Seeking Advice: UVA McIntire vs. Cornell Nolan Hotel School for IB, PE, or Consulting

Applying to College Early Decision / Early Action
1

Hey everyone,

I’m currently deciding between applying Early Decision to UVA and attending the McIntire School of Commerce or going to Cornell’s Nolan Hotel School, with the goal of breaking into investment banking (IB), private equity (PE), or consulting. I’ve also considered Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, but the acceptance rates are so low that I don’t think it’s realistic for me.

I have very strong business-oriented extracurriculars, though none of them are hospitality-related, except for being the president of the entrepreneurship club at my school. Eventually, I’m looking to secure job placements in NYC, so that’s a major factor in my decision-making process.

Given my goals of working in IB, PE, or consulting, I’m trying to figure out which path would give me the best opportunities post-graduation. For those with experience in these fields, which school would you recommend and why?

Any advice on the strength of alumni networks, recruiting, and career outcomes from either McIntire or Nolan—particularly with a focus on NYC placements—would be super helpful!

Thanks in advance!

2

Hospitality, even at Cornell, will not lead you to IB. Nolan has very strong placement but if you want Finance, major in Finance, Quantitative Economics, etc. or if you want Nolan specifically prepare for a variety of possible outcomes. Working “in financial services” (as many Nolan graduates do) is not the same as working in IB.
If you’re okay with the different professions (and as a HS student it’d make sense you’d want to explore) then Nolan is your best bet: very few Nolan graduates do work in IB (I just checked the numbers: 14% of 29% of 53%,that’s ~1%) but graduates can join many well-paid other professions and enjoy favorable placement.
A good reason would be to choose it if you’re a NYS resident, since costs would be the lowest for you there and thus offer the best ROI.

McIntire has a secondary admission process, which is moving to selection during Spring freshman year. So you can be admitted to UVA and not get into McIntire.

@Catcherinthetoast if you want to joint the conversation?

3

Hotel school, Ivy or otherwise, is too narrow. It’s great if that is your goal. But that’s not your goal.

UVA 100%

4

My DD applied to both UVA and Nolan. She got into UVA and received the Nolan TO. She chose to go to another business school rather than UVA since “McIntire is an upper-divisional school, which means students complete one year of undergraduate coursework before applying to McIntire. Direct entry or preferred admission for incoming first-year students is not offered.”

Something to think about. Maybe consider other schools with direct acceptance into the business school.

I would think Stern or Marshall may be options that directly admit and who’s acceptance rates are higher than Dyson that are target or semi target schools in IB or MBB. Ross apparently is now direct admit, too. They are all very competitive but higher acceptance rates than Dyson.

5

I agree with others that Nolan likely won’t get you to your goal, nor does it sound like you are interested in hospitality, which the Nolan AOs will notice. So, don’t apply for a major you don’t want or for which your ECs don’t fit just to try to game the system.

I am generally also not a fan of secondary entry schools like McIntyre. McIntyre has holistic admission to the B school where they need to have gender, major, and racial diversity, which means you can do everything right (high grades, clubs, etc) and still not be accepted. Recent acceptance rates range from 59%-66%. We don’t know what the acceptance rate is going to look at as it transitions to a 3-year program. B.S. in Commerce Admissions Statistics - Experience McIntire

As a UVA plan B, if majoring in something else in the liberal arts school or data science school, etc., is ok with you then by all means apply UVA ED. Lots of IB and consulting peeps do not have undergrad majors in business.

If you really want an undergrad business major, I encourage you to go to a direct admit school. If you have the stats for IU Kelley direct admit, that is often a great safety school (assuming affordability) for students who might be looking at UVA. If you want other school ideas let us know.

2 Likes
6

Cornell’s hotel school is one of the endowed schools. It is not one of the land grant schools; there is no tuition break for NYS residents.

5 Likes
7

If you look at Cornell’s placement stats for Hotel, you can certainly get to consulting and likely IB. Accenture is a top employer as is Deloitte, Blackstone, BNP, Citi and more.

I’m guessing at this point you have goals based on prestige - bcuz consulting is not IB is not PE.

All of these fields are hard to break into from anywhere and all will likely be different even in five years than today - as will most industries. And there’s so many sub facets in each of these fields.

That said, one can go to ASU or any other # of schools and get into IB or a consulting gig at McKinsey. I know a UTK alum at BCG.

Yes some schools give you better odds.

But in this case, where do you want to be?

These schools may have different costs (if you have need or are in state UVA, weather, sports, and more.

You should study what you want - these jobs take all sorts of majors - yep even things like art history.

As for career outcomes, Cornell has a great database but contact each program and ask.

But as others noted - getting into UVA and getting into McIntire - two different things.

Find the best fit for you irrespective of current career goals - which will likely change as you learn more.

No matter where you end up, you’ll have to bust tail for these positions - and have a lot of luck - UVA, Cornell, a SUNY or otherwise.

