Hi everyone! Since I was young, I wanted to pursue a major in finance and was glad to have received an offer from UCI into their Business Administration program where I’d be able to specifically study that subject, but will be paying $5k/year. However, I was also accepted into Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, under a full ride where instead, I would be going for a double major in Economics and Mathematics. Though each college has its own perks, I personally feel that UCI would be a much better fit not only because of its demographics (I’m an Asian American and the Undergraduate Acceptance Rate in Fall of 2016 was ~36%), but also because of the networking opportunities that would be available to me and the environment as a whole would be better suited for me. On the other hand, my parents believe that Trinity is the better option for me because I’d be going there for free, there’d be smaller classes so I could get closer to professors, and because I’d only be about 45 minutes away from my older brother. I would like to hear your inputs on this sticky situation that I’m in and if there are any questions that need to be addressed, I will be quick to respond. Thank you!
You might want to consult the student reviews of Trinity College that you can find on site whose name is a compound word featuring both the word “students” and the word “review.” These reviews include some of the most hilariously negative college assessments that I’ve run across. (At the same time, they attest to the fact that, if nothing else, Trinity is capable of producing some fine comic writers.)
I live just down the road from UCI. It is what it is: suburban, dull, safe, pleasant, up-and-coming. A UCI degree will carry more cachet in Southern California than in a financial center like NYC.
Trinity, by contrast, is relatively close to NYC. It seems to attract a lot of wealthy prep-school frat bros who want to end up on Wall Street; some people do indeed regard Trinity as a pipeline to Wall Street, with lots of alumni support, but others contend that its placement services are deficient.
All in all, Trinity seems to be a college that can offer an excellent econ-oriented undergraduate education to someone who is committed to putting in the work . . . but that can just as easily be a place for trust-funders to party away four years until they ride their family connections to a career in finance.
For you, UCI sounds the safe bet, particularly if you are content to end up living and working in SoCal after graduation. If, on the other hand, your aspire to make it to Wall Street, then Trinity represents the high-risk, high-rewards option. To me, the cultural differences between UCI and Trinity seem so great that I wouldn’t let the cost differential be the deciding factor; instead, I would focus on fit. Do your research, and good luck!
Thank you MrSamford2014 for taking the time to clear things up for me. My plan was to choose between one of these two colleges for undergraduate and then going a step further by spending a few more years at another college for a CFA program. With this in mind, I feel like it would be the best decision for me to choose the college which would be most beneficial for my learning experience. I did happen to read a review on Trinity by a student who did go in the Econ program, but stated that he/she learned more in two classes of it in high school than in those four years. I don’t want to generalize the overall curriculum that Trinity offers, but from that statement alone, I am quite worried.
Trinity’s academic environment should be respectable in relation to UCI, at least as estimated by the incoming standardized scoring of their students (139th nationally, versus 251st):
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
Trinity’s economics faculty appear accomplished as well:
https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html
As your parents have noted, Trinity offers a strong undergraduate focus. With architectural features such as Long Walk, the school seems collegiate.
The above said, however, you have expressed a strong interest in studying finance at this time, your direct major at UCI. You have also read some negative comments about Trinity, which you have sensibly regarded carefully. Overall, then, this could be a tough choice. I will say though, that you should be glad you have it, as challenging as it might be to make.
@antvsbantam, Trintiy is listed.
Ivy-equivalents (ranking based on alumni outcomes)
4 metrics:
- Percentage entering elite professional schools (for MBA/JD/MD).
- Production of “American Leaders”, who are mostly leaders in business, government, and the arts.
- Percentage winning prestigious national student awards.
- Percentage getting PhDs.
@antvsbantam On further consideration, I fear that perhaps I gave too negative impression of Trinity. I might update my post by playing devil’s advocate, but first I have a few relevant questions for you:
- Where does your family live?
- How important is it to you to have relatively easy access to your family? For example, would you like to be within easy traveling distance so that you can go home on long weekends, etc.?
- Have you visited the respective campuses?
- What part of the country would you prefer to live in after graduation?
- What kind of "finance" are you aiming for? Are you--like some CC posters--driven to get to Wall Street (i.e., investment banking in NYC), or would you be content working in corporate finance or in banking outside of NYC?
- I live in Southern California in the San Bernardino County
- Personally, easy access to my family is not too important to me. Regardless of which college I head into, I’d still be visiting them a fair bit.
- I have visited UCI for their “Celebrate UCI” orientation, but never visited Trinity because I’m very frugal and didn’t want to visit unless I got in.
