<p>Considering the new studies (Forbes, Business Week, WSJ) based on median salaries of Columbia grads: </p>
<p>I would've figured that it being an Ivy and in such close proximity to Wall Street that it would've been at the top of the salaries list. </p>
<p>Is the alumni network and career services just that bad at CU?</p>
<p>Why does it matter? Tho I keep hearing that Columbia is the "intellectual" Ivy League.</p>
<p>Though IMHO Columbia pawns all!!</p>
<p>These studies are always skewed usually consisting of plenty of outside/irrelevant/silly factors that manipulate numbers. Check out some of the other threads and posts and you'll notice this. Anyone will be lucky to make it into Columbia, and a Columbia degree won't limit salary prospects in anyway, statistics notwithstanding.</p>
<p>Columbia is typically considered the "middle ivy" along with Penn. For those interested in pursuing a wall street career, from everything I have heard, Columbia provides exactly the same opportunities as other top schools(if not more by being in NYC).</p>
<p>I have always considered Columbia as a Penn, but not Brown or Cornell. What surprised me is that these studies have made Columbia appear as a school that is extremely expensive but doesn't offer much in return for investment.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Methodology
Bachelors Only: Only employees who possess a Bachelor's degree and no higher degree are included. Those Bachelors graduates who continue their education and earn a Master's degree, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, or other advanced degree are not included.</p>
<p>For some liberal arts, Ivy League, and highly selective schools, graduates with higher degrees can represent a significant fraction of all graduates.</p>
<p>Careers that require advanced degrees, such as in law or medicine, are not included.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>10 char limit?</p>
<p>Then the studies are flawed if they're only going on bachelor's degrees. Strange that Dartmouth is ranked so high while Columbia is ranked so low.</p>
<p>Well, not necessarily flawed, just limited.</p>
<p>Dartmouth, I would say is the best Ivy at business outside of HYP (based on recruiting lists, MBA placement, avg salary, etc). It has hidden advantages; namely the D-plan which permits special fall, winter and spring internships at elite firms and an incredibly tight alumni network.</p>
<p>I think they are flawed. They prove nothing that is truly tangible. How can a study prove anything when the numbers and statistics are manipulated so arbitrarily?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Dartmouth, I would say is the best Ivy at business outside of HYP (based on recruiting lists, MBA placement, avg salary, etc). It has hidden advantages; namely the D-plan which permits special fall, winter and spring internships at elite firms and an incredibly tight alumni network.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yes, but these studies did not count any graduate with an advanced degree. </p>
<p>But if you mean undergrad, I can't see how Dartmouth would rival Columbia.</p>
<p>Hey Slipper here's an interesting article for you about the glamorous D-Plan</p>
<p>TheDartmouth.com</a> | D-Plan Dilemma</p>
<p>"Then there’s the “competition” myth. Four years ago, I was told by admissions officers that the flexibility of the D-Plan would give me a scheduling advantage over my Ivy League peers. When Harvard and Yale kids are tied down by their semester-long schedules, I could apply for jobs without facing competition from them. While this is true, it’s rare. Most jobs allocate internships openings for the Summer term, to suit the more common, semester-long academic calendar. Some employers will let you work during the Dartmouth spring, but most will not have the flexibility to accommodate you."</p>
<p>locked on Columbia ED for me...</p>
<p>Also I don't think anyone should pay great attention to the salary statistics. As a prospective applicant I've been pretty paranoid about picking a school but I realized that it all just comes down to what I make of the college experience. I mean ffs the schools we're talking about are ivy league schools. I'm just happy if I get into one.</p>
<p>I guess I am comparing this to schools like Princeton and Dartmouth where the alumni network and the student services are helpful to the students to the point of coddling them. Is this true for Columbia or is it more of a go it your own way type of place? </p>
<p>What is the career services like? The alumni network?</p>
<p>Which "studies" are these? Is there anything beyond the one for which there was a thread a couple weeks ago that people on here thoroughly debunked?</p>
<p>Texassoccer, to answer your question, the one thing that Columbia's Center for Career Education does exceptionally well at is prepare its students for jobs in business strategy consulting, and finance, particularly banking. I would also include top tech firms, be they startups or companies like Google. It does a decent job at nonprofit, journalism, IT consulting, media, and teaching. It does an OK job at government, "traditional" engineering jobs, and off-the-beaten-path stuff. It's relatively poor beyond that, since industries that don't offer (1) high pay, (2) lots of responsibility, or (3) an exciting work experience, generally won't interest Columbia students enough to get the yield that makes it worth it.</p>
<p>The alumni network is not quite as tight as some well-known peer schools but is still very strong throughout the world. With the lack of a football / school-sports culture, there's no traditional avenue to alumni bonding and mentoring. But there are plenty of mentoring programs, networking websites, newsletters, and events in many cities, every month if not every week.</p>
<p>Annon,</p>
<p>My guess is that student was looking for internships at a non-traditional type of company such as in publishing. For banking and finance Dartmouth scheduling is a huge advantage (I personally benefited!) Goldman, Lehman, Lazard, Bain, BCG, and many others all offer Dartmouth internships during the F, W, and Spring. </p>
<p>Deal</a> Journal - WSJ.com : Dartmouth: A Good Week for the Unsung Ivy of Financial Connections</p>
<p>2007</a> list of BB Summer Associate class by colleges | WallStreetOasis.com</p>
<p>Private</a> Equity Firms & Universities: What’s the Relationship? | BankersBall</p>
<p>Well I am looking to get into more NGO and government work. Maybe some private work with a small company overseas that deals with development consulting or management consulting. I am not looking for big firms at all. Is Columbia a school that can help network with the firms I am looking for? I mean the UN is there, several small international companies, NGOs, etc. I am sure that Columbia would be an excellent springboard into one of these opportunities. </p>
<p>The other school I was looking at was Dartmouth with its strong alumni connections and Rockefeller Center for Public Policy.</p>
<p>Well, what'll be required at any school you attend is an entrepreneurial spirit. No school is going to be able to provide you a limitless supply of small, cute NGOs you can work with in international development or such. The closest you might get is microfinance, which is fast becoming an important sector of the financial industry.</p>
<p>However, once you've got the organization and drive to pursue finding and contacting the firms you'd like to be with, schools can definitely facilitate that in varying ways with varying levels of helpfulness. Columbia's location in NYC is a big help because many such firms locate here (or in DC) and will be happy to take you on for school-year internships, temp work, or will be more inclined to interview you because it doesn't cost them anything to fly you down from East Jesus, New Hampshire - you can just take the subway and come talk to them.</p>
<p>At the graduate level I would absolutely go to Columbia. Access to NYC matters much much more for graduate students and to be bluntly honest outside of Tuck, Dartmouth's alumni network is highly focused on undergraduates. For what you want to do, however, my first target would be Georgetown.</p>
<p>So Columbia > Dartmouth as far as grad school? I have a chance of attending, but would rather skip out if the benefits of Dartmouth (excellent alumni relations, networking, connections) are all reserved for undergrads.</p>