Rutgers vs Fordham for finance: which is better for landing internships and jobs?

For finance recruiting, Fordham usually has the clearer edge if your main priority is access to internships and networking during the school year. Its New York City location matters a lot. Being in the city makes coffee chats, part-time internships, and alumni outreach much easier to do consistently.

Fordham tends to fit the student who wants to build a finance resume early and is ready to hustle for opportunities off campus. At Gabelli, many students are very internship-focused, and the school’s alumni network in NYC can be genuinely useful, especially if you are proactive. Employers know Fordham well in the Northeast.

Rutgers makes more sense for a student who wants a broader, often more affordable path and is comfortable being more self-directed in breaking into high-finance roles. Rutgers has a huge alumni base, strong brand recognition in New Jersey, and solid outcomes in accounting, corporate finance, commercial banking, and regional financial services. It can absolutely lead to strong jobs, but for the most competitive finance internships, students often have to work harder to get in front of recruiters compared with someone already embedded in NYC.

Rutgers can be especially attractive if you are interested in building a wide network across business fields, or if cost matters and you want to keep debt low before entering finance. In practice, that lower cost can be a real advantage, especially in a field where your first job title matters more than paying extra for a name. But the recruiting path may rely more on traveling into the city, joining selective student organizations, and doing heavier independent networking.

So in terms of pure internship access and finance-world proximity, Fordham has the stronger setup. In terms of value, breadth, and a still-respected route into finance, Rutgers is very viable, especially for a motivated student who will chase opportunities aggressively.