How do you compare Notre Dame vs Georgetown and Boston College?

<p>I would appreciate any input. Because I think the schools are very similar in many aspects, but that's just my opinion.</p>

<p>From an outside perspective, yes, they do seem similar, but the essential feel of each campus is distinctly different. The thing that sets ND apart is its drive to be the best Catholic university it can be, as well as its intense focus on the residence life system in place, which truly fosters a family community in each dorm. </p>

<p>Obviously, I have never attended either BC or Georgetown, but having visited both and from hearing reports of friends who attend both schools, I think ND is a truly unique place that occupies its own niche, a niche different from BC and Georgetown.</p>

<p>What about academics and the percentage of students who go to "good" graduate schools? I have never been to Notre Dame, so I don't know anything about it. I got accepted to BC, and I'll be pretty happy to go there.</p>

<p>What is your definition of a "good" graduate school? I would say a large percentage of our students go on to "good" grad schools, I knew several people that went to Harvard, but you have to be careful because "good" varies by subject. For instance, I am going to West Virginia for my PhD. At first, this may not sound great, and some asked why I went from ND to West Virginia. In reality, it is a top-tier Clinical Psych program with a stronger reputation than ND psych (personal opinion) with less than 10% of applicants gaining acceptance.</p>

<p>ND does well with grad school overall, but if there is a particular field you are interested in I can help more. I know ND does very well with medicine, dentistry, and law. For Psychology, it depends on what type of program you want to go into.</p>

<p>I am really interested in Business (1st priority) and then Law (2nd). How is the undergrad focus at Notre Dame? Is it much of a research powerhouse like Harvard?</p>

<p>As an undergraduate, it is tough to do much better than ND in business (it is possible of course), and one of the characteristics of Notre Dame students which many people see as a negative, but you can take it as you will is that the place is very profession-centric. People like to get a job, go to law school, go to med school, but not as many people go on to their Phds. Not saying this is true for everyone at all, just that this is the perception. In other words, a lot of people go from Notre Dame onto law school with great success.</p>

<p>I am accepted into Notre Dame, Georgetown, and BC pursing a field in business. I'm wondering how is the job/internship placement in notre dame due to its location?</p>

<p>Despite the fact that you would think being in Boston would present more job/internship placement opportunities, ND has the upper hand here due to the incredibly extensive alumni network. ND grads like to hire their own kind, and will go out of their way to do so. The good thing about this is that there are a lot of ND grads in the business/law/finances world.</p>

<p>Which of those three schools will give you the best opportunity to go to the top fifteen business/law schools?</p>

<p>The institution from which you earned your undergraduate degree is, at best, a secondary consideration in your application to law school. Those interested in law school should consider schools at which they feel they can best succeed in earning high marks in class and in developing the skills necessary in earning a high test score. Your shot at getting into an elite law school depends almost entirely on your ability rather than on the perceived prestige of your undergraduate institution.</p>

<p>If you want to go into business, Georgetown is your best option. Don't like to admit it, but Notre Dame is usually not a target school for most prestigious firms in the finance sector.</p>

<p>But, if you're going to graduate school anyways, it doesn't matter where you go. Go wherever is the best fit/most fun. Imo, that would be ND, lol.</p>

<p>Business</a> School Rankings and Profiles: EMBA, Executive Education, MBA, Part-time MBA, Distance MBA</p>

<p>Not that the rankings are a be all and and end all... but Notre Dame ranks #3 here, where Georgetown ranks #19 for undergraduate business. Going further for the MBA, ND ranks #20 and Georgetown is ranked as "second-tier". I don't know what anecdotal evidence you got that said prestigious firms in the finance sector (they don't exist anymore by the way, at least in I-banking) do not look at Notre Dame graduates, but it is simply not true.</p>

<p>Georgetown has a far more diverse student body with, for example, a student body that is about 12-15% Jewish. This diversity is coupled with a visibility on the World stage of having alumni Heads of State, a US President, Supreme Court Justices, Presidents of major secular universitires, numerous US Senators ,cultural icons like John Guare etc. which gives Georgetown a "panache" that leads to a "you can go anyhwere, do anything, open any door" type access to its degrees, that Notre Dame with its more parcochial student body and more strictly academic recognition does not have in my opinion. Both are great, great schools and since Boston College is in the thread, it should be pointed out that it is really on the move as well (we almost had a President Kerry four years ago.)</p>

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I don't know what anecdotal evidence you got that said prestigious firms in the finance sector (they don't exist anymore by the way, at least in I-banking) do not look at Notre Dame graduates, but it is simply not true.

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<p>It is true. Most prestigious i-bank/consulting/finance firms don't recruit here, and the couple that did students had to jump through hoops for. i.e. Merrill Lynch(yea I know it's part of BoA now) only interviewed like 5-10 out of hundreds of apps here, and I bet only hired a few.</p>

<p>Don't listen to undergrad biz school rankings; they're pretty useless. Also, if you really are a business major, you should know that MBA's outside of the top 10 or 15 are a waste of money.</p>

<p>If you want to work corporate or accounting, ND is a good ticket to those type of jobs. There are ND grads in ibanking/consulting/asset management etc., but the chances of getting those types of jobs through on campus recruiting are not high. At Georgetown, they'd be slightly higher(still not great), but your best bet would be ivy league schools/Chicago/Stanford.</p>

<p>A recent business career fair included Bank of America (traditional banking), Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (investment banking) and Vanguard (asset management). I am not trying to say that Notre Dame is necessarily the best at giving you the opportunity to work at these places, just that there is recruitment that goes on from these institutions. Also, of the top 5 investment banks from last year, none exist in the same form and probably never will again (Bear Stearns bought by JPM, Lehman Brothers filing Chapter 11, Merrill Lynch bought by BoA, with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs being converted into a bank holding company). Most firms do not hire consultants with only undergraduate degrees anyway...</p>

<p>It is a little unrealistic to expect an ibanking/asset management type of job if you want to go to Mendoza. Goldman and Morgan Stanley might hire 2 or 3 grads each, every year- that sounds like a crapshoot to me. Then again, there are only a select dozen schools where it is not a crapshoot.</p>

<p>The top hiring companies out of Mendoza are corporate and accounting like GE, PWC, Target, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Johnson & Johnson, Ford, Procter & Gamble, etc. So if you're going that direction, ND is a great option.</p>

<p>If you want to go into high finance from ND, though, it is definitely possible. Just not likely from our career center. The alumni at ND are loyal as hell and many will go the full 9 yards to get you an internship/job if you ask. I know a few people who have landed at Blackrock, UBS, and Morgan Stanley this way. You just have to find the alumni.</p>

<p>Oh yea, I've heard consulting is definitely possible to land through our career center as well.</p>

<p>Didn't John Kerry graduate from Yale?? Why, then, do you mention him in the same sentence as Boston College? Just curious!</p>

<p>John Kerry graduated from BC Law School so the other guy is right.</p>