Good luck.

3 Likes
8

I would recommend expanding both the college options and career ideas. A few comments:
– Consulting, IB and PE jobs are few and far between regardless of the college.
–Cornell Nolan is great for those interested in the hospitality industry. Full stop.
–I am a fan of direct admit schools for people who are certain they want an undergrad b-school. Unless things have changed, UVA does not have that option.

2 Likes
9

This!

Nolan wants to see hospitality experience on a student’s list of ECs, even if it’s just waiting tables. This is a niche school at Cornell and not a back door way into Dyson.

Honestly if you have strong business oriented ECs (and I’m assuming strong grades and test scores), I’d take your shot at Dyson as it sounds like it would be a better fit.

7 Likes
10

I agree with momofboiler1, take your shot at Dyson. Tepper at Carnegie Mellon might be worth looking at.

2 Likes
11

Thirding taking your shot at Dyson - even though Nolan offers many opportunities beyond Hospitality and has great placement, your odds are about 1-2% for your stated professional goal. If you’re flexible and would be happy with the other types of jobs then apply to Nolan but if you have specific professions in mind (or just want prestige) choose a university with direct admit to the Business school and a specific path to Finance. If you have the stats for Cornell you have a shot at many other programs, including, as someone mentioned above, IU Kelley (+ Honors - which is important because of the specific Honors classes they offer.)

12

IU if they have a test.

We know nothing about the student.

Cornell is test blind this year.

13

Test recommended for some colleges, test blind only for some (state/contract) colleges.

1 Like
14

Just to clarify, only certain college at Cornell are still test blind this cycle but that does include Nolan and Dyson. For other families interested in Cornell - Engineer, CAS, Hum Ec, AAP, ILR, and Brooks are test recommended this year. And the university goes back to test required for the following cycle. Standardized Testing Policy | Undergraduate Admissions

3 Likes
15

Yes I was referencing the school OP mentioned up front.

2 Likes
16

If you are concerned about McIntyre not being direct admit, this info is helpful. Copy/paste from an anonymous post on DC Urban Moms:

  1. Starting with the freshman 2024 class, McIntire School of Commerce (UVA’s undergrad Business School) will be a three-year program – students will apply their freshman year, not their sophomore year. This has been publicly announced.

(2) Although I’m not sure it has it has been publicly announced, UVA also plans to start offering a Business/Commerce minor via to those not in McIntire. So you can study Econ in the College of Arts and Sciences, and take the Commerce classes at McIntire for your minor.

These are significant and much-needed changes in my opinion. When considering schools, students still need to consider that even if they clear the challenging UVA admittance hurdle, they still might not be able to “major in Business”, i.e., gain admission into McIntire (admission rate has been @60%), but now students will know at the end of their freshman year and if they are not admitted and still interested in business, they have the option of a Business Minor. It’s also important in light of the fact that many undergrad business programs are four-year programs.

As an aside, although referred to as the “Commerce School”, McIntire is UVA’s undergrad “Business School” and it directly competes with/and is considered one of the best business programs among every other undergraduate business program no matter what they are called.

Adding: my oldest child was choosing among Cornell, UVa and Cal. Chose UVa. The full experience did not disappoint. So I am biased. Now our younger son wants to attend when he is older.

2 Likes
17

And apologies for y/i typo. Need coffee dearly this morning :sunglasses:

18

Hey everyone,

First of all, thank you so much for all your thoughtful replies! I’ve been thinking a lot about what you all have said, and here’s what I’ve concluded so far—please let me know if my understanding is correct.

I’ve decided to drop the idea of applying to Cornell’s Nolan Hotel School since it’s very hospitality-focused, and I’m not 100% sure that’s the direction I want to go. It seems like while it’s possible to get into IB or PE from Nolan, it would most likely be in the hospitality sector, and if I change my mind about hospitality, it would be difficult to transition into other industries.

Now, I’m trying to figure out where to apply for Early Decision. Should I go for UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce or Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management? The main concerns I have are Dyson’s extremely low acceptance rate and the fact that UVA isn’t direct admit into McIntire. Or should I ED to Dyson and take my chances with Early Action at UVA?

Additionally, if I apply ED2, would you recommend Emory, NYU Stern, or Vanderbilt? For context, I don’t have a test score I can submit, but I have a 4.0 GPA and strong extracurriculars.

I’d really appreciate your feedback and any advice on what might give me the best shot at reaching my goals in IB, PE, or consulting.

Thanks again for all your help!

@MYOS1634 @cheerfulmom @Mystics @Mwfan1921 @stalecookies @tsbna44 @happy1 @momofboiler1 @tgl2023

19

Stern if full pay. That’s just how NYU rolls.

(NYU ‘91 grad)

2 Likes
20

And I would add that I think your chances are similar at the two schools.

So choose the one you LOVE and want most to attend.

Wahoowa!! :sunglasses::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

2 Likes