<p>I am seriously considering applying to Columbia as a junior year transfer. A lot of my reasons have to do with career opportunities -- recruiting in finance is weak at my school -- as well as the more fast-paced culture.</p>
<p>As an entering freshman, I would have welcomed Columbia's core curriculum. It seems a lot more comprehensive than those found at other schools and that's the type of education I sought after a couple years ago. Now... not so much.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong -- it's not that I don't want a core curriculum. My only worry is that I'll spend my 2 years at Columbia trying to finish my requirements, rather than digging deeper and building relationships within my major/department. I know I'll major in economics, but I want a substantial background in math as well.</p>
<p>For those who have transferred as a junior and for those who know people who have done so, what have your/their experiences been like in academics?</p>
<p>Any of the Ivies will be a strong finance feeder, but they are incredibly difficult schools to get into as transfers. Stanford, Williams, and Duke are also very strong but also extremely selective for transfers. Northwestern, Hass, and NYU-Stern are a little less selective, also strong. Michigan less selective than that group, also strong. I would seriously also consider adding NU and Michigan to any list for a transfer looking to go into finance. Stern as well, if you don’t mind its unique environment.</p>
<p>Yeah… Part of the reason is that I like east coast culture and, in particular, I’m seeking a summer analyst position at an NY investment bank.</p>
<p>I go to WashU, so the regional recruitment has been the biggest problem, more so than finance as a whole.</p>
<p>WashU is definitely an outlier in that it has pretty terrible recruiting/ feeding into elite consulting and banking. For some reason while the rest of the school has risen in recent years, its recruiting placement has really lagged. Location isn’t as important as going to an “established feeder” for feeding into NY investment banks. For example Dartmouth and Harvard are incredibly strong, arguably better than Columbia in spite of direct location. The banks are going to travel to the feeders, unfortunately that doesn’t include WashU.</p>