’s median starting salary is 60K according to Business Week. Tied with Wharton and one place behind MIT (62K). NU wasn’t listed because they don’t have an undergraduate business program. OP correct me if I’m wrong, but I thougtt you said that you wanted to study business.</p>
<p>"Agreed, but I think that there may be some confusion. I thought we were talking about undergraduate, not MBA.</p>
<p>Kellogg is NU’s MBA program and is ranked higher than Georgetown’s. For MBA NU is better than Georgetown. Unfortunately, an undergrad can not major in accounting or finance at NU. Not that that is necessary to go into business."</p>
<p>By your logic, Harvard and Stanford are not target schools for Wall Street because they lack undergraduate business schools. </p>
<p>In reality, Wall Street firms target those schools too. They also have excellent MBA programs, and the recruiters consider graduate and undergraduate students.</p>
<p>If the OP wants to study accounting, they should consider a program that offers accounting.</p>
<p>It’s pointless to argue which is better for Wall Street/I-Banking in NY; those are so competitive that it’s virtually not reachable for internationals and hence irrelevant for the discussion. As for IB positions in other countries; when I was at NU, I knew a chemE major from Hong Kong that went back to work for GS. So it can be done from NU and it’s hard for me to believe one would have a clear edge over another.</p>
<p>Chicago is the 2nd largest financial center in the US. All the major banks have large operations there. It also got the major future/derivative exchanges (e.g. CME) 1789, I am not sure where you got the idea that DC is such a financial/business center. DC is known for politics, Fed govts, and non-profits; I am living in DC now; it never strikes me as a huge business center and it’s definitely not anywhere close to a financial hub. </p>
<p>Most importantly, like I said, is that most of the jobs (or at least it seems to me) require US citizenship. Even consulting/engineering firms want US citizenshps because almost inevitably, they feed on Federal contracts. I have the Green Card and I still find myself being shut out for a lot of DC jobs due to citizenship requirement. Since you are a US citizen, you probably take it for granted and don’t realize how ubiquitous that requirement is in DC. This has nothing to do with tight economy; in Chicago market, there’d be virtually no difference between a Green Card holder and US citizen. But in DC, the difference is huge.</p>
<p>and do you not think a Georgetown degree can land you a job in Chicago?</p>
<p>The OP needs information that will help him/her make a decision. I personally don’t care where he or she decides to go. Georgetown and NU will survive regardless. Nevertheless, it’s important to highlight the strengths and weakness of the two schools so the OP can make an educated decision that is right for them.</p>
<p>In DC, Georgetown has the clear advantage over NU at the international financial institutions. I assume NU has a comparative advantage in Chicago. What are the options for an international student in the Chicago job market? </p>
<p>At Georgetown, an international undergrad student interested in business can also study accounting and get a job with KPMG, E&Y, PwC, or Deloitte & Touche. These are global firms that regularly recruit internationals.</p>
<p>SamLee, why did you move to DC? How is your NU network serving you there? I would imagine with the Obama administration there might be a slight uptick in the size of NU’s alumni network in DC. But those jobs would be mostly federal and not of much help to an international student.</p>
<p>Another key difference is that NU has fraternities and sororities and GU does not. That may or not be important, but it does impact campus life.</p>
<p>Georgetown’s campus life is also influenced by the School of Foreign Service which brings an international vibe to campus and fosters a robust global network of Georgetown Alums. One can travel almost anywhere in the world and find a Georgetown alumni club. In fact Georgetown’s new business school building was built with a $20 million donation from one of its international students from the nineties he’s now Lebanon’s Prime Minister designate. Georgetown prepares students to be leaders in a global economy.</p>
<p>With regard to visa status, I don’t think the OP shared that info, but he or she may or may not have a green card, in that case the points about the Chicago job market are not relevant at this time. If the OP does not have a green card, then what firms in Chicago are willing to sponsor visas? This is super important. No sense in developing a business network in Chicago unless there are firms willing to hire and sponsor. For OP’s sake, I hope he or she has one, otherwise the job market starts to shrink pretty quickly and the opportunities at the IFI’s or international accounting firms become even more attractive.</p>
