Recruiting at Vanderbilt (Please Please Please help)

I have been accepted to Vanderbilt, and I am considering going there. I plan on majoring in Economics and hope to do investment banking.

I know that Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch recruit at Vanderbilt, but how many people do they recruit? What about other bulge bracket firms (CS, DB, Citi, UBS, JPM, MS, Barclays)? Does Wells Fargo Securities recruit there? Are most people placed in NY?

Also is Vanderbilt a target/semi/or nontarget?
Thank you

 
Ipso facto:
I'm not sure what Vanderbilt is from a target/non-target perspective, but I doubt Vanderbilt's going to hold you back in your career. Go to the best school you can, get good grades, round out your profile and experiences. And if that school is Vandy, you'll be fine.

how do you not know what vanderbilt is from a target perspective? are you british?

anyway, vanderbilt does great in terms of recruiting. i think that in the case of NYC recruiting, it might not do as well as some of the east coast universities, simply because it's kind of far out. however, vanderbilt does just fine, and im sure with some hard work things will be okay

I'm not concerned with the very poor -Mitt Romney
 

historically has had very good presence at BAML (for a few years I was there it was the biggest class of any school, and is often up there on the list).. has had GS, Citi, Jeffries, Blackrock, HW and the regional guys (Suntrust, Rayjay, Stephens, etc) on campus the last few years and DB / MS / Barclays will typically post drops so its likely more of a semi target there. Wells Fargo doesn't have a big presence which is weird because huge number of kids used to goto Wachovia Securities from Vandy back in the day

 
Best Response

Alumni here. If you go to Vanderbilt, you'll have a good time and enjoy your education, both in and out of the class room. That's really what you'll remember.

There are some people who are so set on becoming a banker that they will dedicate their entire lives to it (no other hobbies, etc.). It's similar to the paranoia that suburban kids get in competitive school districts that put them laser-focused on getting into an Ivy League as early as middle school.

What motivates people to do that? One of two things. Either they love the work so much or they are seeking prestige.

Take a long hard look at yourself and figure out what motivates you. If you actually have a passion for IB, do it. If you are motivated by the prestige, you may be unhappy and you may even regret your decision. It's been clear from my time here on WSO that there are many people who think in terms of prestige. This makes little sense to me.

Vanderbilt is a non-target for most BB but I'd go as far as to say that you will enjoy your experience more at a university such as this one than many targets. It's not a blind loyalty to Vanderbilt that makes me say this but rather an objective evaluation of my own experience versus what my peers went through at other schools. I could have gone to NYU, UVA, schools more known for wall street recruiting. No regrets here.

Vanderbilt may not be as highly-coveted, but you may find that you'll get a lot more out of your education, out of your social life, and out of your hobbies and extracurricular interests (provided you have any).

I'm always struck by the superficiality of certain posts here on WSO in that lacking an offer from a particular BB or a BB at all is the end of the world. For one, it isn't. Secondly, if you truly have a passion for what you do and are not motivated by the superficial idea of prestige, why join a firm where you are one of many, and treated so expendably? Why not join a smaller team where you can truly impact the deals you work on and the success of your firm?

 
Take_It_To_The_Bank:

Alumni here. If you go to Vanderbilt, you'll have a good time and enjoy your education, both in and out of the class room. That's really what you'll remember.

There are some people who are so set on becoming a banker that they will dedicate their entire lives to it (no other hobbies, etc.). It's similar to the paranoia that suburban kids get in competitive school districts that put them laser-focused on getting into an Ivy League as early as middle school.

What motivates people to do that? One of two things. Either they love the work so much or they are seeking prestige.

Take a long hard look at yourself and figure out what motivates you. If you actually have a passion for IB, do it. If you are motivated by the prestige, you may be unhappy and you may even regret your decision. It's been clear from my time here on WSO that there are many people who think in terms of prestige. This makes little sense to me.

Vanderbilt is a non-target for most BB but I'd go as far as to say that you will enjoy your experience more at a university such as this one than many targets. It's not a blind loyalty to Vanderbilt that makes me say this but rather an objective evaluation of my own experience versus what my peers went through at other schools. I could have gone to NYU, UVA, schools more known for wall street recruiting. No regrets here.

Vanderbilt may not be as highly-coveted, but you may find that you'll get a lot more out of your education, out of your social life, and out of your hobbies and extracurricular interests (provided you have any).

