US vs Canada vs UK

College Search & Selection
1

Basically, I am going to be attending a school in one of these countries this fall. I currently hold offers from Northeastern for economics and business, University of Toronto for financial economics, University of British Columbia for economics, University of St Andrews for financial economics, University of Edinburgh for economics and finance, and University of Warwick for economics. I am also waitlisted for economics at NYU CAS. I currently live in Hong Kong (I also hold an offer for business at HKUST but will probably not attend because of protests in Hong Kong). It is also good to note that I have an Indian passport.

So here is the debate that is wrecking my mind and my home:
Northeastern: not really considering because of a lack in world prestige, i have better options elsewhere for economics/business Toronto: family there, new companies are always coming out of toronto, good city life, VERY COLD, really big school and popular for economics, class size is huge UBC: good for economics, beautiful campus, vancouver is not the financial centre of canada St Andrews: ranked highly for economics in the uk, beautiful campus, no city, lonely, cold Warwick: also ranked highly for economics, somewhat closer to big cities Edinburgh: similar to st andrews but still has a big city. NYU: if I get in, i go to nyu but i need to accept an offer to one of the other universities.

US: its the place to be for finance and economics, big companies will come to nyu to recruit, long waiting for indians to get a green card, taxes are high, crime rate in some cities is a little higher than other countries UK: lower costs than the US, finish school in 3 years, very academic based and less extra-curricular and other opportunities than the us Canada: good in regards to immigration for indians, family is there, good recruiting companies, hella cold, big schools, beautiful country

I want to be an investment banker after college. I definitely want to pursue an MBA after a couple of years of working. Please let me know your thoughts on this issue. This is a big decision in my life and I hope that some of you, whether it is a high-school or college student, can help me out. Thanks! :slight_smile:

2

You already know about the work permission issues for internationals in the US.

Study in Canada. Dress for the weather and you will be fine. Go through the immigration process there, and work for the 3 to 5 years needed before applying to MBA programs.

3

Where can you work after graduation? Where do you/family have citizenship/permanent residency? Canada after a Canadian uni is a possibility. Also HK. US seems quite unlikely. Not sure about the UK. Remember that whether you get a job in your desired career is up to you and not which one of Toronto/UBC/Warwick/St. A’s/Edinburgh you go to. UBC would have the best weather. Warwick is 3 years (all the rest are 4 years). Also is one of the top feeders to the City (London) though the vast majority would be Brits and other Europeans.

4

I think that you will get used to the winters in Toronto. I personally would not worry about the winters there. I grew up with winters that were a bit worse, and no one seemed bothered by them. You purchase good winter gear and get used to it.

I think of immigration to the US as highly unpredictable. I do not know how to judge that. New York is the place to be for an investment banker. I do not know whether getting into investment banking is a realistic goal even for a very strong student. It is also a stressful life.

5

“New York is the place to be for an investment banker.”

Eh, plenty of jobs in London, some in HK and Singapore as well. Some in Toronto too (obviously focused on the Canadian market).

6

Toronto or UBC. Both are feeders to Canadian investment banking. Neither are really that cold. Caution on NYU. Very few banks will sponsor for visas internationals with just undergraduate degrees to work in the US. Much better chances after you have acquired an MBA and some expertise, but undergraduate kids with economics majors are plentiful and not worth the extra effort, even from NYU.

7

Toronto or UBC. =
Basee don your criteria
(Ease of working, you’ve got family there, you want a degree reconized in HK) those two are the best matches.

8

@roycroftmom: Toronto is as cold as Chicago. But yeah, it’s not like NYC is really much warmer in the winter.

9

Thank you all… i have not lived in a cold place like Toronto… the least i have gone is 5 degrees hahahahaha… but in terms of rankings if i get the chance to attend nyu should i leave my other committed university for nyu?

10

@DadTwoGirls what other career prospects are there for an econ graduate in any of the above countries?

11

I wouldn’t pick the US. Too difficult to stay with just an undergrad degree. A British student would probably choose Warwick out of the options there. But it’s hard to weigh that against Canada where residency might be easier to achieve.

12

I think you might be happiest at UBC. Not the financial centre of the world, but that’s probably where you’re going to be spending the rest of your working life anyway, and a big chunk of your vacations on internships. Firms do travel to recruit, you don’t have to be right there. And Covid makes NYC an iffy proposition for fall anyway. The likeliest places to open up imo are UBC and St. Andrews, but after growing up in HK, you may not be able to cope with the culture shock on moving to the latter, and the employment prospects are iffyer for you I think.

13

@Tigerle I see… I am actually a really international guy lol born in India and raised in Singapore and Hong Kong. At UBC, I am could do coop while at UofToronto I can’t. And I definitely see college as a time to study rather than it being more about the fun and life which is just an added benefit for me. Would doing coop in Vancouver be better than just doing an internship at a company in Toronto?

14

Co-op and internship are essentially the same thing. No, doing a co-op in Vancouver is not better than doing an internship in Toronto. U of T has PEY which is a 12-16 month job placement program after 2nd or 3rd year.

15

Anticipating culture shock for you in small town Scotland wasn’t a reflection on you. I believe you when you say that you are a really international person. So, you grew up in Singapore, too. You’re not helping your point, LOL.

I understand that you want your undergrad years to be about studying and that you feel that you’re a bloom where you’re planted guy and that’s an admirable attitude. But it is my experience that “happy” and “study” go very well together, and “unhappy” and “study” don’t.

These are all excellent universities. All of them can get you where you want to go. From a professional point of view, as a non British national, I’d be wariest of St. Andrews, altogether probably wariest of the UK, then the US. From a Covid point of view, wariest of NYC, not because of past and present, but because it is hardest to get under control in the future, then probablyToronto.

It is so hard to be 18 these days. I am sorry for you all. I wouldn’t discount the Hong Kong option, how long can you keep that one open?

16

Rankings aren’t actually what matters. What’s the point of NYU?

17

@purpletitan, I grew up near Toronto. Cold is relative, and at least there is no lake-effect snow. In any event, with US unemployment projected at 15-35%, depending on which projection, the likelihood of work visas for internationals is dismal. OP, stay away from the US if you can.

18

@PurpleTitan Aren’t rankings important to employers? Also, doesn’t NYU get a lot of companies so won’t job offers be better there?

19

Not for an international they would need to get a work permit for, especially just a new bachelors degree.

I’m struggling to understand what is most important to you: the university degree itself, or its part in helping you gain residency in the country where you end up studying?

20

Right, your chances of working in the US as a non-citizen/non-PR with only a bachelor’s are low, so why would it matter if NYU get a lot of (American) employers? For Canada, the Canadian unis would be better. For the UK, the UK unis would be better (Warwick for England/London, the Scottish unis for Scotland). For Asia, NYU and Warwick may be a tiny smidge above the rest, but honestly, the differences are so tiny as to barely matter (none of these schools are Oxbridge/HYPSM/Wharton) and would be far outweighed by what you yourself bring to the table.

Also, no, employers don’t go off rankings. They go off what they have seen from grads from different schools and relationships, which correlates to rankings but only imperfectly. Also, it’s more what the alumni network can bring than rankings. Finally, what you as an individual bring to the table (as well as employment laws) matter far more in any case.