<p>I know that I want to go into investment banking directly after college, and from there I'm not sure where I want to go, but I know that I want options. Between the University of Chicago or Columbia University, which school would best prepare me for that field?</p>
<p>Indy,</p>
<p>Emplyers will recruit at these schools about evenly. Chicago has, hands down, the best economics program in the nation but it may be much easier to land an internship or even speak with recruiters of ibank firms at Columbia simply based on proximity, not prestige. If there is a slight edge to be had, and it is arguable that one exists, it's at Columbia.</p>
<p>Well said. This is 100% true.</p>
<p>MIT's econ department is #1</p>
<p>Pick either and get great grades wherever you go. I'm on a listserv for my alma mater at work so I see the resumes coming in for these jobs. College GPA is very important.</p>
<p>What about the Columbia Engineering and Management Systems program - i think thats basically all about finance/math stuff (plus econ)</p>
<p>"MIT's econ department is #1"</p>
<p>Well, if we want to bring US News into this, they're both tied for #1 in the latest graduate school rankings with peer assessment scores of 5.0/5.</p>
<p>I give the nod to Chicago, however, because of the fact that more than half of all Economics nobel laureates have had ties to UChicago in one way or another.</p>
<p>If I consider an academic career path, is Chicago then the obvious choice? I just don't really see what separates the two schools so much and I would really like to make an informed decision...</p>
<p>Would you buy a car for a race because of its color? These schools are absolute equals academically, so choose based on lifestyle.</p>
<p>FWIW, when I worked in that field in NYC I had analysts working for me who graduated from Columbia. I didn't meet any who attended Chicago. (People with BAs and not MBAs are usually hired as analysts). This doesn't mean there weren't any around, though.</p>
<p>There were a good number of MBA hires who had done undergrad at both of these schools. Grad school as well, though that's not really relevant to you at this point.</p>
<p>ibanking advantages always lay with the ivies</p>
<p>Another thought:</p>
<p>I have a relative at Columbia now, and he reports that there are numerous internship opportunities posted there by local financial firms. He himself has a summer job with a financial firm lined up, through their career center I believe.</p>
<p>I don't know what Chicago offers in this respect, but I have to believe that more of these types of opportunites are readily available to Columbia students due solely to its location near the heart of the financial world.</p>
<p>I could be wrong though.</p>