I want to become a venture capitalist. Which school is better? Another side point- I hate both of there locations (please dont say i should look at other schools i like a lot of other aspects) what is the maximum amount of time I could spend abroad from either of these school?
You want to attend a school so you can spend as much time as possible away from it? What is the benefit of attending then? Even if one was better than the other for VC, you would not be there for at least 1/4 of the time (likely junior year). And pre-finance, pre-consulting kids often begin interning the first summer of college and continue to do that each summer thereafter, and do a lot of networking and interviewing and such during the school year Going abroad may be possible but it also may not.
That said, it’s my understanding that most VCs start in consulting or finance or tech and go on to get MBAs or other advanced degrees. So you are likely going on to grad or professional school at some point (and if an MBA, not immediately after college). And course VC is very white and very male right now and very, very competitive.
Are these two affordable for your family? Especially since post-grad school is likely in your future?
yes, I can pay.
Most schools have a minimum numbers of credits that have to be earned on campus in order to receive the school’s diploma. If you dig around on their websites, you should be able to find this info. I do NOT recommend ever asking this question to anyone affiliated with either school.
As far as VC goes, I agree with @OHMomof2 about internships and business school. Neither Amherst nor Cornell is really in a great location for internships during the year and I’d say they’re equally good for summer positions (which are more often obtained through alum connections than by blast-mailing your resume). Whichever you choose, though, you’ll almost certainly have to go to a top-10 business school in order to be competitive in that field.
Amherst has several structured programs for this, Amherst Select internships, funding for unpaid ones, ones specific to finance/consulting, etc. Most of it is online, though accessible only to students. Also a structured alumni mentorship program called Pathways.
I’d think Cornell might too but I don’t know.
Number of students (Undergrads) who went into venture capital (any reputable or reasonable size firm) from Cornell and Amherst together in a specific year would be close to zero. Try to evaluate options based on a little broader criteria.