More broadly, for kids coming from LACs looking to go into business (perhaps any field that does not require grad school or professional school as a prerequisite) – it means being proactive, starting as a 1st year. Many selective LACs have terrific career services departments that want to work with students right away, helping first to identify interests and careers, then classes, certifications, externships, summer programs, and by senior year, mock interviews etc. The summer before senior year is essential for interning, and if possible, the summer before junior year. Many selective LACs have either automatic or application-based funding for unpaid summer internships. The resources are there, but students need to walk through the door at career services to start the process.
I know 4 kids from Penn who work at Starbucks.
They’re in M&A and strategic planning…but they work at Starbucks. My point is that throwing around the idea that the NESCAC is obviously developing strong graduates by looking at Google is silly. Half of them could be in a call center. The other half are miserable.
I’m not going to go back and forth about whether THAT KID…the one only the OP knows…is better of at Colby or Cornell. I gave my opinion. I love the LACs…my kids went to LACs…but the story I heard suggests larger school to me. I’m sure I’m wrong…ignore it.
Hey, it’s easy enough to check out LinkedIn. I actually agree with most, or at least - many- of your points. Are we friends now? 
Broadly speaking, LACs are a reasonable option for those who intend to earn a graduate degree.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the education a student gets at an LAC. I personally would send my kid to an LAC. So, I agree with a lot of what you said.
BUT, you really didn’t answer my question, which based on the OP, started with the premise, “If you want to go to college to study finance . . .
I could have continued by simply saying, ”. . . why pick a college that doesn’t offer Finance?””
The fact is that there are a couple of NESCACs which offer Finance as I mentioned. The fact is that Babson does teach it’s students to think and might just do it better than any of the NESCACs. The fact is that there are non-NESCACs which offer Finance. Bucknell is just one. If a student doesn’t like the fit at one, find another one like Claremont McKenna, Richmond, or Washington & Lee.
The first four Williams grads on my LinkedIn were second level connections that had this experience:
- Philip Morris financial analyst, MBA and then long PepsiCo career (VP)
- Darden MBA, regional PE firm and now corporate finance director
- Stanford MBA and then Lehman Bros IB for nine years
- PWC direct hire, Stern PT MBA and now head of an office
Here’s the Colgate hires for 2020 in economics. Also look up mathematical economics. Not too shabby. I wonder how that compares with the list from a large state school. Of course, Colgate is Patriot League and not NESCAC.
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The article linked below profiles three recent Hamilton graduates who will be working as analysts for the same investment bank (Deutsche). For all three, internships and associated networking opportunities were central to their results. Deutsche, in particular, seems especially rich with Hamilton grads:
Beyond Deutsche, the CEO of Goldman Sachs graduated from Hamilton, so the school’s presence in investment banking certainly seems prominent.
So you got me to question my impressions and invest some time considering what’s offered. What are the focus differences in the curriculums? When you say finance is that different than when I say finance?
So I went to 2 schools I’ve visited but have no direct interaction with (my uncle is in the Bucknell Athletic Hall of Fame, but I doubt that will taint my objectivity). I looked at the Finance offerings at Bucknell vs. Bowdoin.
My reaction: if you want to be a CPA (which I am) or work in accounting, go to Bucknell. If you want to be an investment banker, work in a bank, trade currencies, be an analyst in a hedge fund or work with a Fintech/blockchain environment, go to Bowdoin.
My guess is that “Finance” for most people, especially 18-year-old kids deciding a path, would lead them to Bowdoin. What’s telling…is that Bucknell is selling those roles as accessible through their curriculum and connections:
Entirely possible, but is Bucknell the best path given a choice? Big 4 partner…yes. All of the others…I doubt it.
What struck me the most about this quick tour is that I took most of the classes offered at Bucknell in college, and have learned much of the information offered at Bowdoin during my career. If being a CPA is the goal, then Bucknell is the choice. If being a leader in an investment firm is the goal…I’d lean Bowdoin.
Some of these distinctions may relate to the economics programs of these respective colleges. Bucknell, at 36th in the analysis linked below, doesn’t really compare with Bowdoin (20th) or most of the other NESCACs (which predominate in the top 20).
