First of all, the chances of a Chinese national going from Harvard, USC, Wharton or Michigan to Wall Street are zero. You will have to return to China; however, you will likely land a great job in Hong Kong, Shanghai or Singapore. Forget IB in the United States. Second, I graduated from USC undergrad and got an IB job through USC connections. I was a poli sci grad but had a high GPA, Phi Beta Kappa, blah, blah, blah, and the recruiter told me the firm preferred hiring private school grads from USC and Stanford, etc., and it was in the L.A. office. The place was full of MBAs from top schools. Third, after a year I went to Michigan Law School (it was that or B School and I love practicing law) when it was ranked in the top five. The Law Quad was awesome. Fourth, and this was in the 90s, I noticed, after taking a Chinese language course, that Michigan didn’t treat its undergrads as well as USC did; at USC the professors and admins treated us as though it was an honor to have us, and I didn’t feel like a number. There were no registration hassles, lines, over subscribed classes, etc. OTOH, the law school treated us like the privileged kids we were. The student body at Michigan was very white bread (i.e., Caucasian), as compared to USC, which has a huge international student body. I actually liked Michigan’s lack of ethnic diversity, ironically, because it was refreshing change. There were very few Asians or Hispanics as compared to USC. Football is more infused in the culture at Michigan because of limited entertainment options, as compared to Los Angeles. Frat parties and bars along University Avenue in Ann Arbor are legendary. If you enjoy beer, hit the Brown Jug if it’s still there; Ann Arbor is the quintessential place to party for college and makes USC look like Stanford by comparison.
Bottom line: visit both schools before making your decision because you’re headed back home after graduating. Michigan definitely will be an experience you will never forget, especially the long, cold winters. But I did have a blast drinking beer and watching football on the weekends. And ordering Domino’s pizza on Sunday nights, a tradition I still maintain. Good luck.