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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'd probably go to Harvard.  We can debate whether it should be true, but I've done enough hiring at this point to know that having that word on your resume is a huge difference maker.[/quote]

Ditto. It's a leg up in life and is massively helpful if your son ever desires to work overseas. Instant credibility, even though it's not deserved IMHO. Columbia and Harvard are diametrically opposite experiences.

I've worked with and spent a lot of time around the Harvard crowd - my ex went there and I'm still close with much of their network, spent a lot of time around the Final Clubs crowd. Out of the hundreds of Harvard folks I've met, I'd say less than 20% really wowed me with their intellectual prowess. Harvard churns out a lot of grad with solid 'soft skills.' Most are wealthy kids who have successful parents and ride those connections into finance, law, politics, or med school. To be frank, the vast majority of Harvard grads are not any better than those who go to Duke, NYU, U of Michigan, or any other selective college. There also continues to be a vert strong tradition at Harvard that it's a "finishing school" for young wealthy women who intend to drop out of the work force by the time they are 30. Take that for what you will.

If your son wants a career in finance, he should absolutely go to Harvard. There is no reason for him to ever get an MBA after Harvard. All the individuals I know who went to Harvard undergrad and straight into finance did well and did not bother with MBAs. A few are partners at Goldman, but most end up at smaller boutique firms in leadership roles or running their family office. All are making high 6 figures or low 7 figures annually. The crowd I know graduated right after the tech downturn, so there are less of those folks in my network. I know that more recent classes do well at placing grads in established tech giants - Facebook, Amazon, Google, etc where soft skills now matter more than raw coding talent.

I'm consistently impressed with people who went to Yale, MIT, and Smith College. I've never met a slacker or dummy who came out of either of those schools. I can't say the same about Harvard undergrad.[/quote]

Thanks for the input! Final Clubs crowd is something DS is wary of. His interviewer told him about the "other" culture, and he's still debating how much it actually matters (in general and to him). [b]The same interviewer also warned him that the academic environment is really what you make of it.[/b]

I'm pretty sure I've heard him mutter "do I want to sell my soul to finance" just last night, haha! It's undeniably lucrative, but for a family like ours, that scene is still an abstract concept.[/quote]

This is absolutely true. And keep in mind that Columbia doesn't provide your son with that option.

As someone who works in the financial sector, the "sell your soul" aspect is really what you make of it. If your son is tech inclined, he should consider quantitative finance. It's waaaaaaaaaay less bro'y and mostly composed of PhD mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists who look for arbitrage opportunities or other price trends. Alternatively, he can go on the research side of the bank, explore working for a financial regulator (excellent work-life balance and pay is solid), or asset management. There's so many areas of finance that a person who is quasi-interested in the sector can find a niche that suits their personality.

But I totally understand that it's an "abstract concept" at the age of 18. I was in the same boat at his age (tho I did not have an offer from Harvard!)[/quote] This was very helpful, thank you! DS was wondering if some of the "less bro'y" sides of these finance sub-sectors tend to also be involved in more humanities related subjects? For example, international relations, development, the like. [/quote]

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