With the time to make my college decision coming to a close, I have dwindled my list of schools down to 2: UVA and uchicago. I have visited both schools and like many things about both and dislike a few things about both. If I go to uchicago, I will likely study economics. If I attend uva, I will study economics for 2 years before (hopefully) getting into McIntire (undergrad business school). I really like the academics that uchicago has to offer. “Top of their field” professors and the world renowned economics program is very appealing. Also, the people seem to be down to earth. Additional, the alumni network seems to be very strong. The downside of uchicago to me is the stereotypical “cutthroat” mentally among students and the social life/fun of the school seems to be somewhat lacking, especially compared to uva. The weather is another downside, but definitely not something I am solely going to make my decision based off of. Uva, on the other hand, has a very “work hard play hard” mentality. I like this. I want to work hard and achieve good grades but also want to enjoy my 4 years of college. I like the idea of the weather and the sporting events and large social scene the school had to offer. I am also very intrigued by McIntire. The downside of uva to me is the lack of geographical diversity (I would be oos with many students being in-state) and the size (around 13,000 undergrads). Also, if I were to not be accepted into McIntire I am a little nervous that I’d really be in hot water. Cost is not an issue regarding either school. I was wondering if I could gain insight from anybody who maybe choose between these two schools or about the opportunities each school will provide. Will the prestige uchicago give me a ton more opportunity after graduation (maybe investment banking) and maybe talk about the social scene (or lack thereof) of both schools? Really any insight would help.
For investment banking, go with Chicago without a doubt. IMO, undergraduate business degree(with the exception of a few like Wharton) is less useful than an econ degree from a prestigious institution like Chicago. Congrats on your acceptances!
No wrong choice, but if IB is the goal, then Chicago may be the better option.
For quality of life, however, it is hard to beat Virginia. Plus, if you could double major in economics & business, then Virginia looks like a great option.
Honestly you don’t sound like a good fit for UChicago, but who knows? Options will be greater at UChicago for IB, almost half the class each year go into IB or Consulting, some realizing that a philosophy major doesn’t get paid a lot, so they get hired by an IB firm. Having said that I think UVA might fit your social agenda a lot better.
Jzducol. Thank you! And I kind have noticed the same thing in regard to the value of a uchicago econ degree over a ug business uva degree. How much of a difference do you think this will make however in terms of opportunities? Do you think I will see significantly less opportunities at uva then at uchicago? Thanks.
CU123 I kindve assumed uchicago would have slightly better opportunities in terms of ib. Do you think it’s significant greater? Also, if I’m looking for not necessarily ib but just another finance job, do you think there is still too much opportunity cost of not attending uchicago? Thanks.
Hi, allcollege1515. I assume you’ve gone online and scanned the McIntire School of Business site… If you haven’t, they break down their post-graduation employment statistics in some detail, list the employers who travel to UVA for job fairs, describe the UVA outings to Wall Street, DC, etc… You should also read the McIntire track descriptions and course descriptions. I’m an attorney, but I found many of them to be incredibly interesting … actually then understood why business had some appeal to my son. Also, the sense on Grounds at UVA is that the very highly-ranked McIntire School has no trouble placing its grads into IB / finance positions in major financial centers countrywide. You apply to enter the business school midway through your Second Year, and the students who are selected tend to excel academically and demonstrate varied interests in business, public policy, government, economics, media, etc. But I’d check out the McIntire site and see how it reads to you compared to Chicago’s offerings.
And, yes, students tend to have a terrific time at UVA. I’m a Law grad, and my two sons are both First Years. While there is definitely a thriving party culture and strong Greek system if that’s your scene, my sons — who are non-drinkers — have had a amazing time as well attending sports events, competing on club sports teams, doing intramurals with friends, writing for the school paper, performing improv, having game nights, hiking and climbing on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, seeing Marvel movies, playing Spikeball, heading to the Corner for sushi and wings, apple-picking, seeing comedy shows, concerts and speakers, and just generally hanging out with friends. And I’m happy to report that while UVA is academically rigorous, it’s not spirit-killing. Despite being very involved on Grounds, they are doing very well academically. UVA provides a great balance that way.
Good luck to you!
2kidstocollege18 , thanks for the insight. I was wondering if your kids are in-state. I am a little worried about the lack of OOS’ers as I would be. Thanks.
As you can imagine, I’m on the parent Facebook page. (Because that’s what we parents do.) There are currently a slew of postings from parents in California, Oregon, Arizona, Washington,Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, Florida, etc asking for tips about roommate selection and what items to purchase to survive a year in the dorms. My sons have friends from around the country (and several who need to expand a step to around the globe). Also, a large contingent of in-staters come from Northern Virginia bordering the District of Columbia, and we are a region of mutts. I was born in Nevada, did my undergrad in Arizona, then law school at UVA. My husband was born in Vermont, grew up in New York, did undergrad in upstate New York and law school in Boston. When my sons began their college search they advised me not to look in the South. I had to break it to them… And, really, you won’t make your friends by region; initially you’ll meet them in your residence hall, then through orientation and first week welcome activities / parties / events, and then through clubs, sports, intramurals, activities and volunteering.
UVA has a very healthy OOS population for a public school (usually around 30-33%). Also, many of the instate kids are from Northern Virginia, and many of those have lived in other locations. UVA sounds like a better fit for you from what you’ve described. Two very different, great choices. Good luck with the decision!
2kidstocollege18 , thank you. Very helpful! If you don’t mind me asking, where else were your kids looking and what ultimately put uva over the top for them? Thanks.
William & Mary (Monroe Scholars program), Villanova (Honors Program), and Penn State (Schreyer Honors College) were the other primary choices. We were geographically limited in that they wanted to be able to drive home fairly often to see friends, the dog, and maybe even us.
I believe a few things put UVA over the top. First, UVA is academically rigorous without being overly-intense or encouraging the students to engage in needless competition. W&M had a likely unfair reputation for students being excessively competitive and creating unnecessary anxiety. Second — related to the first point — UVA students tend to be very involved, so much so that First Years are warned against over-committing before they get a handle on their coursework. That being said, if you manage your time well, you can really participate in a slew of activities, clubs, sports, etc. My guys were surprisingly adept at this and really good about using their resources when they took courses outside their wheelhouse (i.e., attending discussions, meeting with TA’s, visiting office hours, computer science lab, etc.).
Third, and this is idiosyncratic, they liked the size of the school (mid-size for a state flagship school), the town (they aren’t into cities), and the environment (enjoy hiking and the outdoors generally).
Fourth, UVA fit their academic needs. They both entered undecided and needed a school that was strong in their areas of interest. One guy is thinking business, and he’s done well enough this year (particularly in his Commerce pre-reqs), that the undergrad business school seems like a very solid option. But he’s really enjoying his Poli Sci and public policy classes, so he’s also thinking about the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, which sends many of its graduates into business as well as government, think tanks, etc. Or he could major in Economics, he tells me. And they other guy is bouncing between Batten, political science and journalism (media studies).
Finally, our family really likes sports, and my undergraduate years were spent firmly immersed in college basketball. I still rabidly follow my college team today, and I think my sons realized they’d enjoy that aspect of college life as well. Dang if THAT didn’t work out well.
Hope this helps.