<p>Ras - I’m not sure what you’re arguing, exactly. Chicago has been known in the finance world for a very, very long time. It’s been a powerhouse school for decades, and it’s not as if the bulge bracket firms are just now beginning to take notice. The general public is just about as unaware as Chicago as ever, this hasn’t changed significantly (the Obama link being a slight bump, although U of C was, in my opinion, not mentioned enough in connection to Obama).</p>
<p>Also, I don’t really get your contention with my social argument. I did my grad work at Penn, and I met a LOT of anthropology majors, sociology majors, etc. who decide to go work on Wall Street for a few years, and gradually acclimate to the work hard/play hard lifestyle. For whatever reason, students who come in having no interest in finance or business wind up heading to new york following graduation. I think the general environment of the school really plays a part in this. (Of course, the truly pre-prof types generally don’t select Chicago, but I don’t think you can ignore the formative experience an undergrad can play). On that same note, I’ve heard princeton graduates majoring in english or art history or whatever say, when asked about their decision to go into finance, “if you go to princeton, it’s just in the f%&#ing air you breathe.” </p>
<p>I didn’t mean to say that Dartmouth assertively FORMS this type of person, but the college plays some type of role. I’ve met too many wide-eyed, supposed future-teachers at 18 leave Penn at 22 to head to Deutsche Bank.</p>