Definitely consider cost if the difference is substantial relative to your budget. Has Brandeis offered you any financial aid? I was looking at transferring to Brandeis for my junior year (about 5 years ago), and I remember a large % of students receiving aid. I wouldn’t consider AP credits in your decision, unless you’ve done substantial math/cs AP coursework that Brandeis won’t accept. Otherwise, I would say who cares if you have to take an extra history/political science/econ/physics class at Brandeis vs SBU, shouldn’t be a major concern of yours in my opinion. I doubt there is a major difference so far as internships and post grad job opportunities go, however, this is merely conjecture. Something I would consider is that NYC is a hub for summer internships, and as an SBU student you wouldn’t just be competing with students from nearby schools, whereas this is less so the case with Boston and as a result it may be easier for sharp Brandeis students to get good internships than sharp SBU students. This is not hard fact, and I encourage you to look into internship/career services at both universities and also to browse LinkedIn and reach out to current students/recent graduates about what the process of applying to positions was like for them.
If the difference is only $6,000 I would assign even more weight to choosing Brandeis. Prior to starting your degree, not really. Once you've started undergrad, join the main finance student organization and make a b line for a leadership role. Other than that, read, read and read some more -- news, books, online notes, anything. This will help you form an idea on what kinds of positions you may be interested in.
Thank you so much. Your advice is extremely helpful and insightful. I write a blog and have read numerous books on fundamental analysis, but gradually transitioned to more quant-related stuff, after losing money on some of my biggest fundamental bets. I’m aspiring to be an exotic derivatives and hybrids trader/quantitative developer or a quantitative portfolio manager/research analyst. Hopefully, Brandeis will prepare me for an MFE and bestow great opportunities through their finance club if I join and ascend the ranks.
Brandeis is not a top 40 (but close). Beyond top 30, the difference is marginal anyway.
