lisieux

Hi,

I've just been admitted to Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and Virginia, and I can't choose between the 3! Can anyone help me explain why:
1. Haas is ranked quite low in BW but 3rd in USNews?
2. Tepper's ranked very low (#22) while the median starting salary is highest at $60,000?
3. What is the significance of recruiter survey rank? The higher it is, means the easier it is for you to land a job? So what about the rank of the 3 unis in terms of that?
4. Is Financial Engineering in Carnegie Mellon good?
5. Comparing the three, which one would you recommend and why? (Also consider that I'm not guaranteed a place in Berkeley and Virginia after the 1st year, while I'm already accepted in Carnegie's Tepper)

Add. info: I'm an international student, so the diff in fees do not really matter (I mean, I won't get significantly cheaper education in Berkeley/Virginia)

Any input will be greatly appreciated!! I really have a hard time deciding between the 3. =/ I'm also on Michigan's (Ross) waitlist actually, so if you'd like to help me, you can also touch on the school in comparison with the other 3 schools.

Thank you so much!!

quag_mire

Well, im assuming you're aiming to land a position as an analyst on wall street/some financial institution...
Given your choices, I would go for Tepper for the following reasons
1) Tepper has an incredibly small class size (atleast it did last year) and there will be less competition for you from Tepper when it comes to getting recruited
2) Tepper is the only business program in which you are guaranteed a spot, as opposed to Haas and McIntire
3) Tepper is well known for its strength in quantitative analysis
4) Despite Tepper's low rank (which I feel is inaccurate), it is fairly well recruited at....just check this link out Find Campus Events
It shows that Tepper is one of the target schools for JP Morgan...im sure it will be with other major firms

So overall, Tepper is the best choice u have in hand

I've been accepted to Tepper and NYU Stern, and am choosing Stern over Tepper for the same reasons I'm telling you to choose Tepper over McIntire and Haas, because I feel that my chances of getting recruited are higher at Stern than Tepper.....but if you think you can get a high GPA at UVA and get into McIntire, then go for it

quag_mire

by the way, im not sure if the financial engineering option at Tepper is open to undergraduates...i think its for graduate students only....i really want to do financial enineering too at Columbia, but im on their waitlist
but you can always double major in business and math/statistics/(some other quantitative major) and be well prepared for graduate programs in Financial Engineering, if that's what you're aiming for

lisieux

Hi,

As an additional info, the Dean of the Undergrad Admission wrote on the Admission Letter encouraging me to apply to McIntire in my 2nd year 'cos he "believes I would fit very well there". The Dean of the McIntire emailed me to encourage me to apply to McIntire as well. Also, students from my high school have historically been accepted to McIntire easily. So I'm not THAT worried of not being able to get to McIntire (although I AM worried for not being able to get to Haas...)

So you're saying that, if you don't take into account the uncertainty of getting a place in the business school, then McIntire is better than Tepper? How much better, in your opinion?

Actually I'm favoring McIntire over the other two, it's cheapest, the people are nice (from the impression they give), McIntire is good... But prestige is another thing I'm worried about, I don't know whether many recruiters know about McIntire, especially those outside US...

Thanks so much for giving your thoughts, haha and congrats for NYU! I've got quite a few friends heading there this fall.

Sachmoney

In terms of prestige at the undergraduate level, I'm gonna go on a limb and say nobody really knows undergraduate business schools other than Wharton and possibly Stern. That's not to say these schools won't be well known in five years. Business Schools have grown in competitiveness a million fold in the last ten years, I believe.

Here's my suggestion: I think you should go to Carnegie Mellon (Tepper). It's a more diverse environment, and it's well recruited. All these schools are well recruited, but I feel Tepper has the best curriculum for what you want to do after graduation whether it is working in quantitative finance or to go to graduate school later. I'm saying this despite the fact that UVA is not only my favorite school of the three, McIntire is the only business school of the three I applied to.

I mean McIntire does just as good on Wall Street I presume, and it's not like its big. However, at Tepper you'll have that Private School attention from the beginning. It's really a gut feeling and a choice for you. If the money saved is a big difference, then go to UVa. It's a fantastic school. Congratulations, you have some great choices to choose from.

lisieux

Thanks a lot for the input!

Can I ask what exactly do you mean by "Private School attention"? I'm international student so I don't really know what the difference is... Did you go to UVA btw? For some reasons I think teaching quality at Tepper is graded C by Business Week, I'm not very sure why also...

kmzizzle

wow you got in almost all 4 so far lucky !
UVA
Berk
Ross
Tepper

Sachmoney

Private School attention, I meant that you can get to know professors easier, classes are more intimate. There are more resources for students/spent on students.

I don't go to UVa. I applied to McIntire as a transfer and I find out on May 1st. It's really graded a C? Interesting. I don't know why either.

BTW, I didn't mention this before, but if you get into Ross, I would choose Ross.

lisieux

Oh I see.. Eh, I meant Carnegie Mellon's Tepper's facility is C, job placement is B.. Yup. Virginia's all A+. Why would you choose Ross??

Oh all the best for your transfer too!

barboza

Please see Where else applied/accepted

To answer your question about overseas placement, recruiters visiting UVA will put you in touch with the right people, so I don't think it would be an issue at all especially if you desire working for a big firm; most prestigious firms have a global network anyway.

Milton Roark

Ross is only good over Tepper for consulting. UM (on the whole campus) isn't as quant oriented as CMU.

tetrishead

If you're interested in technology or quant stuff, go to Berkeley or Tepper. I'd say Tepper because of much smaller classes, and the influence of Silicon Valley isn't a beneficial one when you're interested in academics. If you want to go to a big state school and get into spirit and have sports teams that don't suck you should go to Michigan. I like UVA a lot, but I'm not sure what they'd offer that Michigan wouldn't.

lisieux

Hi Barboza, I read your reply in the other thread.. I was considering business and engineering, which is why there's Carnegie Mellon and Illinois there. But I think now I'm settled for business. Are you from UVA? What are you majoring in? I'm pretty confused with feedback I have from people, some people say that recruitment from UVA's not as good as the other top business school despite its #2 rank. Like, for example, why is the median salary $58,000 while Wharton, Haas, Stern, and Tepper is $60,000? I know I'm being extremely fussy, but choosing a uni, especially when you're gonna spend a lot of $$$ for an international student like me, is really not so easy. Gonna have to consider the return for investment haha . xP

Milton, are you from Tepper?

Tetrishead, I am more concerned about the quality of education and the recruitment, I'm not very concerned about the sports team and all that 'cos unless you're a varsity player or something, it doesn't make a difference... Right?

Can anyone tell me a bit more about Haas? Nobody has really talked much about it...

And which rank do you think is more reliable, USNews or Business Week?

Hey thanks a lot for all the replies, I really appreciate it! 1 week left to decide!

Milton Roark

No, I'm not from Tepper. UM is more of a mix as a school. It still has a good engineering program, but CMU will be more focused on the hard sciences/ quant than UM. Moreover, it's not completely a school spirit school. It has that, but it's not nearly as bad as it is at most (lower ranked) Midwestern state schools. You'll find a good mix of people.

VectorWega

Small graduating class size can be a negative also in that it can be less viable for a firm to recruit from the school..in other words, more companies will recruit at large schools (which can be particularly advantageous if you are near the top of your class).