<p>Hello! Just heard back recently from these three great schools, and I am very excited. As somebody who wants to do something with finance or economics (think Wall Street, maybe ibanking or trading, etc.), which do you think is the best recruited school here? Here's my line of thinking right now:</p>
<p>Princeton is Princeton, however I feel that the grade deflation coupled with the academic intensity of the students would make me subpar and not stand out to recruiting companies. Is this a genuine concern?</p>
<p>Columbia is right in NYC, so I feel like they should be getting some of the top companies in the world doing interviews with their students. Is this true? Or does Princeton truly possess an advantage over Columbia in this field?</p>
<p>Duke... well, I like their social life there more than the others. I like it a little bit more than Princeton (and honestly, a lot more than Columbia). It is more of a true college experience, and from what I've heard, they are no slouch when compared to Columbia and Princeton.</p>
<p>So, what suggestions do you guys have? I'm honestly torn between these three great universities!</p>
<p>Also, location isn't really a factor. I'm from California so they are all a bit aways from me.</p>
<p>*EDIT: Money is also not a consideration at any of these schools, they will all cost around the same amount.</p>
<p>I don’t think those factors will hurt recruitment. Princeton’s prestige will carry more weight than Duke or Columbia’s. If you don’t think Princeton is a good fit for you, I could see turning it down for Duke or Columbia, but if your main concern is recruitment, Princeton will serve you best.</p>
<p>This isn’t a 100% accurate since Linked-In profiles are prone to self-selection bias and there are a lot of other boutique banks where graduates can join but it gives you some insight.</p>
<p>All 3 of these schools are peers with regards to placement into consulting and finance. If you want a true edge in recruiting, go to Wharton.</p>
<p>Columbia and Duke also have larger undergraduate student bodies than Princeton which needs to be taken into account. Also, the percentage of students pursuing finance jobs at each school would need to be considered. I agree that all 3 are good choices for finance, but if I were to pick one that has an edge, it would be Princeton.</p>
<p>ennisthemenace, can you please clarify the numbers you’ve posted?
Do they represent the number of each school’s undergraduates each company hired? During what time span? Out of how many applicants?</p>
<p>tk21769, those are the amount of current graduates on LinkedIn that are working as IBanking Analysts from each of these universities. I-banking is a 2 YR stint so we can assume that most of these profiles are of students who graduated either in the Class of 2011 or later.</p>
<p>It’s not 100% accurate but I see no reason why graduates of either of these 3 schools are more or less likely to use a professional networking site than the other, do you? Columbia has ~1,400 students (not counting Barnard or General Studies), Princeton has ~1,300, and Duke has ~1,650. I guarantee you that Princeton has a higher percentage of students interested in Finance compared to Columbia and Duke because of the smaller premed population.</p>
<p>" I feel that the grade deflation coupled with the academic intensity of the students would make me subpar and not stand out to recruiting companies."</p>
<p>If you want to get into investment banking you will benefit from the following: school reputation, high GPA, great interviewing skills, network</p>
<p>school reputation - I think Princeton is head and shoulders above Duke and Columbia (both great schools)
GPA - may matter less from a school known to have a rigorous system
interviewing skills - much more relevant than the academic intensity of rival applicants
network - all 3 schools can help with this, Princeton is at least as strong as the others, less relevant during on-campus recruiting process</p>
<p>My suggestion would be to choose Princeton, really focus on your grades and learn to interview well as soon as possible.</p>
<p>It will be tougher to get the minimum 3.5 GPA (cutoff) to be a strong candidate for Investment Banking from Princeton than it will be from Columbia or Duke.</p>
<p>^^^So what? It’s Princeton. What is the cross admit data for students from Princeton vs Duke? I can guarantee Princeton is the overwhelming choice between the two schools. Companies are not stupid either, they know which schools have grade inflation/deflation. Are you so sure that the so called 3.5 GPA (cutoff) is universally held? I highly doubt it. </p>
<p>I don’t think Princeton has enough of an “edge” here to say that one should absolutely choose Princeton over everything else. I currently attend Columbia (as a grad student, so I have no horse in this race) and all of the huge banking, finance, consulting firms interview here; our students do internships there over the summer as well as during the school year because they’re already right here in the city. But they also head on down to Duke and do recruiting there, too. If you want to go into banking, you won’t have a difficult time getting a prestigious internship or job from any of these three schools. So I think your choice should be based upon other factors at this point.</p>