Welp boys I’m down to 3 days to decide. I feel like the ultimate factor will come down to Which of the two schools places better for consulting and IB? I’m going to be doing engineering at both schools and I’ll minor in business and HOD at Vanderbilt whereas I’ll double major/ minor in business at CMU.
Thanks guys!
Same. Really. Vandy will place very well at many regionals and boutiques. CMU with any tech combo would be highly recruitable.
It’s important to note that the top ten schools represented in the annual analyst program sweepstakes represent only 30% of the slots. These power programs still have no school that represents more that 4.5% at the highest. This is hpysm. UT Duke Columbia NYU and one other I can’t recall .
The other 70% come from schools like vandy, cmu,the remaining ivies, the power lacs like the top nescac schools bwa ,swat, Pomona, and other power schools like Michigan, usc, UCLA, Cal , Boston College, ND, Rice Wash U, UW, UNC, Georgetown
It’s a competitive group. My honest recommendation is to choose the school where you can crush it academically and get super involved. So you’ll have to be happy and social too. Networking at the intensional office and IB Club. Don’t forget service work.
If you can couple finance with a tech minor at cmu. That would be strong. Vanderbilt will be more fun imho and super for networking with alums that very loyal in that region. It’s also located in a super hot business community. But Pittsburgh is as well.
Good luck.
Vandy is a step up in terms of placement into the top consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, BCG). I personally know we went to Vandy quite a bit when I was at Bain as a Case Team leader but not at CMU as much.
This seems to be supported by data here:
https://www.cmu.edu/tepper/programs/assets/docs/uba-employment-report-2018.pdf
https://www.vanderbilt.edu/career/career-outcomes/
Part of this is likely due to Bain and BCG being founded by a Vandy alum.
I would say Vandy for your interests.
Vanderbilt is also far, FAR more fun than CMU.
As an engineering major, CMU should place well for “technology consulting”.
Either university should equip you to work in consulting.
However,not sure if either university is a target school for IB.
Thanks for the input guys! Does it change anything that I’m an international student? I’m Canadian and I was thinking CMU has more experience with internationals.
@Publisher Hey thanks for the input. I was accepted into engineering at CMU so if I go with the path you suggested I would probably have to switch into Tepper and minor in CS or should I just stay in engineering and minor in Tepper?
Thanks so much btw!
@privatebanker does it matter if I’m majoring in engineering at both schools? Because CMU seems to be much stronger in that regard in comparison to Vanderbilt.
No engineering and a finance minor would be excellent. I’m not sure you can. I know my d is a biochem major at bc and getting a finance minor from the Carroll school. It’s a nice combo. Whatever your core interests are should drive your path , I don’t know the cmu rules.
And yes engineering at cmu is considered among the finest available at the ug level. But a school as great as vandy will not have an inadequate major at all.
Stay in engineering & minor in Tepper.
@Publisher @privatebanker
Thank you guys! Do you guys think CMU is more friendly to internationals in terms of opportunities?
No. But Pittsburgh has a large tech scene with google and amazon with new expanding presence in the city.
and an immigrant history. Nice town. Not that Vanderbilt and Tennessee aren’t as well. I just don’t know.
@xbonzo5: Yes, Carnegie Mellon University has a very sizable international undergraduate student population (about 23%). To the best of my knowledge, only the University of Rochester has a higher percentage of international students (about 24%) among elite US national universities.
Although I have no direct knowledge regarding placement of international students, CMU has a higher percentage of international students than even NYU (19%).
My best guess is that CMU knows how to place its international students.
@Publisher Ok thank you so much. I will keep this in mind. Do you think due to the large percentage of internationals it will be more competitive to land one of those positions?
No, because, and this is just a guess, most international students want to pursue technical careers, not MC (management consulting) or IB (investment banking).
But you need to understand whether or not you will be able to work in the US for longer than a year after graduation. The US is, for example, quite a bit stricter regarding work visas than is Canada. You need to make contact with the placement office / career counseling office at CMU. They should be able to give you accurate up-to-date information regarding employment in the US (and abroad as well) of CMU graduates.
@Publisher ok got it. I will call them again tmmr.