I have been very fortunate to have been accepted to the following universities, but I am now having a difficult time choosing between them:
USC Marshall (Business Administration)
UC Berkeley (Pre-Business Undeclared)
CMU Tepper (Business Administration)
NYU Stern (Business Administration)
I plan to concentrate in finance and pursue a career in the financial sector. In addition, I would like to minor in Applied Mathematics. The following is what I believe to be the major ups and downs of each university:
University of Southern California
-Pros: Best social life of the list, and amazing alumni network in Southern California.
-Cons: Considered the least prestigious amongst the schools aforementioned.
UC Berkeley
-Pros: The most well-rounded education and best overall school for business. Well regarded in both the East and West Coasts .
-Cons: Not directly admitted to Haas; for admitted Cal students, 40% chance of being accepted (this con may be offset by the amazing Econ and Math programs I can take if not accepted to Haas; however these programs are BAs). Do not like the surrounding city.
Carnegie Mellon
-Pros: Great job placement and solid quantative base due to strong engineering programs. Smallest graduating class size, meaning less competition in getting a job in finance.
-Cons: From what I have heard, not a very good social atmosphere.
New York University
-Pros: Best program in Finance and in the center of New York City, allowing for easy access to Wall Street.
-Cons: Most expensive, no true campus, and not sure about the prestige of the school overall (If that matters for MBA placement).
While these are not all the factors I am considered, they are the major points. In terms of cost, CMU is least (10k), followed by Berkeley (15k), USC (20k), and NYU(33K) [This includes tuition + room and board]. I am a CA resident. Any opinions on recommended school would be appreciated.
I think these four schools are peers in terms of Business/Finance – all would look roughly equally impressive on a resume or a grad school app.
So CMU is out to a (minimum) $20k lead over the rest. The question is, does the overall fit at any of the others overcome that five-figure price difference? Unless one of the others overwhelms while CMU just doesn’t feel right, I’d go with CMU.
Do consider other areas of fit… but unless something really stands out to make you think “this other school feels like home,” I think CMU is the top choice.
@prezbucky Thank you for the advice. I was thinking the same way, given that all the school are almost equal in caliber. I will be visiting CMU soon to get a grasp of the feel.
Actually, someone 100% sure on business and not wanting to do other majors may find UCB too risky because it requires another competitive admission process to get into the business major.
The links provided above by @ucbalumnus also seem to point to Haas being a target and Tepper being a semi-target/non-target. Here is a link for Berkeley Economics, and it seems to be a semi-target:
I personally think the method banks use to determine what counts as a target school and what doesn’t is quite stupid, but it is what it is. And going to a target school makes a big difference over going to a semi-target/non-target.
NYU along with UPenn are two the best schools in the world for finance. NYU is an IB factory - I seriously think it might even places more students into IBD than UPenn these days. The other strong target on your list is Berkeley.
Considering you’re not direct admit to Haas, I would leave out UCB. USC is a great place to spend 4 years but for finance, it’s hard to pick it over CMU or NYU. NYU is great for finance/business and you’re right in NYC, but CMU has strong NYC finance connections too (check their career placement page) and is very strong in math. I can’t see NYU giving you a $90K advantage over CMU. I’d go with CMU.