Vanderbilt ($$$) / Northwestern ($$$) vs UF ($)
Hello forum, I wanted to begin with a thank you to the community here at WSO, as I never could have done it without your advice. I am currently a rising sophomore at an extreme non target school (FIU/FSU) and have received the following transfer offers:
- Northwestern (Econ): Accepted
- Vanderbilt (Econ): Accepted
- UVA (Econ): Waitlisted
- UPenn (Econ): Waiting
- UF (Finance): Accepted
I am curious as to what the right choice is. I am leaning towards UF as I have free tuition, however, I understand their OCR is non existent (had several coffee chats) and recruiting will be an uphill battle. What school would you choose (assuming 180k of debt for non UF schools)? Thanks for your help.
UF
Northwestern / Vandy are clear "better" picks, but not the margin better worth going debt free over.
UVA not worth it unless it's @ Darden
Penn could be worth waiting out for if you're on track with internships right now.
However, UF from what I've collected is very solid for finance. There's a lot of solid shops in Miami and Tampa that love to recruit FL schools, and most of the UF guys I talked to said that their placement is fairly competitive.
Overall, UF definitely the move
Darden isnt even undergrad lol clueless
> Didn't answer OP's question
> Would rather correct someone else on something that was implied
Do you use Reddit religiously?
If you get into penn go to penn regardless of debt
Vandy and northwestern are debatable. Up to you really.
If you are the type to care about prestige (be honest with yourself), your undergrad name will live with you. Not saying this is the right way to think about it, but if you are that type, going to a non-“elite” school will forever be a burden to you. Just consider this as well. If you are not, well then just go to UF
I am the prestige type after spending the entirety of Freshman year browsing the forum, however, would a brand name be worth $180,000? Is the question. I will wait for Penn for now, as I agree that the Penn name is 100% worthy of the debt.
If it is Penn without Wharton, not sure if it is worth it tbh. Feel free to PM for more info - would advise you to focus on $$ and consider UF heavily
UF, IB is still very easy if you grind & it’s free
Northwestern 100%. Lights out placement. If money isn't a huge issue id go there.
Honestly, if you have conviction in your own abilities and are really locked into finance recruiting, I would recommend going to UF. Seen some very tuff placements from there, and have seen people from UF consistently win in national level college stock pitch competitions (Alabama and UF consistently outplace targets). Join the right clubs, find the right mentors and target the right groups (restructuring is more meritocratic and less networking heavy, seen a bunch of UF kids do HL Rx).
Make sure you have a clear finance internship this summer, try do a fall one and do a bunch of finance competitions - definitely apply to UMich UIC this fall. Best of luck.
Vandy dude, go have fun for 4 years and come out with MBB or Goldman if you're smart. I did it and loved every second of it.
Lots of people don't realize the value in a holistic top tier college experience over pure stats lol
It's an issue with the American education system, people think it's just a way to get a job offer. I think that's really a relatively small part of it, a much bigger part is developing as a human, making lifelong friends and connections, studying various subjects to see if anything resonates with you. I guess with how expensive it's gotten now people view the high paying job part as the #1 goal though
Go to UF and network to a job you want. You have absolutely zero idea if you will actually like finance or biglaw or some other job that allows you to service $180,000 in debt. That’s a huuuge number. If you end up in IB and do it for 1 year and your like I can’t do this anymore - guess what - too bad - you have all this debt to service. Go to school for free. No debt. No stress. You can get a great job out of UF and network into the job you want.
Here’s an example - let’s say you’re like I love finance but I really actually want to try real estate. Real estate entry salaries are $70K base and $20-30K bonus ramping up to $150k base in 3-4 years in NYC. If you have $180K in debt - you can’t service it at a $70K salary.
Worst case scenario - you don’t get the IB job you’re dreaming of. After a few years of working, you go to business school and take the debt. But at that point you at least have had a job and have a better understanding of how much money you’ll need to service your debt. It’s a very hard concept to grasp in college how much money $180,000. I know this because I sure as hell couldn’t grasp it when I was 20.
