Hey! I’m kind of stressed right now and am hoping for some help.
May 1 is coming up very soon, so I have to make a final decision about college ASAP. After receiving all of my admission decisions, I narrowed down my choices to Penn and Georgetown (College at both). By mid-April I had visited both campuses, and I felt better about Georgetown in multiple categories (extracurriculars, social scene, location, campus, general feel). The only category I was really torn about was the most important category: academics.
So I applied NOT interested in business but realized after reflection that that was the path for me. Now that I’ve immersed myself in it, I really do think that. I’m very much a math-minded, analytical problem-solver (that doesn’t want to study engineering). I’m specifically interested in consulting.
Transferring from the college to the business school at Georgetown is an easier process than at Penn, and I didn’t want to have that monkey on my back about transferring into Wharton throughout a whole year at Penn. Plus Wharton felt too intense for me, and I don’t have MBB as some ultimate goal. Yes there’s some more prestige, and yes there are more academic offerings, but it just wasn’t enough to really sway me… So I decided to go to Georgetown. Though it was hard to let go of what I liked about Penn, Georgetown was the best school for me in many ways. A dream school!
But this is when it gets complicated. Now what I’m about to say is not unusual, and I’m sure it’s a bit irrational, but it is a DREAM of mine to live in New York City. Seriously, I dream about it. I didn’t realize the importance of alumni networks until I became interested is business.
If I was interested in banking, I wouldn’t even have an issue here. It’s clear that plenty of Georgetown grads go on to work in banking in NYC… But I’m interested in consulting. While Penn’s Arts and Sciences career reports show that grads largely go to NYC, Georgetown’s career reports aren’t showing location at all. And from everything I’ve read, I’m guessing that Georgetown MSB graduates going to NYC are in finance, and the ones going into consulting are staying in DC. I LOVE DC, especially for college, but I think I’d be ready for something new after 4 years.
Do you think I can land a job in consulting at one of the big four or some other reputable firm in NYC from Georgetown? If not, should I switch my enrollment to Penn, even though I’d be happier at Georgetown? The NYC thing is big for me. Any advice is appreciated. (Also, in general, I’m just not too familiar with how regional consulting recruiting really works.)
