Where should I go for a career in finance? (Plz help me with school selection!!)

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone,

I am a junior transfer student. I am currently admitted by UMich, USC, BC, Vandy, and possibly UVA.

I plan to pursue a career in either investment banking or consulting. Which school is the optimal choice for me?

Besides, in terms of graduate school application, which one has the best result/placement?

Thank you!

2

Good luck. I’ll grab the popcorn and sit back for this one.

3

haha @privatebanker good one - me too

4

You can achieve your goals with any of them.

Most finance majors go to work after they graduate. Grad school/MBA programs at the tippy top schools really don’t want to hear from you until you’ve had on average 4-5 years of work experience though 2 is possible. ‘Placement’ is much more about what you did in those 4-5 years than it is about where you went undergrad.

5

FWIW, Michigan is the only university in your list that is one of “the 10 best business schools if you want to work on Wall Street.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-business-schools-finance-2017-3

6

FWIW - that ranking is for MBA programs, not undergraduate programs

7

For undergraduate business and finance, USNWR has Michigan at #3 and #4, respectively.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business-overall?_mode=table

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/business-finance?_mode=table

I’m not a Michigan booster. Just pointing out that, of the universities that the OP is considering, Michigan seems to come out on top.

8

https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/ I prefer poets and quants for undergraduate rankings. All are good and can get you where you want to go. Vandy does not have undergraduate business but you can get to consulting and finance there with hod, econ, and math. I have a buddy there working in banking next year and his roommates in consulting out of a poly sci major. Pick which feels best.

9

All great schools. All well represented on the street (less so for USC but only due to location, however a strong target for IB out west.) You’ll have to do solid networking as they are not target level like the Ivies but very solid for IB.

Consulting very possible from all, likely feeding their geographic areas. Go on the MBB and Deloitte sites and see what they do for campus recruiting.