I'm always struck by the superficiality of certain posts here on WSO in that lacking an offer from a particular BB or a BB at all is the end of the world. For one, it isn't. Secondly, if you truly have a passion for what you do and are not motivated by the superficial idea of prestige, why join a firm where you are one of many, and treated so expendably? Why not join a smaller team where you can truly impact the deals you work on and the success of your firm?

"Vanderbilt is a non-target for most BB" U sure about the above statement. I know Vandy had the 3rd most number of analysts in IB at BAML this year for their f/t analysts class. Only behind Wharton & Georgetown.

 

Do any more current students or alum have insights?

  • How does Vandy fare in terms of BB or boutique recruiting for Southern/Southeastern offices? Ideally I'd like to work/intern in Charlotte, Richmond, Atlanta or even Houston.
  • Also can anyone provide a list of other BBs and boutiques that target Vandy students?
  • Does BAML specifically target Vandy students, or did they just happen to be the most qualified for the past years?
 

I've said this before in other threads--if you know at the age of 17/18 that you want to do investment banking or work in other high finance roles then you are already 95% there. That vast majority of college students will never even learn about high finance and the ones that do are generally juniors or seniors (I was a senior--and I was a finance major!). Duke has the slight edge overall, but the reality is Vanderbilt is an awesome school--if you know going in that you want to do IB then it'll be a slam dunk.

Just perform well academically, join a finance or investments club, secure some decent internships and you're golden. If the decision is between Duke and Vanderbilt then go with the place you like best. Either way you will have good opportunities. Although I will say that you'll probably have a few more NYC opportunities out of Duke.

 

Either school should be fine, just make sure you get good grades and I'm guessing you can figure out a job in most industries - certainly in finance. Generally speaking, Duke is probably more prestigious, but I've heard the girls at Vandy are insane and it's undergrad, and neither has a huge edge on the other. Again, from these mid-tier schools (mid-tier by the standards of this site, very good by most standards), you just need to get good grades and you'll be fine.

 

Lol, since when did this website become fucking collegeconfidential?

Vandy places well into IB, especially with BAML.

And you are a retard, economic principles are at the heart of investing.

 

Consider finance or econ over political science just saying....Maybe double major if u really want PS or add a minor....idk im just kind of confused why if your goal is investing why you would want want Poly sci...

I consider Vandy prestigious...IMO all of the schools you listed are good but once again in my opinion would leave out Washington and Lee....i feel like it may be a step below those. (However i am not sure maybe W&L is very high in poly sci)

 

I'd actually take a Finance class first before you decide your entire career trajectory. As for "bullshit activities", it's not high school where you just load up on a bunch of random clubs to fill up your resume. And pledging at any SEC school (even Vanderbilt) is hell, so best of luck pulling a high GPA freshman year. It's most likely worth the trade off in the long-run, but I wouldn't expect to waltz into college taking all quantitative courses and expect all A's and an A- or two while pledging

 
bmlswish:

I'd actually take a Finance class first before you decide your entire career trajectory. As for "bullshit activities", it's not high school where you just load up on a bunch of random clubs to fill up your resume. And pledging at any SEC school (even Vanderbilt) is hell, so best of luck pulling a high GPA freshman year. It's most likely worth the trade off in the long-run, but I wouldn't expect to waltz into college taking all quantitative courses and expect all A's and an A- or two while pledging

This is realistic and sound advice.

 

If you are good you can make it from Vandy, it has enough IBD recruiting (specifically in the southeast) to give traction. Going to Duke to spend an extra $140k on tuition is just not worth it. What it is going to come down to is how well you perform when you get there and if you come off very prepared from the get go and know what to do (reading this site and networking will help) you will be in just of a good position as if you went to Duke without being nearly 150k in the hole. Looks like a very easy decision to me.

 

Yeah sorry for sounding cocky. Honestly I have no way of knowing how my grades are going to go while in college, and I guess predicting good grades made me sound like an ass. My bad

I'm definitely going to take a finance course as soon as possible. As you can probably tell, I'm unsure whether I want to go into software or finance. I want to go for the software internship first because I think I have a much better chance of landing it between freshman/sophomore years than I do an internship in finance.