Stay away from that 10/10 button on the top of the link… Bowdoin is looking up at Bucknell. Since that’s more recent, wouldn’t that be a better indicator for prospective students?
The list looks like it is based on research citations. Bowdoin had 5 authors, most of which seem to have published >25 years ago. Compared to 3 authors at Bucknell, who had better average rating than the 5 at Bowdoin. It might be relevant for PhD students, if the colleges offered PhDs, but I doubt that it’s of particular interest to either typical students or typical employers.
It sounds like OP is interested in wall street banks. So he/she might look at which banks recruit at the particular LACs, what portion of employers work at them, post-grad survey, etc. An example one for Bucknell is at https://www.bucknell.edu/sites/default/files/file/2019-07/class_of_2018_post_graduate_survey.pdf . It looks like the most common employers for Bucknell econ majors were as follows. I don’t see any from Goldman Sachs or some other well known names. The overall average salary was $61k
1 . Oracle (5)
2. Accenture (3)
2. Marsh & McLennan (3)
In contrast accounting majors had a higher $69k salary and a different list of most common employers:
1 . PwC (7)
2. Deloitte (5)
3. RSM (3)
In a separate study, “Economics Research at National Liberal Arts Colleges,” Hartley and Robinson commented on the importance of faculty scholarship to the undergraduate student experience:
Prospective applicants will benefit from using their own judgment when considering various opinions.
The quotes are nice, but they aren’t particularly relevant. The specific colleges that were mentioned were Bowdoin and Bucknell.
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Bowdoin is listed as having 5 published authors. 3 of the 5 only published in 1994 – 27 years ago – and are no longer at Bowdoin. Only 1 of the remaining 2 is listed among the 15 econ professors on Bowdoin’s website. His publication is a working papers with few citations. Bowdoin econ does not appear to be focusing on research publications, or at least not focusing on getting their publications listed on the IDEAS website and ranking list. Many have done other publicat8ions that are not listed.
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Bucknell is listed as having 3 published authors. 2 of the 3 appear to have several publications. All 3 are listed among the 29 econ professors on Bucknell’s website, and still appear to be working at Bucknell. However the other 90% of Bucknell econ professors are not mentioned on the published author list… Bucknell also does not appear to be focusing on research publications, or at least not focusing on getting their publications listed on the IDEAS website and ranking list. Again many have done other publicat8ions that are not listed.
Bucknell certainly sounds better than Bowdoin by this IDEAS publication metric, yet you wrote the opposite and said Bucknell “doesn’t really compare with Bowdoin.” Regardless of which college is ranked higher on the IDEAS publication list, what does this tell us about which is the better option for the OP who is interested in a college that will be a target for Wall Street banks? Do you think Wall Street banks are basing their target schools on this list? I don’t think that’s what Wall Street banks are focusing on, when deciding where to recruit. I’d make a similar comment about almost any non-academic employer.
At the student level, most students attending LACs are not focused on research publications of small minority of professors, like they might be for a PhD program. I’d expect students who are especially interested in research publications probably wouldn’t choose a LAC and would instead favor a college that has a grad program and more focus on research publications, in some cases prioritizing publications over undergrad teaching. For example, HYPSM… type non-LAC colleges usually have 50+ listed published econ authors, often with many citations.
The contrast I’d made between Bowdoin and Bucknell was too sharp. Publishing and citations appear to drop off significantly, then begin to level, after ~#17 (Colby). An even greater contrast separates Bucknell from some of the other NESCACs.
The ranking is updated monthly. Schools tend to remain in the same general zones, but do frequently change positions to reflect current scholarship and faculty changes. The source itself seems to be maintained by volunteer social scientists under a recognition of its limitations.
In the broader category, most people intuitively recognize that highly ranked schools represent superb economics programs (including for undergraduate study): Economics rankings: US Economics Departments | IDEAS/RePEc. However, there appears to be resistance when liberal arts colleges are similarly considered.
I searched for Tufts on my LinkedIn and the first grad that popped up got a BA in English. Worked as an Asst Editor at Harper Collins and 15+ years later is head of HR at a company.
Key is that your son will find a solid first job from a NESCAC and then has a good shot at Wall Street after a top MBA. Those top MBA programs know and value the NESCACs.