Best university for Real Estate to get a job in NY/Chicago
Hi! Next year I will be finishing my Bachelor's degree in the U.S. and I plan to work and live there after graduating. My university has several agreements with some universities but I do not know which one would be better to get a job in Commercial Real Estate in Chicago/NY/Los Angeles, in terms of reputation mainly. I have narrowed down the list to universities that have a decent reputation and with good RE clubs. I can apply up to 8 universities and have already decided the top 3, but it's not easy being accepted as the scholarships are limited and the demand very high, so I need to fill the 5 remaining positions with these universities:

\-University of Colorado Boulder: Very good RE club, Argus courses, and CRE case competitions, and I suppose it would be easy to get a job in CRE in Denver, but I do not see myself working in Denver in the long-term, and I ignore if it's well-regarded in Chicago/NY.

\-Wisconsin Madison: Supposedly good uni with strong RE alumni network, but "isolated" campus. I see that many Madison graduates work in the Chicago area, though.

\-San Diego State University: Again, great RE club with a lot of networking events especially good to launch a job in San Diego, but I'm worried that SDSU graduates can't compete with other of the top universities if I wanted to work in LA, for instance. Plus, outside of California I do not know if it's "respected" in NY/Chicago.

\-Indiana Bloomington: Good RE program, but kind of the same as with Wisconsin Madison: far from a major city.

\-Northeastern University: I hear that many NY employers seek Northeastern graduates, but they offer limited business courses and I think I would not be able to complete all the course credits I need to finish my degree.

By the way, the top 3 is:-Baruch College.

\-University of Southern California (Marshall).

\-Berkeley.

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By the way, I already have RE internships and am currently interviewing for a Capital Markets Summer Internship in Chicago. Perhaps I'm worrying too much and if I already have good RE experience, no matter what university I go to, it will be easy to get a job in the mentioned cities.

So, how would you rank those universities? I have to rank them 1-8. Any advice would be helpful! Thanks in advance!

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Edit: Thank you all for your answers. This is my first post on Reddit and I did not expect so much interaction. As some of you have pointed out, the most important thing is making the right connections, so I will stick to the universities that are closer to the markets I want to work in. 

