California vs UK for West Coast IB

Hi everyone, I am currently a Hs senior about to graduate and go off to college. My gpa was a little low, but my AP scores were solid along with my ACT scores. I got in to Oxford for Mathematics/Philosophy and PPE. I also got into cal poly SLO for engineering. I was waitlisted at USC for CS/bus admin. Which of these would best help me get into banking then Venture Capital. If I get into USC, I will go hands down “. Is cal poly ether than Oxford for west coast banking though? Finances won’t be a problem

 

I guess its because I didn't really focus on IB (didn't know what it was till end of freshman year of college) I'd personally take the best school name possible.

Oxford is one of the biggest targets in Europe so I'm sure it won't be hard to get some looks for NYC IB. Lateraling from NYC -> any place is generally not too hard it seems like.

Also I'd rather be an Oxford grad than a USC/Cal Poly SLo grad but thats just me. I'd say most people would take Oxford over USC.

 

Should I try transferring to a a target in the US with a relatively high transfer acceptance rate ?(uva umich UCB Georgetown Columbia northwestern Pomona/CMC)

 

SLO has a decent engineering program if you want to end up doing that. That being said, I'd definitely take Oxford over SLO for finance.

While Oxford is undoubtedly a better school in terms of academics, I'll bet it will be easier to get into LA/SF banking coming from USC. Being 5,000 miles away is going to make networking and interviewing really challenging.

 

Should I try transferring to a a target in the US with a relatively high transfer acceptance rate ?(uva umich UCB Georgetown Columbia northwestern Pomona/CMC)

 
Most Helpful

Can you do a LinkedIn search on Oxford alums that are now working in West Coast IB and VC? That might give you an idea. It might be harder to recruit in US (and require you to put in more work getting through the system), but if I saw someone from a top global school (that already has the visa issue covered as a citizen) apply, i would recognize it.

Another consideration - there’s a big VC market in Europe. And - just from LinkedIn observation - a lot of people in VC in London / EU are from IB or consulting backgrounds. Would you have an interest to live and work there? In US, that certainly does happen, but if you’re looking earlier stage (seed, maybe A) you’ll see a more diverse background set. A lot of people from engineering and comp sci, but also all kinds and people with startup backgrounds. I don’t recall necessarily seeing a lot of USC per se, but I guess the proximity doesn’t hurt.

 

Ab pariatur unde eveniet ea voluptas. Asperiores reprehenderit corrupti ipsum maiores placeat facere. Veritatis eligendi est sapiente dolore.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Lazard Freres No 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. 25 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (21) $373
  • Associates (91) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (68) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”