.
When I was interviewing for EBs and BBs, I would consistently see lots of UF kids. Many of which were extremely technically savvy/smart. If you’re interested in UF, from what I’ve heard is their MSF program is a target.
Second this. Assuming you don’t slack around your first two years, you’re guaranteed an interview at several decent banks/ groups from MSF
Went to UF for free. Get into MSF and you're practically guaranteed an IB job if you want it. It has OCR for lower tier banks (Jeff, RBC, Wells, Truist) and 2-3 slots per year at a few EB/BBs.
Only one on your list I'd take over it is Penn. Otherwise UVA is slightly better placement for $$ but doubt it's worth it.
Didn't go to UF but just confirming you mean the Masters in Finance program? Surprised that places well, thought the Vandy/other top 10 school MSF programs were the targets
Yes. The difference is UFs MSF is an 1-year undergrad combined degree program vs. those are more post-grad standalone programs so you're coloring apples to oranges.
I am not eligible for UF’s MSF as a transfer - so I wouldn’t have access to their OCR. Would you still take UF?
p sure they have OCR from Evercore, BX Tac Opps, and Guggenheim
UF. It’s maybe MARGINALLY more difficult to get into IB from UF compared to schools like vandy and northeastern, but at least you’ll actually have some fun. If you get into the IB workshop, placement is better than Vandy or NE anyway.
This is the play. If you get into Penn: Penn > Vandy > UF. If you don't get into Penn: UF > Vandy > Northwestern
Your other schools (except for Penn) aren't worth that much in debt compared to full tuition at UF. Dirt cheap even without your financial aid offer, great rep, strong greek life, sec football -- break into the industry and have fun.
Some people forget that it isn't just about your first job, it's about the continuum of your career. If you don't break into IB, a top name will help you bag something similar/adjacent to it, you can get a top 10 MBA program, etc. I ended up getting a buyside offer full-time, but if I had the chance to do the college process all over again, I would've applied to UF bc it's a school that really punches above its weight.
I needed to hear that - I am aiming for elite boutiques, however, would the UF name hurt for EB —> MF PE recruiting? I know Vanderbilt and Northwestern have presence at all BB’s and EB’s - while UF’s alumni are concentrated at RBC.
Good question -- looking back at my process, I personally wouldn't be gung ho on an EB unless you know it's required for your goals. Because you may say you want MF PE right now, but it can change. So you need to weigh debt with the overall name that's strong for both EBs and BBs.
Penn can obviously take you to any EB/BB. If you don't get in there, Vandy leans more towards BBs and you can just avoid the southern banks. I personally like them over Northwestern because yes people break into IB from there, but if you strike out, many people get MBB. UF is RBC-focused, but I'm sure you have a GPA strong enough to get into other shops from there -- EBs would be out of the question for the most part, though. UF can also help in that since they have such a strong presence at RBC, you can angle for a top group there. It's a lot more to consider than just the traditional EB vs BB, as you can see above.
UF all the way. Zero debt is huge, and there is a strong alumni network. Several of my colleagues and interns went there.
+1. My three biggest college regrets are as follows: not looking into Greek Life earlier, not diving a little deeper into the entrepreneurial/early stage resources at my business school, and not considering UF.
First of all, big congrats. Seems like any of these options will be a huge step up from the university you're leaving. You should be proud of that and the hard work it took. I echo some of the other comments above. Penn should be option #1, regardless of the debt. However, UF is fantastic and if you do well there, you'll have plenty of options. I would only add that with UF there is slightly less margin for error vs. Vandy or NW. As long as you make sure you'll grind and do well, etc. etc., UF is a great outcome. Good luck.
Thanks for your input. I’m currently set on Penn / NW - but is getting an internship in Boutique IB / PE while taking classes advisable or even possible? I am curious to hear if I will have enough time to do both - so the debt load would be manageable.
I thought this forum was against transferring?
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