PS: Wisconsin Madison is in my top 4 now ;).
[{"id": "irjdw21", "text": "I do CRE in NYC. Once you have certain baseline core competencies it's all about connections. An ivy might help you with a REPE shop but otherwise no one cares.", "replies": [{"id": "irji8k3", "text": "Listen to big apple Baum here OP. I would broaden his comment to this is CRE everywhere not just NYC. You are stressing way too much about something that won\u2019t matter much for anyone other than if you want to work at a REIT (maybe). \n\nTo answer your question, I\u2019d probably do USC, Wisconsin, IU, and Cal in that order, but when I was your age I was way more worried about getting drunk on a college football Saturday. I now am a VP level title for one of the largest CRE companies in the world. My point is you seem, at least from this post, super high strung. I\u2019m sure you do well in school, keeping doing that. Work your connections in market(s) you want to work in (this is the most important thing), but no one in CRE will care what Baruch College\u2019s real estate club is like versus USC\u2019s when it comes to hiring you. They are hiring the person, not the resume, as long as your resume makes sense (yours will with literally any of these choices). \n\nGood luck man, you\u2019ve got great choices, you\u2019re not going to go wrong.", "replies": [{"id": "irovpue", "text": "Agreed, I tend to overthink everything that I do. I will make sure to build those connections and keep working on the skills that really matter to succeed in CRE. Thanks, u/bigapplebaum, u/EddieA1028!", "replies": [{"id": "irowqy7", "text": "You\u2019re doing all the right things dude. Keep working connections and you can\u2019t lose on the universities, any of them would be beneficial to you!", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "irjkvch", "text": "&gt;I do CRE in NYC. Once you have certain baseline core competencies it's all about connections. An ivy might help you with a REPE shop but otherwise no one cares.\n\nThis answer.", "replies": [{"id": "irjttqu", "text": "Even then after the interview it\u2019s all you", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjdwbq", "text": "Madison is about as good as it gets for the Midwest for real estate. The Minneapolis and Chicago offices at my firm are like half Badgers", "replies": [{"id": "irje6nl", "text": "Yeah but Chicago CRE kind of a nightmare rn", "replies": [{"id": "irjfbw5", "text": "Urban Minneapolis isn\u2019t much better lol. Suburbans pretty strong still tho.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "irrp3c5", "text": "Could you expand on this? The whole industry or just certain asset classes?", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "irjgx3x", "text": "Madison also has on of the strongest and most active alumni networks that I know of.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "irjl212", "text": "Madison, Wisconsin is a great college town too. Definitely not isolating.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "irpvb0v", "text": "University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. MBA with Professional Cert in RE Development (highly muti-disciplinarian). This U worked for Sam Zell and Stephen Ross - big RE alumni network follows in their footsteps.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjggs3", "text": "I dropped out my junior of college, im successful in the game now because I had a 3 different internships in different areas of CRE each summer. I\u2019ve had a unique experience but my advice would be just to get as much experience as you can in the real world.", "replies": [{"id": "irjnli3", "text": "This is a good point, you cant be a jack of all trades in this business. Find a sector you like and become a master.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjhxec", "text": "Are you looking at grad schools or is this where you are looking to finish your bachelors degree?\n\nIn the Midwest Northwest, Wisconsin and Michigan have probably the best real estate programs. \n\nAdditional programs to consider are Penn, UNC, Texas A&amp;M, USC (Cali), Cornell (newer program), and NYU.  All of these schools offer strong undergrad and masters programs.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjhzy4", "text": "Consider Arizona state university. Good real estate program and Phoenix is a great town. Lotta pretty girls and good weather too", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjj5f2", "text": "So I am assuming you are doing an MSRE? Wisconsin is the place to be. USC and Berkley also have great programs. If your main goal is NYC (assuming an MSRE), then it is Columbia / NYU", "replies": [{"id": "irkq2sw", "text": "\u201cApart\u201d means you weren\u2019t a part of it", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjk7cl", "text": "Lehigh, Villanova, NYU all have solid undergrad RE focuses. As do Penn and Columbia if those are in reach.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjnecn", "text": "Clemson and University of Florida have good MSRES programs. Like many others have said, your degree wont benefit you as much a relationships. Frankly,s its all about putting in the work on a daily basis and never stop educating yourself. For example, if you focus on leasing, learn how ground up developments function and the numbers behind making the deal happen. Monitoring construction pricing, cap rates, interest rates all impact a deal and constantly evolve. Its also important early in your career to attach yourself to someone very competent who is willing to mentor you. There is a substantial amount of gatekeeping in CRE, after all, one day you might compete with your teacher.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjo9ns", "text": "If you want to do real estate investment banking then go to an ivy. When I say REIB I mean company level transactions not property level\n\nOtherwise, like the guy above said, nobody cares", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irjpzgo", "text": "Madison isn't \"isolated\"? It's a 1 hour drive to downtown Milwaukee and a two hour drive to downtown Chicago. There's literally two multimillion person metros within a quick drive from there.", "replies": [{"id": "irjtxnd", "text": "That\u2019s not a quick drive lol", "replies": [{"id": "irjxg80", "text": "There are suburbs in Chicago that are over an hour from downtown...\n\nWhat world are you living in where two major cities being an hour apart is not quick?", "replies": [{"id": "irk4zvt", "text": "God damn that\u2019s also not a short drive. I live in a major city so if it\u2019s not a walkable it\u2019s not close", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irk4c9a", "text": "Don\u2019t go to grad school", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irkucwc", "text": "If you want to stay on the west coast, your best bet is going to SC, though they tend to admit older students (think 30+ y/o). I did an MBA is Los Angeles, and it\u2019s very tough to go west to east for work. \n\nIf you\u2019re looking at NY, Columbia is hands down the way to go (assuming the reputation would also carry weight in Chicago).", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irkwl7q", "text": "Penn State has a real estate program and an excellent RE alumni base in NYC, DC, Philly", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irlddol", "text": "Message me individually and I can help connect you within the Indiana University MBA program", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irmc2s7", "text": "Grant Cardone University", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irmwlzu", "text": "Read Thomas Fitch\u2019s book: Career Opportunities in Real Estate published by Checkmark Books (in 2009).  I sent you the PDF.  Good luck!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "irn0h27", "text": "Get your master\u2019s in whatever city you plan on working and take advantage of creating connections with your classmates. Odds are most will with around that area and you\u2019ll have a good baseline network. \n\nFor reference I have a MS in RE from Baruch and work in institutional real estate banking. Unless you\u2019re trying to compete for the very top jobs right out of school you wind up working with people from every program anyways.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ius0dcn", "text": "markets close to where you want to be is the big factor. Shooting you a PM as well.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]