<p>The prices tags on both schools are very close, both are good undergraduate business schools (although online BC appears higher in the rankings, some of the students I've been talking to have never heard of it and value Stern much more). Does Stern have more prestige or something, and if so, does prestige honestly even matter when picking a school?!</p>
<p>I'd like to have a job on Wall Street someday, but would my choice of undergraduate school seriously affect that? Like, are there some better connections I could make at Stern just because of its location in NYC vs at Boston College or is that overexaggerated a bit too much? (I'm also looking at Northeastern which would be half the cost of either of these schools. Again, would I have less opportunity there to land an internship or future job with some big-name-company?)</p>
<p>Any feedback on these school (pros, cons, personal observations, etc) would be greatly appreciated!!</p>
<p>Getting into Wall Street heavily depends on prestige and networking. NYU Stern is a known target school that sends many graduates to the the Street in top firms. Boston College isn’t too known for Wall Street finance, even though it is a great university. If you’re looking to get to Wall Street, take NYU Stern if you can afford it, but only if you can afford it.</p>
<p>Wall Street is very different than the rest of the business world. Prestige is highly regarded and will help you get your foot in the door networking wise.</p>
<p>That’s being somewhat kind to BC. US News has BC all the way back at #24, tied with places like Arizona State, Michigan State, and Texas A&M. I’m sure these are all fine business schools for certain purposes, but top Wall Street firms are not likely to do much recruiting, if any at all, at schools at this level.</p>
<p>Bloomberg Businessweek has BC CSOM as #6 this year, it falls right under Wharton which is at #5 (a lot of people thought this was stupid cause they argue that it should be #1) but anyways…NYU is either #14 or #15 I think.</p>
<p>So like what’s the deal with the this ranking list like I understand that rankings are done based on different criteria, so I get there there would be a bit of a difference but why so MUCH of a difference?</p>
<p>and Coste: Thanks for your input! I’m certainly considering the points you’ve brought up.</p>
<p>Well I think you’re underestimating how different the criteria they’re using for ranking is. Take a closer look at how they’re creating their rankings and then decide which list better fits what you’re looking for in a college. </p>
<p>Bloomberg has made industry people skeptical because Notre Dame has been at the tip of the list for the past few years, above even Wharton.</p>
<p>It’s more practical to stick to USnews for this if you’re going heavily on ranking. </p>
<p>While I’m not going to a top 10, I used both lists and found a reasonable school money wise that is in the top 15 (top 20 definitely) between each list. Most important thing is being able to build your network. I didn’t even apply to Stern because of the price tag of full pay and because my college consultant (hired - she worked as a recruiter in IB Goldman Sachs) said that there’s so much competition at Stern I may want to go to a lesser known school where I’m a top student to have better access to their alumni network and top program benefits.</p>
<p>So rank isn’t everything, it’s all about crafting what’s best for you. While they are important, don’t use then as your determining factor!</p>
<p>Inaccurate assumption. Georgetown is generally barely ranked in the top 20 undergraduate business programs on US News, yet MSB sends more grads to Wall Street than any undergraduate program excluding Wharton (and maybe Stern).</p>
<p>I’m a current student at Stern with relatives and close friends attending BC + CSOM. I can guarantee you that Bulge Bracket banks (Barclays, Citi, UBS, DB), Middle Markets (Jefferies, D&P), and Asset MGMT (Fidelity) DO perform on-campus recruit at BC, specifically CSOM. They have one of the best finance programs/faculties on the coast, and are in a prime location for networking.</p>
<p>That being said, I would still choose Stern over CSOM given location and program strength. Prestige and networking (and a dose of common sense) are the governing factors of making it onto the Street.</p>
<p>The alumni network and recruiters and things like that…I’m worried that those won’t be good if I don’t go to NYU. Like BC CSOM is a good school but would I be able to make the relationships I need to land a nice job afterwards? Honestly, rankings aren’t important to me personally but I feel like rankings are based off of these things I just mentioned and THOSE are important. That’s why I’m not considering Northeastern as seriously at this point; I’m worried that I won’t be able to have those things if I chose it, although I love everything else about the school.</p>
<p>icheetah90:
</p>
<p>Yeah I’m being told a lot that prestige is a huge deal of making it onto Wall Street but suppose I changed my mind about that EXACT career path in a couple years. Like say I decided that was not my goal. Would I still be able to land a good job if I went to CSOM or would Stern still be better, in your opinion?</p>
<p>Hands down go to Stern for IB, yes BC has “Barclays, Citi, UBS, DB” recruiting on campus, but Stern has every bulge bracket firm (minus DB) coming on campus for firmwide recruiting. (btw Stern does still send kids to DB IBD) In total, there are 20+ top investment banks recruiting on campus and almost every small regional investment bank looking to hire posts listings on the general career site</p>
<p>USNews ranking shouldn’t be used for CSOM, CSOM still gets recruiters from Wall Street and as it has been pointed out GTown is also ranked relatively low yet they send a bunch of people to Wall Street as well.</p>
<p>Stern of course is more of a target than CSOM.</p>
<p>Is this really a serious question? I already pointed out that prominent firms do recruit at BC and CSOM so unless you massively underachieve I don’t think you should have problems landing “a good job” (which is ridiculously vague). </p>
<p>Stern would be a better choice for finance related options given its location and its reputation as one of the 2-3 strongest finance programs in the country. That being said, I get the feeling that you don’t exactly have a very clear picture of what it is you want to do in “business” or on “Wall Street”.</p>
The only reason I re-asked is because I’m honestly so blown away by how underrated BC seems to be by all of the OTHER people I’ve spoken to. </p>
<p>And you’re 100% correct I don’t really have a very clear picture of what I want to do at ALL, but I’m just trying to keep my options open.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who responded!! I’ll certainly keep all of this in mind as I make my decision and I hope this thread is helpful to everyone else deciding amongst these schools!</p>