barboza

lisieux, I've been invited to several special events at big banks like JPMorgan. Among the attendees in the JPMorgan investment banking event, for instance, were students from MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Princeton. I can tell you for sure there was no one from Berkeley or CMU in that room. If I were you, I wouldn't look at the average salary too closely, because the difference is quite miniscule. Plus, if you are looking at investment banking or consulting, your average salary will be higher than $60,000 anyway. McIntire is renowned in their finance and accounting programs, and the professors are amazing.

gomez95

You have some interesting choices to make here. Admission to McIntire, Ross and Haas(I think..) are not guaranteed at all, so going to any of these b-schools would entail a certain amount of risk. That Deans letter which you got from McIntire, is one which is sent out to everyone who has indicated his/her interest in business. So it isn't really a big deal. I got one myself after getting admitted to UVA.

If you hard-set on business, Tepper seems a safe bet. However it's lower than the others in rankings and iCMU's small size may not attract as many recruiters as the other three colleges.

If you like a challenge and think you're good enough to get into McIntire or Ross go to one of these. I would personally recommend Ross.
It has a 350 person class size, divided into cohorts, so that 'private schol attention' factor is prevalent.
A new $150 million dollar building (Whartons cost $80m) is being built for the Ross School of Business and a jump in the rankings in the next few years is inevitable.
Michigan has a fantastic campus and you could follow many of your other interests. There are clubs for just about anything!
And Since you apply at the end of freshman year, and dont get in, well you can transfer to another business school (like McIntire, Goziuweta, Kelley etc), the same or the next year.

As an international student myself,I was faced with a similiar choice (Haas excluded) and went with Michigan.

lisieux

Thanks everyone for the replies... So what exactly is so good about UVA that makes it ranked second? Please be specific. I think my heart lies in UVA also actually... Just that I'm planning to go back to SE Asia to work and I'm a bit worried that it's less recognized, if I don't get a job at an MNC investment bank... That's the only thing preventing me from enrolling to UVA really.

barboza

There are so many things about UVA that makes it such a renowned school: Great faculty resources, intellectual vitality, high graduation rate, strong alumni network, etc. It has been consistently ranked the #2 public school for many years; in fact, several years ago, it edged out Berkeley for the #1 spot. McIntire, on the other hand, has phenomenal professors and a degree from there will take you anywhere in the business world.

If you end up at McIntire or have an economics degree from UVA, you are pretty much set to work anywhere in the world. As I have said, plenty of my friends return to Singapore and other parts of Asia to work for prestigious multi-national corporations and investment banks. Their employers are not silly, and will of course do their part of researching before recruiting a candidate. (I'm also assuming that you're considering Singapore, as you mentioned you would like to return to SE Asia.)

Go with what your heart says You only have a week left! Good luck.

barboza

Also if you're interested in career placements for McIntire grads, I hope you find the following helpful:

http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/car...ionsReport.pdf

lisieux

Hi Barboza, correct, I'm talking about Singapore. Thanks so much! I really think I'm gonna take the risk (if there's any) with UVA. The school gives me such positive vibes! (I hope it's not just a super good marketing gimmick... No right? Objectively? Haha..)

Oh yeah, do you know whether you can take a double degree in engineering and business?

thanks! I'll tell you my final decision once I've settled my choice.

barboza

To be honest, I don't know anyone in McIntire who is also majoring in engineering! I think the very intense workload at McIntire (you have to take a set amount of classes after entering McIntire) makes it impossible to pursue another major like engineering. Even the engineers here work 24/7, and have very little social life, as far as I can tell.

McIntire students who double major will typically pursue economics or mathematics, though the latter can be really tough with its course requirements. It is usually easier to double major within a school (ie. finance and accounting, or math and philosophy), however, though it's still possible to double major from two schools.

Btw, the new McIntire building, which just opened earlier this year, is very nice. Back to the Lawn : McIntire School of Commerce

ice.frappuccino

no buddy. go to usc or boston college or nyu. it's a lot better and easier. i didn't apply to carnegie cuz i don't wanna go to pittsburgh

lisieux

hahaha. i guess i am being too ambitious then. x| it's just that there's an science-y part of me that still wanna come out (haha yeah I applied to engineering schools too!). Anyway there's no harm diversifying ourselves, what if I fail as a banker?? Haha.. Hmmm what about something like... Er, Business - Psychology or Business - Biology?

lisieux

ice.frappucinno -> haha too bad, I didn't apply to those schools.. I should have tried NYU, for fun, haha..

quag_mire

lol, lisieux im sure you would have been admitted to Stern...it's arguably better than some of the schools you applied to

barboza

Technically, it is possible to double major in the courses you mentioned. But the problem lies with the courseload at McIntire, which makes it nearly impossible to complete other classes during your third and fourth year. At most, you'll have time to take one class outside of McIntire. Therefore, take as many classes as you can for the other major during your first and second year before entering McIntire. Oh, and I just remembered that my friend is a Commerce and French double-major. In my opinion, it is doable, but you're going to have rough semesters and spend a lot of time in the library.

ice.frappuccino

well i regret not applying to carnegie and georgetown. i got waitlisted by stern and ross. rejected by usc-marshall. berkeley, ucla, cornell, upenn, northwestern, etc despite having a 2200 on sat. lol i would consider myself lucky if i can actually decide between haas, tepper, mcintire, and ross

lisieux

I just came back from the post office to send my decision to enroll to...









University of Virginia.

YES I can't believe I'm turning down Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon! But from the feedback that I received from many people, I believe (and hope too) that UVA will be worth it. Yay. Thanks so much to everyone!! You guys really helped me a lot.

ice.frappuccino -> all the best for the two schools! There's still hope!
barboza -> hmmm, I might bump into you on the Grounds... Haha thanks so much!!

barboza

Wahoowa! Congrats on deciding to attend UVA in the fall!

And we say "on Grounds" Just think of how good it must feel sending the other reply cards, knowing that you will be going to UVA.