As for CS and math, I think both would come in handy should I elect to pursue a PhD (and eventually become a true quant), or if I decide on software. I suppose that combo may be better for s&t, but can't you break into IBD with a solid engineering/science background if you are good? I'm a bit new to this, sorry.

 

This topic has already been talked to death but here we go again:

  1. Network with alumni at BBs/elite boutiques. Even if they don't give you anything now, they can be very useful in the future.

  2. Cold email/call local PWM firms and use any connections you get from networking to land yourself an internship for this coming up summer. Even if you don't land anything (your freshman summer internship, if you get one, means little) going through this process will give you some valuable experience.

  3. Start learning about financial modelling. You don't have to do this now, but since Vandy has no undergrad business program, you need to learn some fundamental skills from IB somewhere.

  4. Get involved in quality clubs and activities on campus. Find 2-3 clubs, do volunteer work with them, and try to get a leadership position (this will likely only come later, as its hard to get a leadership position as a freshman.)

  5. (optional) Attempt to transfer. I know Vandy is an awesome school and a semi-target for IB, but you can potentially increase your chances of breaking in if you transfer to a target. Again, this is optional; if you work hard, you still have great chances of breaking into IB from Vandy.

 

Great advice. I think that though a freshman internship will really not matter in the long run, it can probably help a little when applying for sophomore summer internships. I do not wish to take over the thread, but I had a quick question: Do most juniors have room on their resumes to put their freshman summer internship or is it really not that important at that point?

OP, just a heads up, majoring in two rather rigorous subjects along with balancing extracurriculars and a social life will be pretty difficult, but if you think you can handle it, then go for it. Just don't major in something just to impress others.

 

Vanderbilt has really been improving. A relatively small portion of students even try for banking jobs, and even fewer are focused on it before Junior year.

Vandy is a target for BAML and I think they sent something like 12 to NYC this year for SA, and a few more to Charlotte. GS came to campus, and ended up taking 1-2 people. Jefferies also recruits 2-4 each year.

DB/CS/Citi came to campus, and I think several kids ended up in Houston branches for those and Barclays. JPM/MS have resume drops, but good networking is needed for an interview.

Many more go to Atlanta for Stephens, SunTrust, Harris Williams, etc.

Get involved in the student investment club, tack on a Financial Economics minor (easy classes) and find a decent internship. Then just have fun and relax until Junior year approaches. If you're sociable, network and are committed to recruiting, you're good to go. Keep the GPA above 3.5, get an internship, don't major in HOD only. Join a fraternity depending on who you like, not banking prospects.

 

Vandy places especially well into BAML. In my year, albeit a few years ago I meet quite a few kids from Vandy at bb IB. Get a 3.7 or above and pursue internships come sophomore year and you should be good for recruiting in junior year.

 
moveinlife:
Never heard of them so you'll have to make yourself the Target!!!

Judging from your idiocy in another recent thread, it does not surprise me that you haven't heard of vandy

_______________________________________ http://www.drmarkklein.blogspot.com/
 

almost? What makes it not target or even semi-target? What constitutes a target then, because it seems like it cannot be that Vandy is in the South because so is Duke? It cannot be because the school is more humanities oriented because LACs like Williams and Amherst get a top spot as well. I also hear that Rice is sometimes in the mix of target or semi-targets.

 

I thought Vanderbilt was prestigious. Not in an Ivy sense, but in being a top 20 sense. I thought that would atleast make it target. What on Earth would not make it prestigious enough? It is a southern bastion for prep school kids and it has high admissions standards.

Ok, well then what about Rice University.

 

man they want people from the east coast, plain and simple. the only exception to this is Stanford and Berkeley. top 20 on US News doesnt mean much. Berkeley isnt top 20 but its definitely a target. John Hopkins is #14 but thats rarely considered a target. I'd put vandy in the same category.

hey, at least you guys have a good basketball team!

 

It's not about prestige. People want to hire from their alma mater. The "target" schools are those that the most alums working on the street and that's why they are targeted. I went to a target and almost everyone of my first round interviews was with an alum. There is no one in my group who went to Owen.

 

I think Rice is different because it's located in Houston which is where most of the banks do the oil/gas, E and P, and oilfield services stuff with some commodities trading thrown in. I don't think there are too many banks in Tennessee.

I'm sure if Rice was in Tenn. and Vandy was in Houston then Vandy would be a semi target like Rice.

 

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