Possibly Dumbest Question Ever... Yale Vs. USC

[pokergrader]

USC is very very fun. I went here as an engineer (senior now, graduating in 1 month), and the classes are easy, the professors are easy and not very good, and the other students are also not very good. There are opportunities however if you want to go above and beyond, or you can be lazy.

The party scene is great, the city is great, and frankly USC does have a lot of resources to help people land jobs. The football games here are just ridiculous, the basketball games are getting fun.

However given the choice I would go to Yale, only because I would like the chance to meet smart girls, which do not exist at USC.

[CalledDownLight]

This is a dumb question, j/k. FWIW, I think USC is an easy decision here: good weather, hot girls, good athletics, lots of fun, a lot cheaper, and good enough school. I think this is a landslide. I go to one of the "name" schools, but often wish I had chosen the state school that still has a good reputation and would be a lot more fun, easier, and have hotter girls.

[dtan05]

I never been to yale, but don't girls at yale join like 395729357 sports teams in HS so that = hotness?

anyway, I think the connections at Yale would >>>>>> USC

[suppasonic]

I think USC is the easy choice here unless you wont be paying much of your Yale money. 40k vs. 160k? Marshall is still a good business school and you can still get a just fine Ibanking job. USCs job networking is very good. Save yourself 120k and do USC.

[Tiburon]

My vote goes to USC. If you graduate in 4 years you're looking at $44k in debt at USC instead of $180k at Yale. That's a huge difference and a [censored] of money to pay off. Do some research and find out about how much time it would take to pay that off. I'm not familiar with your area of study, but you can probably get a good job with a degree from USC also.

I'm kinda in a similar situation. I really like UCSB, but it would require me to take out some significant loans also. I've received some good offers from smaller schools with like 2,000 students. I also would rather go to a school with lots of parties, hot girls, etc.

[mak15]

OP,

i go to wharton (upenn) and was in a similar situation 3 years ago. i could've gone to a bunch of different schools for free or come here and pay 40k a year or whatever. at the time i think i wanted to be a trader, but definitely something financial.

at the time i pretty much didn't even seriously consider not going to a top school, but now i joke that i should've just gone to a school like Miami where they would've even bought my books for me. also, my parents pay for my college, but if i had gone somewhere on scholarship they would have just given me the money it would've cost to go to a top level school, so financially our situations are different but it still definitely mattered to me.

part of the reason though is that i'm real lazy at school and would rather play poker than work for a bank over the summer and since i do like zero work my gpa is pretty marginal, but had i gone to a lesser school i imagine i could've done no work, gone to better parties, and still had a good grade point.

on the other hand, my friends here who are doing ibanking this summer have way better options than my friends at other schools similar to usc who want to be in finance. i mean banking is just about the hardest field to get into and if you go to USC and want to get a job at goldman you are probably going to have to really stand out there.

also, i guess its probably important to think about the fact that your degree does kind of follow you forever. i mean having the elite name on the degree is going to help with jobs and contacts and whatever. and although its kind of douchey, it's pretty nice when i meet someone and tell them i go to wharton that they instantly think i'm smart.

i guess in the end i just chose here cause i felt like i had to, but it's definitely worth considering other options. i don't know if what i said made much sense, but feel free to run any questions through PM.

[dustyn]

I think it's a difficult decision. Having huge loans is certain if you go to Yale. Getting an ibanking job will probably happen at Yale; it stands a reasonable possibility at USC. People change while they're in college too - that's something to keep in mind. Priorities change, hearts change, potential careers change. Being forced to pay off 180k will not change. Not to mention the large stress you're going to put on yourself the first 5-10 years of your career with that much debt. I think it's a tough decision but being forced to shoulder 180k in debt is a bit too much imo, so I would go with USC.

[SuitedDucks]

I went to Yale and I'm gonna say that you should go to Yale. First of all, if you want to go into ibanking, the contacts that you'll make at a place like Yale are invaluable. I know several friends who had their resumes pulled during the recruiting process with subpar credentials by people who they had met at Yale who currently worked at the companies. Furthermore, i'm assuming if youre going into ibanking, youre mostly interested in business/making money so you should consider the value of the contacts that you'll be making. Second of all, if you play your cards right, you can study hard for two years, get an internship with an ibank after the sumer of your sophomore year, work hard at your internship and get offered a job from them after school's over. if you do that, you can pretty much blow off your last two years. Even if you get an internship after your junior year, you can still blow off senior year. Third, if you're trying to go into banking, your grades arent as important as if you were trying to go into consulting and/or law school where grades are pretty much the only thing that matters. Ibanking is more about relevant experience and connections. Fourth, people at Yale party too. Most of the ppl i know did not study that much thur night - sunday except during midterm crunch time and finals. Fifth, its Yale. It gives you instant credibility. Whenever I meet someone new, and it comes up that I went to Yale, that person makes automatic assumptions about my intelligence and my abilities.

[Cornell Fiji]

Ivy league is overrated, especially compared to a top notch school like USC.

I think that the choice would be pretty close without the scholarship but with the money it is not close.

If you really want to have a career in I-banking then get your work done and finish in the top of your class at USC (which will be no easy feat) and go to an Ivy league business school. Spend your undergrad somewhere you will enjoy

Also, USC's reputation will get you an 'in' pretty much anywhere on the West coast. The Yale name will surely open doors for you on the East coast but this is not as important as you would think; especially if you are going to enter a profession where an MBA is the norm.

In conclusion, I google image searched "yale girls" and "USC girls"

USC girls
Yale girls

[SuitedDucks]

[ QUOTE ]
Ivy league is overrated, especially compared to a top notch school like USC.

I think that the choice would be pretty close without the scholarship but with the money it is not close.

If you really want to have a career in I-banking then get your work done and finish in the top of your class at USC (which will be no easy feat) and go to an Ivy league business school. Spend your undergrad somewhere you will enjoy

Also, USC's reputation will get you an 'in' pretty much anywhere on the West coast. The Yale name will surely open doors for you on the East coast but this is not as important as you would think; especially if you are going to enter a profession where an MBA is the norm.

In conclusion, I google image searched "yale girls" and "USC girls"

USC girls
Yale girls

[/ QUOTE ]

to say ivy league is overrated is retarded. i know many ivy league friends who got jobs at ibanks solely based on what school they went to(ie: columbia engineering).

also, almost all ibanks are on the east coast. so the OP should gear his thinking towards that. sure usc has a great rep on the west coast but thats not gonna help him get a banking job.