<p>Trying to decide if I want to apply to Stern ED II</p>
<p>Background
-Male
-NY Resident
-93 GPA at a nationally ranked HS, 1510/1600 SAT (800M + 710 CR)
-Taking Calc III as a HS Senior, tons of business-related ecs
-Don't need Financial Aid at all (though scholarships cant hurt)
-Accepted to Michigan EA, applying to LSA Honors Program
-Contemplating between Stern ED II or just Stern RD
-Intended Major: Finance
-Future Job Aspirations: Investment Banking, Private Equity, Hedge Funds</p>
<p>Current gathered input (Feel Free to correct me if any are wrong)</p>
<p>Stern Positives:
-Middle of NYC, better intership/job opportunities and access to top companies
-Begin's and ends with a professional/business-related education, similar to MBA style
-Stern well respected, targeted like Ivy's, Wall St. packed w "Sternies"
-Average starting salary: $62,000
-Top employers: PWC, Goldman, Ernst & Young, Morgan Stanley (about 10 to each)</p>
<p>Stern Negatives:
-Cost: $63,000 a year (tuition+room+expenses)
-Stern Curve: 25% of class an A/A-, while the majority get B's and Cs
-Cutthroat/competitive^: only major Try-Hards get A's -> You need to study ass off
-No "real" campus, NYC is the campus
-Everyone is kind of isolated and its harder to make friends than at other colleges
-Stern is predominantly Asian females apparently (not hot ones either)
-Somehow Stern's job placement is 67% (Businessweek)
-Employers expect ppl to have yearround internships-> takes up a lot of time</p>
<p>Ross Positives:
-Only costs $53,000 a year
-Less competitive, inflated GPAs
-Average Starting Salary:$62,000
-Top employers: Deloitte, Microsoft, Accenture, Goldman Sachs (About 10 to each)
-Has Greek Life/Partying, easier to make friends
-You're expect to not have internships due to location -> more time saved
-Tons of alumni connections all over Wall St </p>
<p>Ross Negatives:</p>
<p>-Far away from NYC -> less direct opportunities for job offerings
-People rely more on On-Campus Recruiting but only TOP kids get recruited to big corps
-Probably have to travel to NYC for interviews
-Ross has a way higher job placement of 91% according to Businessweek
-You don't start off in Ross but rather just LSA
-Ross is predominantly white males</p>
<p>Questions:
1. If I want to go into ibanking or private equity in the future and make some big $$$ in the long run, would Stern or Ross be a better undergraduate option? </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Also, which would prepare me to get into a better graduate school? Of course a lot of it is based on my own abilities, but the name of the school is really important and if one prepares me better than the other, that's a big factor too...</p></li>
<li><p>How much does GPA matter for UNDERGRADUATE job hiring? (I know it isn't everything but HOW significant is it?)</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone says that Stern is close to all the big companies so internships are easier, but what is the point of having an internship during the school year besides getting you name out to employers and getting experience? Seems like I would just lose a lot of time to myself and to my academics -> less fun and lower grades -> more stress </p></li>
<li><p>For those who went to Stern, ever regret choosing Stern? My fear is that I'd end up working super hard and have no fun but still end up falling behind in grades due to the over-competitiveness to beat the Stern Curve and then I won't make it too far and end up getting a middle-class level pay in the future... DOES that happen alot to people? Or does almost everyone leave Stern with no regrets and big smiles?</p></li>
</ol>