I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to choose between these 8 amazing institutions. My dream has always been to have a career in finance (private equity) but I am unable to tell which college will offer me the most opportunities in the industry after I graduate. This is my rank in terms so far:
Stanford: fantastic campus, good location, fantastic sports fantastic alumni, fantastic brand name, fantastic academics
Princeton: fantastic campus, awful location (sorry, New Jersey), fantastic alumni, fantastic brand name, fantastic academics, very small school, no undergraduate or graduate business school
Duke: great community, girlfriend is going here*, good alumni, good academics, good brand name
Georgetown: fantastic location, great community, great brand name, great Wall St. placement, OK alumni
Berkley: OK location, strong business program, OK brand name, too many students vying for the same limited opportunities
UChicago: great location, good brand name; I don’t know too much about UChicago
Stern: great location, good brand name, no campus, no sports, no community, too many students vying for the same opportunities, good Wall St. placement
I am not sure if this list truly reflects the value of each institutions (in regards to furthering my career in finance) so I would greatly appreciate any input from those that are more experienced than myself. If any of you are alums from these schools, I would especially appreciate your assistance. I know it may seem a little vain to include the school’s brand name value in my considerations but I truly believe that it is one of the most important aspects of a college. While I disagree with it in concept, colleges as a luxury brand is a cultural phenomena that seems to be especially prevalent in the financial services industry. Please correct me if my belief is incorrect.
In addition to the schools listed above, I was waitlisted at the elusive Wharton (Penn) as well as Harvard. I know it’s very unlikely that I will be moved off the waitlist for these schools but I would also like to see where they fit in the rankings. I was also accepted to Lehigh university and GW university. Currently, I am not considering either of those universities but I’m not opposed to if there is something that I’m missing.
- "Bringing you girlfriend to college is like bringing sand to the beach; you don't do it." My girlfriend attending Duke isn't a huge deal but it's still a consideration I want to make.
Thank you!