Do you need to attend a target school to get a finance job?

In short, no. There are many non-target success stories that we hear about on WSO on a regular basis. To read some of these, go to our WSO Success Stories forum to get inspired! Although the probability of your success is largely determined by the school you attend, there are non-targets that break into very reputable positions each and every year. To learn more about approaching your finance job hunt from each perspective, read below.

Attending Target School

The upside to going to one of these schools is pretty obvious: on-campus recruiting, large alumni-base on the Street, great connections and you're guaranteed a world-class education if you use the resources properly.

There are downsides, however. If you don't think you can perform well GPA wise then you probably shouldn't be going to one of these schools. You're also up against a much larger group of students aiming for the same Wall Street careers. In other words, attending a target school also presents some unique challenges when trying to break into the most competitive Wall Street jobs.

Attending a Semi-Target School

Attending a semi-target also has it's pros and cons. You will be in school with intelligent students and can also get a great education. You also have the opportunity to set yourself apart from the pack if you are focused on a career in finance since there will likely be less competition.

The downside here is that you won't have as good a support network for the specific finance jobs you are targeting. This has a couple of implications. First, you won't have as large of an alumni base in your target industries. Second, you won't have as many strong connections are you progress in your career.

There also won't be as many firms recruiting on campus during OCR. You will still have plenty of connections and opportunities coming from one of the best schools in the country, but you may have to put in greater effort to show that you're on the same level as a candidate from a top target school.

Attending a Non-Target School

First of all, you have to understand that attending a non-target school does put you at a disadvantage for entry level positions in finance. You will have to work A LOT harder than your fellow prospective monkeys at semi-target and target schools, just to get an interview.

The downsides here are obvious: little or no on-campus recruiting, few alumni in jobs you want and few fellow students aiming for the jobs you want. There are actually more upsides than one would think. Because these schools are less selective you have the opportunity to outshine your fellow students. Keep you GPA very high, get leadership positions, get off-cycle (read: fall/winter/spring) internships, and you will be in a good position for recruiting.

You also don't have to worried about competing against 100, 200, 500 of your fellow classmates for 30 positions. You will, however, have to be at the top of your class at your school and actively network to get a few interviews for front office positions on Wall Street.

Relevant Discussions:

• Non-target versus targets
• We shall overcome... non-target backed by the streets (Note that the original poster was trying to highlight the idiocy of the argument)
• Why do non-targets even try> (Note the original post was meant to spark discussion)

Additional Resources:

• Relevant WSO Guides: Internship Guide and Networking Guide
• Relevant WSO Services: Finance Resume Review and Wall Street Mentors and Career Coaching

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