Undecided - 05-26-2020 | Clear Admit DecisionWire

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May 25, 2020 6:02pm ET

Enrolled: Undecided

Admitted: UNC Kenan-Flagler

Applied: Cornell / Johnson, Duke / Fuqua, Georgetown / McDonough, UNC Kenan-Flagler

Entering Year: 2020

Post MBA Career: Investment Banking, Asset Management, inc. Hedge Funds Companies: Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo Securities, Blackrock, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Asset Management, State Street, Vanguard

GMAT: 650

GPA: 3.72

Location: PA

Notes:

WE: 5 years in private wealth mgmt, CFA Charter. I have an offer at UNC, but I am waitlisted at Cornell and G-Town. Cornell has been my top choice all along but I feel as though UNC is pretty comparable for iBanking. Unsure on G-Town. I'd love to get off waitlist for more options. Is Cornell definitely superior? Should I tell them I have UNC offer?

Like (1)

Show Comments (14) Last: June 1, 2020

anon27821 Likes Earned: 193 They are peer schools, Johnson slightly ahead in rankings but you can achieve your goals through KF. Unc won’t move needle for Cornell, if it was Colombia or Stern then sure but informing them would only hurt. If I was you, I would say good riddance to Johnson and go with the peer school that gave you the vote of confidence. KFBS is A phenomenal program (2)

anon27821 Likes Earned: 193 For Ib they are same playing field with firms like citi and rbc preferring KF grads over Johnson-industry experience. Again, both fantastic schools, but don’t sweat it on. (2)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1674 I'd think Cornell might have the edge here, if you do have both options, for IB in NYC. Not sure reaching out to Cornell with the KF offer will yield anything (they probably assume they're in a tier above). (2)

anon32488 Likes Earned: 62 Echoing the point above...Cornell is not going to care about an offer from KFBS, so I would not focus your efforts on an email to adcom about that. Any chance you can drive your gmat score up to even a 680? Given the waitlist wars that happen in the summer, I think improving your gmat score now would help you get off the waitlist in summer. Now...is it worth it? In terms of working the waitlist, I definitely think it’s worth it. Cornell places more people into IB (especially NYC) in both sheer numbers and in terms of percentages. IB and FS is really the core competency of Johnson, and they have perfected their prep processes to pump out bankers. Also, fwiw, my opinion on whether a school is a “peer” school is if it is ranked the same or higher in at least 1 of the major 5 rankings. This is not the case with KFBS, which is often several spots lower than Johnson no matter where you look (2)

anon10660 Likes Earned: 292 Congratulations on KF! I would suggest putting down the deposit at UNC and try to push Cornell. Especially for IB, I would agree with above that Cornell is a tier above UNC. However, UNC will also give you enough opportunities to transition into IB. (2)

anon22172 Likes Earned: 66 Thanks all for the insight, really helpful here. Very pumped about the UNC offer. In terms of recruiting, it does seem like many KF grads end up either in the south or northeast. Is there a tilt either way specifically for ibanking? I spoke with a student at KF who alluded to the fact that A lot people end up in NYC. I’m a northeast guy and would love to be back after school so just want to feel comfortable that I can do that in my career path of choice. (1)

eliot Verified User. Likes Earned: 1889 Congratulations on your acceptance to UNC Kenan Flagler. It is a solid MBA program that will enable you to get a NYC banking job if that is your career focus. I agree with poster 10660. I suggest that you put down your deposit at UNC and stay on the Cornell waitlist since Cornell will have an even deeper set of alumni in the NYC banking arena. In the meantime, I suggest that you continue to do your due diligence with UNC on their NYC banking placements. Best of luck! (2)

anon46803 Likes Earned: 12 Cornell is NOT a tier above UNC. They are peer schools. UNC places very well in financial services. Yes, they own Charlotte finance but they also send a lot of grads to NYC as well. Just look at their employment report in terms of where they send grads. They send students everywhere. People who think Cornell is a tier above are relating it to their Ivy undergrad, but when it comes to MBA, Cornell is not close to its undergrad reputation. Still a great school, but UNC and Cornell are similar. Also @anon32488, Cornell won't care about KFBS? Ok....that is false. They would care and take it into consideration. (1)

anon27821 Likes Earned: 193 Johnson would not take KFBS into consideration. I actually think doing so may hurt tbh . They are certainly peer programs, but I’m not entirely sure that that fact does not escape Johnson (2)

anon13121 Likes Earned: 4 Cornell is a tier above UNC, especially for IB. IMO you should stay on the Cornell waitlist for the time being. But UNC is still a very good school with solid IB placement. Good problem to have! (2)

anon36796 Likes Earned: 39 I think Cornell and Duke are a tier above the other two. Either would be a great choice! (2)

anon22172 Likes Earned: 66 I appreciate the breadth of responses here. The insight is very helpful. I did ultimately inform cornell and they did respond saying they would take it under consideration. Either way I feel pretty good with the UNC offer in my back pocket ! Both schools can get me where I want to be. (2)

anon15165 Likes Earned: 19 No neutral third party would think KF and Johnson are peer schools. Pay the deposit and suck up to Johnson's adcom. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1674 More details on this decision in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2020/06/episode-105-wire-taps/ (0)