<p>
The fact that OP said he’s “international” means he doesn’t have Green Card. Green Card holders are considered domestic; they even qualify for federal aids. We don’t know how many and what firms hire internationals in Chicago; but the difference between the two cities is that firms in Chicago are free to hire internationals if they need them. Many organizations in DC, on the other hand, <em>cannot</em> hire internationals because 1) they are fed govt agencies, 2) they are contractors for the feds, or 3) they feed on Fed projects. I’d lived in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; job seekers in those cities rarely come across the phrase “ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance”; but in DC, it shows up all the time.</p>
<p>As for accounting, GT is of course better since NU has no accounting program. But KPMG, E&Y, PwC, or Deloitte & Touche in McLean, VA did <em>not</em> hire internationals for their audit/tax associates this past cycle. In fact, if OP wants to do accounting, he/she should stay in UIUC. UIUC got the top-5 accounting program and it is much better than GT in that area. The Big 4 in Chicago have much bigger practice with the commercial clients (such as public financial institutions) than the Big 4 in McLean which have significant Federal practice. Internationals can’t join their Fed practice however. Now that I think of it, majoring in accounting at UIUC and graduate from one of the top accounting programs is probably the safest route if the goal is to stay and get a job with the Big 4 in the US.</p>
<p>Let’s get real, the only advantage DC has over Chicago is work affiliated w/ foreign embassies (not that Chicago doesn’t have a good no. of consulates) and govt. contract work (and as SL already noted, much of which isn’t open to foreign nationals).</p>
<p>Chicago has the 3rd highest metropolitan product in the US; DC is 5th and is about $125 billion less than that for Chicago.</p>
<p>Also, according to the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network, Chicago is considered an “alpha world city” 1 tier behind cities like Paris and Tokyo and 2 tiers behing NYC and London.</p>
<p>DC is considered a “beta world city”, along w/ cities like Atlanta, SF, Melbourne, etc.</p>
<p>Now, as for academics, NU has considerably more highly ranked depts. than Georgetown, being more of a research school.</p>
<p>@Sam Lee
actually i am thinking about double majoring in finance and accounting (or international business). i don’t think accounting is the thing i am interested in, otherwise i won’t decide to transfer.altough NYC is the best place, i know it is really hard to find a job in NYC for an international student. so i’ve been thinking about doing banking or consulting in Hong Kong or Shanghai.</p>
<p>The Governor of Illinois, the State Attorney General and the senior US Senator from Illinois apparently did not have trouble finding jobs in Illinois with Georgetown degrees.</p>
<p>wang1215,</p>
<p>You are actually in a pretty good position to make a decision. You know what you want to study and where you want to work after graduation. </p>
<p>The only place you can study finance and accounting is GU.</p>
<p>Getting a job in Hong Kong or Shanghai is also feasible from Georgetown. You can tap the Georgetown network the minute you step on campus. Start calling GU alums in Hong Kong and Shanghai that work in your field of interest and tell them what you want to do. Most alumni listed in the University wide Online Alumni database are registered because they want to help other Hoyas. It is a great way to make contacts. You can also reach out to alumni through Georgetown’s International Clubs. In fact, there are two in China. One in Beijing and one in Shanghai. </p>
<p>As you are making your decision why don’t you try contacting them now. They may be a good resource for you. Just tell them that you are thinking about transferring, what your plans are, and ask what if any opportunities there would be in China post graduation.</p>
<p>If you decide on GU you will find that it is a place where people like to help each other. GU emphasizes community and the community is tight knit. It may not be for everyone, but it is one of GU’s differentiating factors.</p>
<p>FYI, The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) also has offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai. This is another viable option for you because the IFC’s HQ is in DC. GU’s proximity to the IFC will make networking easier. If you are motivated to pursue this option, the opportunity is there.</p>
<p>@1789
thank you! i will try to contact them to help me to make the decision.</p>