I’ve asked this question on so many threads and on different websites, I’ll use it this last time because I’ms still having a hard time deciding.
Hello all, I am a current college student who has been accepted to Vanderbilt as an Econ transfer and Cornell in the Industrial and Labor Relations school. My deadline is fast approaching and I need to decide which would be better for investment banking. I am interested in mostly BB, preferably in NYC but the location is not very important. I have read many threads about both of these schools, but not exactly in the situation that I am in. With Cornell, I will not be able to transfer into any other major or school due to their university policy, so I would graduate as an Industrial and Labor Relations major. At Vanderbilt, I will graduate as an Econ major, but I could change it to a different one (but I wouldn’t see the point as Vanderbilt does not have a finance major). Both schools are offering generous aid that’s pretty equivalent, so it pretty much boils down to which one would have the best prospects of breaking into IB? Thanks for your help.
As a former upstate New Yorker, I would Avoid The Gray (cold, snow, ice) and choose Sunny Vanderbilt.
Good luck!
I grew up in Minnesota and go to college in Chicago, so weather is not really a problem…
I think they will be about the same. Neither are top target schools for IB but both are good enough to get recruited. I know Cornell is a top target school and some ILR students work in IB, but I can’t imagine ILR being a top target for recruitment when firms can recruit at AEM and Econ CAS. Maybe if you were at the top of your class or have personal connections. ILR grads are more likely to go into HR or Consulting at a top bank/firm from ILR. But the lack of ILR graduates in IB could also stem from the fact that most ILR students aren’t interested in IB.
On the other hand, Cornell has a huge alumni network and presence so going to Cornell can be helpful for employment regardless of what you want to do. And a lot of ILR grads end up going to business school and getting into IB is still doable.
Vandy isn’t a top tier target either (Ivies, Duke, Stanford, MIT, etc) but it is very reputable, has a big alumni network, and you will get a good education. If you work hard and make the most of it, you can get into IB.
I think it all comes down to which school is a better fit for you. Have you visited both schools?
@Dontskipthemoose No I haven’t had the chance to visit both schools. Both would be pretty expensive for me to visit. I’ve talked to people in ILR and they have said that ILR grads are going into finance at a greater rate than ever and also that the reason why in the past there hasn’t been that many is that ILR students don’t show an interest in IB (so you would be right). Anyways, one of my other interests is definitely consulting, do you think ILR is a good place to get recruited for top firms in management consulting?
@Mastodon97 didn’t know about ILR’s recent trends. And ILR is definitely good for consulting. Labor relations and making workers more productive is extremely valuable in consulting.
Personally, I would say pick Cornell but that’s because of my personal bias towards Cornell. I also applied to ILR but was rejected lol. But at the same time, I am not interested in IB.
An economics degree is also very marketable and sought after in business. Most students at top schools without business undergrad major in economics and then go into business, so consider that as well.
You should also consider other factors besides which school will be best for IB.
@Dontskipthemoose Reading a lot about both schools atmosphere, I assume that everything found in Vanderbilt can be found in Cornell, but not true for the other way around. Honestly, I’m not a complainer so I don’t think I’d have any problems with either. That is why I’m solely going off of career prospects. I know econ is more marketable and its also the subject I’m most passionate about. ILR includes econ as you probably know, along with other law, history, public policy and stats (all of which I’m also passionate about). So now you can see why this is such a hard decision for me 
both schools are very different socially and culturally, so I probably wouldn’t say everything found in one school will be available at the other. For instance both schools are D1 but Vandy is in the SEC so football culture, tailgating, etc. are huge. Greek life is also more dominant at Vanderbilt. You can’t go wrong with either school, but it seems like you know inside that you want to go to Cornell.