NYU vs Ohio State for finance: which is the better choice for breaking into investment banking or corporate finance?

NYU is the clearer pick for investment banking, while Ohio State is very solid for corporate finance and can still place well into banking with more hustle. For banking specifically, NYU’s location in New York matters a lot: students have easier access to in-semester internships, alumni at major banks, and frequent employer touchpoints. Within NYU, Stern has especially deep recruiting pipelines for front-office finance roles, and even outside Stern, the university’s finance network is unusually strong.

One big differentiator is proximity to the industry. Being in Manhattan means NYU students can attend networking events, coffee chats, employer presentations, and part-time internships during the school year in a way that is much harder from Columbus. That kind of repetition matters in investment banking recruiting, where early networking and consistent exposure often shape who gets interviews.

Another difference is how each school is perceived in finance hiring circles. NYU, especially Stern, is a recognized feeder for banks in New York, and its alumni base in investment banking is large and accessible. Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business has a strong reputation too, but its finance outcomes are broader, with especially good access to corporate finance, accounting, operations, and large-company leadership pipelines across the Midwest.

For corporate finance, the gap is smaller. Ohio State has excellent connections to major employers and a huge alumni network, and that scale helps for roles in FP&A, rotational finance programs, treasury, and related corporate paths. It can be a very smart option if cost is meaningfully lower, because corporate finance recruiting tends to care less about being in Manhattan than banking does.

If your main goal is breaking into investment banking, NYU gives you the more direct runway. If you are equally interested in corporate finance and Ohio State is much cheaper, Ohio State becomes a very compelling option because the career payoff there can be outstanding without needing the same New York premium.