College Questions

[mgs]

I have a question about college. Is it best to go to a better undergrad college or a better college to get your MBA? i.e. Northwestern for unergrad and MIT for MBA, or the other way around? If it helps, I want to be a prop trader when I graduate. Thanks

 

[ramuman]

Originally Posted by mgs

I have a question about college. Is it best to go to a better undergrad college or a better college to get your MBA? i.e. Northwestern for unergrad and MIT for MBA, or the other way around? If it helps, I want to be a prop trader when I graduate. Thanks

Your particular comparison makes no sense. MIT is a tougher (and better in science/engineering) school to get into for both undergrad and Sloan.

 

[pebblegrain]

All else being equal the undergrad is more important and more competitive. It is also practically impossible for a 15 year old to start preparing for a college application, but they have to do it.

You can methodically prepare to get into a top-10 MBA program fairly easily by tracking your career progress after undergrad, keeping in contact with good recommenders, and nailing one wild card - the GMAT.

 

[scientific]

for people in that industry, it's not an option, or even a question. also agreed that your question/comparison makes no sense

 

[why]

Originally Posted by ramuman

Your particular comparison makes no sense. MIT is a tougher (and better in science/engineering) school to get into for both undergrad and Sloan.
Which is why he asked if it's better to go to MIT for undergrad (i.e. first) or better to go to MIT for graduate school (i.e. second), with Northwestern as the conversely corresponding undergrad/graduate school depending on which path he takes.

 

[indesertum]

this prolly doesnt need to be said, but i would disagree: you should try and get into the best options you can in both cases. going to either doesn't exclude the other.

regardless of which undergrad you get into i think what would matter most is nailing an internship during undergraduate leading to a job at an investment bank leading to acceptance to a top business school leading to a better job at either the same or different investment bank. go to a school with better networking options (ie closer physically to the firms you want to be employed in and reputable enough that better firms actively recruit) and of course better schools potentially have better networks

also, i thought prop trading was hugely undermined now by the volcker rule if not theoretically outlawed.

 

[Valor]

MBA is near useless for prop trading. And an undergrad at MIT is way better than one at Northwestern. Sloan is probably better than Kellogg too.

 

[Milpool]

Since a major portion of MBA admissions criteria relies on your pre-MBA work experience, and your pre-MBA work experience relies heavily on the undergrad school you went to and how well you did and what internships you had and such, I would say go for the best undergrad you can afford and do the best you can while there.

 

[a24z]

I would advise him to join MIT. It will certainly put his career on the right track. I am saying this from my personal experience. I got my MBA from MIT. Now I am working in a bank in London and I am having a handsome salary. The most important plus point regarding MIT is that they have got some really wonderful faculties. They have got lots of experience and they share a very warm relationship with students. They will always be there providing us with whatever help we need.

 

[korektphool]

You're not going to be a prop trader when you graduate, unless by "prop trader" you mean gamble with your own money from your basement.

 

[saiyar1]

Since you are looking at college next, go to the best one you can. When, and if, you go to business school, go to the best one. Period.

I think you are worrying about things waaaay to far in advance though. By the way, MIT is certainly better than Northwestern for undergrad. For business school, it's arguable what's better: Sloan vs. Kellogg.

I worked in trading out of undergrad and I'm now back getting an MBA now. I'm very curious to know what makes you say you want to be a prop trader? I'm guessing you're about 16? I'll be honest, it's nearly impossible to know what the job is all about and whether it's what you want to do at your age.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by mgs

I have a question about college. Is it best to go to a better undergrad college or a better college to get your MBA? i.e. Northwestern for unergrad and MIT for MBA, or the other way around? If it helps, I want to be a prop trader when I graduate. Thanks
If I was asking this question, I would think that what I am really asking is "can I screw around in HS or undergrad" and the answer is neither. It's not as if you are set up to fail in life if you don't go to the best school, but in really competitive fields everything matters and you CANNOT, at least this early in the game, pick will matter more for your future, that far in the furture. Further, Life has a way of both closing and opening doors you cannot imagine (and I say this as someone who was dead set on his career path at 14. Then my mother died at 18. Plans changed). Do everything, including your HS and undergrad coursework with due care (and it is due a great deal), but don't kill yourself -- that will set you up to be a lifeless workaholic. Study hard and EARLY for the SAT and the GMAT/GRE whatever you will take later on. These things are good habits and will matter for almost any career path unless you jump off the grid. Keep the next decision in mind as it comes onto your horizon, and at each decision point, be RATIONAL about what choices are available to you, and about your choices from within that set. Do your homework on your projected career path as best you know it so that the basis of your choices, when you make them, has something underpinning it -- that is, too many have gotten in to high-priced schools and borrowed their futures away fro a payback they only hope for. That's not a good course. I applaud you for asking now, but you may be overreaching a bit at the moment. Best, ~ H

 

[vaalbara]

what you do and the who you get to know matters more than where you go for undergrad. for grad school, however, aim for the skies.

of course, if money isn't an issue then go wherever your heart desires. if memory serves me right, upenn has the best undergraduate business program in the country atm.

I applaud you for asking now, but you may be overreaching a bit at the moment.

i emphasize this. you're young, enjoy life! don't spend your youth behind books 24/7.