Hjort wrote:
Hi,
Hiring counts are certainly one way of measuring the strength of a given school's reputation. However, an important variable is the set of opportunities in other industries for graduates of a given school. For instance, a finance heavy school might have such a high percentage at finance firms in part because graduates have relatively low chances at other types of firms. Thus, the latent trait of desirability within the finance sector for a given school’s graduates is not fully revealed by the percentage of students actually hired.
Hjort
Correct, but if someone is bent on pursuing a finance program or getting into a finance career, it doesn't matter if chances at other types of non-finance firms are low.
I think the original poster, when asking about a top finance school, is letting us make the assumption that his/her career choice is finance. If another school is well known for placing graduates in management consulting, this feature becomes fairly irrelevant to a finance-focused applicant.
Hjort wrote:
Few sane observers would argue that Penn is not one of the best schools in finance. However, I think it would be difficult to conclusively argue that it is better than all schools in NY, IL, or MA.
Hjort
I don't think I'm conclusively arguing that Wharton's better than all schools in the three states you mention. Instead, in my opinion, the depth of its finance curriculum and the expertise of its finance faculty is unmatched.
There's a difference!