- I would prefer to live in the east coast more due to the opportunities with finance available there when compared to those in the west
- I feel that I’d be more content working in corporate finance than if I were to go all in for the Wall Street dream
On a side note,
I do recognize that Trinity offers a terrific curriculum towards my intended major, but I do worry about whether I’d enjoy being there for the next four years. Though I’ve always held academics as priority, I do want to feel comfortable with my social environment and create good networks as well. However, in Trinity, with a heavily predominant white population, I feel unease over the slightest thought of standing out as a minority amongst many.
This is a typical research U vs. LAC matchup.
If you favor smaller classes, increased prof interaction, a more intellectual environment and (in this case) the New England location (four seasons) and New York City job opportunities, Trinity is the choice
If you’d prefer the more exact academic match and greater academic flexibility if you changed your mind, a more pre-professional environment, a bit more anonymity, the California location and climate, and proximity to the LA job scene, UCI is the choice.
If you can’t decide, maybe let cost be the tiebreaker.
Hi! I’m a current Trinity student so I can definitely provide some insight. Trinity has a very intellectual, New England liberal arts vibe, and with small class sizes and small amount of students you can definitely make the most of it if that’s your thing. Its location is great (~2 hours to New York, Boston, and providence). Trinity has great alumni networks and it’s kinda regarded as a “feeder school” for Wall Street by some. That being said, as someone pointed out above there is a stigma around the Econ major as “the white trust fund” kids. But if you’re worried about the social scene don’t be! I didn’t think I’d fit in either (I’m from Ohio) but there’s so many students from all over the country (fair amount from California as well) and a lot of international students too.
@romo67
Glad to hear that you’re a student from Trinity. Out of curiosity, I do have a few questions and it would be well appreciated if you could fill me in with some details about the school.
- I’m aware that the Greek life at Trinity is pretty big. However, as someone who doesn’t plan on affiliating with this “group,” would there be any detrimental factors by not abiding to this lifestyle of theirs?
- As mentioned in the previous question, social frats are big at Trinity, but are there any business frats available?
- Since I plan on going into a double major in Economics and Mathematics, if you happen to know, would you consider these two majors to be highly competitive amongst other students?
- How is the environment and atmosphere of Hartford, Connecticut, to you? I’ve heard that Trinity is located in a more “ghetto” area with worrisome activities going on late at night and do slightly worry about my own safety.
Thanks for responding to my questions. Unfortunately, those answers didn’t really help to clarify your choice, since some point towards UCI and others towards Trinity!
Since I bashed Trinity a bit in my first post, let me suggest some positives of choosing it over UCI:
First, the fact that you want to go into finance and prefer to live in the east means that you will probably end up working in an environment that is mostly white–i.e., that reflects the overall demographics of the US population. While UCI is an Asian-majority campus, it is really extraordinarily atypical in that regard; I’ve seen some data suggesting that it is the most “Asian” campus on the US mainland. Thus, although UCI might provide you with a kind of ethnic “comfort zone” in the present, it won’t do so much to prepare you for the ethnic realities that await you in the future. Trinity, by contrast, would provide immediate exposure to those realities, so that they would have become old hat to you by the time you are actually ready to enter the work force.
Second, Trinity will probably have a somewhat snazzier reputation in east coast finance circles. Along with such ultra-prestigious schools as Williams, Amherst, and Bowdoin, it belongs to the NESCAC, an athletic conference often regarded as the “Ivy League” of liberal arts colleges. Such prestige counts a lot in Wall Street recruiting. Even if you don’t want to go the Wall Street investment banker route, Trinity is well positioned to get you into other parts of the financial services industry. Hartford, for example, has long been a center for the American insurance business, and Trinity would probably open doors for internships and jobs in insurance.
Third, Trinity will have the oft-noted advantages of any good liberal arts college vis-a-vis a large research university: smaller class sizes, easier interaction with professors (which can further learning, establish long-term relationships, and make for good letters of recommendation), and so on. Moreover, attending Trinity would enrich your own life story by giving you the chance to enjoy the classic American college experience: Gothic architecture, four distinct seasons, and a bit of the old rah-rah school spirit.
As I wrote before, UCI is the safe bet, while Trinity is the high-risk / high-reward option. UCI is an up-and-coming university, and many of its graduates go on to enjoy stellar opportunities in business and in graduate school, but Trinity would probably challenge you more personally, and thus it might offer more opportunities for real growth. You need to decide just how much of a risk-taker you want to be at this point in your life. In the best of all possible worlds, you could take a quick trip to Trinity; even a brief visit might well help you to settle the issue.
I would definitely go with Trinity College. It’s free and, as other posters have indicated, it’s considered an elite liberal arts college (by none other than CollegeConfidential!). Also, I really believe that these small colleges generally provide a better undergraduate education than big state universities. YMMV.