Which is better for a career in finance, Arizona State or Fordham?

The biggest practical tradeoff is location and access: Fordham places finance students in New York City, where semester-time internships, alumni events, and employer networking are far easier to pursue. Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business has a particularly useful geographic advantage for students targeting investment banking, asset management, corporate finance, and other roles concentrated in New York.

At Fordham, being able to commute to internships during the academic year can materially strengthen a finance résumé before junior-year recruiting. The tradeoff is that New York is expensive, and Fordham’s advantage depends on actively using the city: joining finance organizations, networking early, and pursuing internships rather than assuming location alone will produce results.

Phoenix has meaningful finance, banking, real-estate, and fintech employment, though it does not offer the same density of Wall Street-facing employers as New York.

For a career specifically aimed at New York finance or investment banking, Fordham has the clearer recruiting and networking edge. For corporate finance, financial planning, commercial banking, fintech, or a lower-cost path with a strong business education, Arizona State can be the smarter decision, particularly if it comes with substantially more scholarship support.