where to go for undergrad????(finance/econ major)

[Concordia]

I don't know how grad schools would look at these degrees, but as a miminally-informed east coast finance person, I'd say that there isn't an obvious difference between the schools. Not in terms of "you've got to interview this guy-- he went to X!"

So go where you'll hit the ground running and find something you want to do and really do well. I'd be more inclined to give you a second look if you're Phi Beta Kappa, or have done some really cool research or a relevant internship. Ohio State or DePaul, doesn't matter too much.

You might get a different response from someone who knows professors in your department. So don't take this as complete Gospel.

 

[jfranci3]

There's only one real question to be answered here - Where do you want work after school? Chicago or Ohio? Most companies recruit from local(-ish) schools.

Aside from that, I'd rather go to school in college town like Columbus.

You'll learn the same stuff in both schools.

 

[Connemara]

Chicago is obviously a better city than Columbus but Columbus offers some great culture at a reasonable price. Short North and German Village are two of my favorites. It's a large MSA so there are lots of malls, stores, etc. in the 'burbs. It wasn't a bad place to be, though I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life there.

 

[Lord-Barrington]

No offense to starry eyed UGs who think that everyone had heard of their LAC, but once you get out of the cream of the crop (HYS et al.) the biggest boost you'll get from your UG will be regional.

 

[otc]

Just to ask....these are the schools you got full rides to, but what schools can you go to for a little money?

The differance may not be worth full tuition at a 40-50k a year institution...but if you could go for less than half price to a top school, it could open doors for you. If you want to work in a big ibank (really? sounds like the suck imho but here is the truth)....those schools will not help you much. You might have some options like getting into the chicago office of a BB firm from depaul (maybe something similar at OSU) and moving from there to NYC, but from either school it will be tough to get to the absolute top.

 

[zach9]

I'm not entirely interested in ibanking at this point, I'm leaning more towards getting into financial/economic consulting and earning an advanced degree eventually whether an ms, mba, or even jd. Regarding DePaul I really like the idea of going to school in Chicago and having class sizes much smaller than OSU. Also I don't feel like it is merely a safety school for rich kids as many of the students I've talked to from there have the academic stats to go nearly anywhere save the top 10-15 schools in the country.

 

[Pennglock]

Taken on the whole, Chicago's college girls are probably the ugliest anywhere outside of the UK. Keep this in mind...

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by zach9

I'm not entirely interested in ibanking at this point, I'm leaning more towards getting into financial/economic consulting and earning an advanced degree eventually whether an ms, mba, or even jd. Regarding DePaul I really like the idea of going to school in Chicago and having class sizes much smaller than OSU. Also I don't feel like it is merely a safety school for rich kids as many of the students I've talked to from there have the academic stats to go nearly anywhere save the top 10-15 schools in the country.

looking around my econ consulting office...I don't see any depaul undergrads. I see a depaul professor...and some flagship state university undergrads...and a bunch of people from highly ranked universities (and LACs).

Smaller class sizes and being in chicago are nice...but if you are driven, I would say OSU is probably a better choice. It is harder to get "left behind" at a smaller private school (people don't fail classes at top schools, they just get extensions, incompletes, and personal attention), but if you are able to keep yourself motivated, you can shine at a flagship state uni (be it OSU or wherever).

Obviously there are lots of factors to choosing your school. Most enter school with a completely different idea of what they want to be doing in 4 years than they leave with. It is not like depaul is a terrible school (I wouldn't pay extra $$ for it...but both are free for you) and being in chicago may be more valuable than fighting for personal attention at OSU

 

[Beckwith]

+1 to the below messsage. Is OSU still a land grant school? School size and fit are more important than economics programs, because in the end connections matter.

Originally Posted by Michigan Planner

As a Michigan man, there is absolutely no way in hell I can ever recommend OSU.

Honestly though, they are both fine choices. I wouldn't worry too much about the differences in rankings, it's not like you are comparing Penn or Harvard to Coastal Carolina Community College.

I think the opportunities for internships and networking within the Chicago area are probably much greater than what you will find in Columbus, even though it is a growing city (as far as the midwest goes anyway). The question is, will the opportunities of Chicago outweigh the reach of the OSU alumni network in the long run?

Conversely, yes, Chicago is a fun town with a lot to do all year round. Great bars, great museums, great music, great sports, a relatively large population of young folks (a lot of students from the Big Ten schools and other places seem to migrate to Chicago for their first jobs after graduation) but there is something to be said about the experience of going to a huge school like OSU - parties (even if their students are jerks) and college sports (even if their teams/coaches are cheaters) will be much more interesting at OSU than DePaul.

 

[rdawson808]

It's undergrad so as far as academics go, either is fine. It's not like you're choosing between MIT and some no-name school.

Which one has better name recognition? That can help you getting into grad school (I'm talking econ here, since that's my PhD). Study hard, take a lot of math courses (math econ, any sort of financial math) and stats/econometrics. Don't take any of those stats for humanities majors-type courses. Study hard. That will get you into grad school.

Which school will be more fun?

b

 

[Pennglock]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

Study hard, take a lot of math courses (math econ, any sort of financial math) and stats/econometrics.

From what I understand, the math is far more important than any macro/micro type classes if he wants to go for a PhD in Econ or Finance. Should Op consider actually majoring in math or stat and doing Econ as a minor?

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by Pennglock

From what I understand, the math is far more important than any macro/micro type classes if he wants to go for a PhD in Econ or Finance. Should Op consider actually majoring in math or stat and doing Econ as a minor?

OP should go to college for a few years before he decides if he wants to do an ecan PhD

I suppose it depends on the school--my school was heavy enough on the math in the Econ program that as long as you took math heavy classes (and maybe threw in some stray math electives) you were good. Other schools have really weak econ programs that don't even really push much calculus at the undergrad level.

 

[rdawson808]

Originally Posted by Pennglock

From what I understand, the math is far more important than any macro/micro type classes if he wants to go for a PhD in Econ or Finance. Should Op consider actually majoring in math or stat and doing Econ as a minor?

I would say double major, major in econ/finance and minor in math. By not majoring in econ you miss out on the repitiion and thus don't pick up the intuition as quickly.

Just my opinion.

 

[clee1982]

Originally Posted by Pennglock

From what I understand, the math is far more important than any macro/micro type classes if he wants to go for a PhD in Econ or Finance. Should Op consider actually majoring in math or stat and doing Econ as a minor?

yup, also why most econ. undergrad. doesn't pursue econ phd..., I have seen quite a few engineering/operation research went the econ. phd route. The math for econ. at phd level is pretty hardcore.

 

[AldenPyle]

According to USNews, DePaul student body is 55% female and 45% male. Ohio State is reverse. Play the odds and go to DePaul.