<p>I thought the previous posters put it very well. Just wanted to add that having access to the top rated business school in the world provides something which many other great colleges don't have.</p>
<p>This article seemed apropos for U of Chicago Street-types:</p>
<p>It's from the perspective of quants.</p>
<p>I think it is a bit late to be worrying about a career on Wall Street. It is only a matter of time before the street is overrun by mobs with pitchforks and flaming torches.</p>
<p>Even though I don't run in finance circles, I have a lot of friends who do and I also agree with akx and cue7. I should also mention that a lot of students say they're pre-med (or going into finance, or law school) when they really mean that they don't know what they want to do and are using these things as stand-ins only to realize that's what they don't want. Hence the lack of preparation and desire for these jobs, poor interview skills, and so on. On other elite campuses, I imagine that students tend to be more professionally goal-oriented and have put a lot of time and effort into attaining certain positions.</p>
<p>If you enjoy the idea of attending Chicago, there are a lot of ways to make the education work for you. I have been able to make this school "work" for me professionally, even though my field of interest is not law/finance/medicine. Incidentally, the field I'm interested in has certain historical roots here at the U of C and continues to be a big thing-- something I didn't know before I sent in my deposit.</p>
<p>This thread is hysterical.</p>
<p>Chicago is absolutely one of the best schools to go onto Wall Street, far better than Dartmouth, Northwestern, Brown and Cornell.</p>
<p>Wall Street firms love uChicago because the students are Economics majors, not business majors. That means that students are relatively clueless about some of the more practical aspects of Wall Street, and the firms have a blank slate to work with them.</p>
<p>When I was a student - I graduated in 2007 - Wall Street jobs were given out like CANDY to anybody with a 3.2 or above. Bank of America gave something like 25 offers. I got four offers with my 3.32 GPA - BofA, CS, UBS and BNP - although I ended up pursuing a graduate education instead.</p>
<p>Check out where Wall Street firms not only do OCI, but bring their big heads for elaborate on campus presentations. When I was at UChiago, we were one of only six schools where JP Morgan (who is the school's second largest hirer after Teach for America; although they have a huge I-Banking operation in Chicago, which is where they hire most of the candidates) did this - the others being HYP, UPenn and Stanford.</p>
<p>Of course, things have changed for the worse since 2007, but it is still one of the top five or six schools to go to for a Wall Street career. No doubt.</p>
<p>As for the prestige thing, a Morgan Stanley VP probably said it best at a presentation for prospective hires that I was at back in the fall of 2006: "The only people who know how great a school University of Chicago is are the only people that matter."</p>
<p>Keelee - What you don't know is HOW GOOD the situation is at these other schools. I'll admit, I was perhaps being conservative in my previous posts, and Chicago may very well place better than Northwestern, the College at Penn, and Cornell. Do you have any idea how easy it is to get offers at Dartmouth or Columbia though? When the economy is doing well (as it was in say, 2006) the offers are given out there like candy too. </p>
<p>Also, of course the recruiters are going to say something flattering about the school when they visit - you think this doesn't happen at solid middle ivies like Dartmouth or Columbia? </p>
<p>Yes, when the economy is good, Chicago students get innundated with offers. Don't think, however, that this doesn't work the EXACT same way at schools such as Columbia and Dartmouth. I'm sure that same Morgan Stanley VP could've gone to Columbia and said, "The only people who know Columbia is great is... EVERYBODY." Chicago doesn't get a leg up over its mid-ivy brethren because those schools are so respected on the Street as well. </p>
<p>I'm all about supporting my alma mater, but lets be realistic.</p>
<p>I am very close friends with a former (now retired) managing partner of a top Wall Street investment firm. UofC grads were the most sought after at his firm. They liked the well honed analytical skills and work ethic of the chicago students.</p>
<p>idad - I'm sure this is true, but it's really hard to sift through differences between closely matched schools such as Chicago and Columbia. I'm sure Columbia grads were heavily sought after at other firms - I think it's really difficult to say that Chicago grads have an edge here.</p>
<p>Getting a finance job these days has more to do with connections, experience, and social skills than it does with university prestige (or intellectual capacity). I mean..really, why would anyone want to work on Wall Street in the first place? </p>
<p>Unless, of course, all you see is........$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$</p>
<p>Cue7: True enough, but they (UofC grads) are not at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>asiaknight: S1's UofC GF recently landed a very lucrative finance job knowing no one (it was before the crash). Knowing folks never hurts, however. She is pondering a return to the academy.</p>