What's the Difference?
Why is it that having a 4.0 at a core school different from having a 4.0 that is not? Is the Ivy League teaching different material then the other schools, do they have some secret that they won't share to anyone else? What are you paying for anyway? Is it just the access to the alumni base or it's just for prestige? This may sound naive but I truly wonder. What is it that the core schools have that the non core schools don't. It just seems strange in such a competitive environment I-banking is, that they only focus their attention on a handful of schools and restricting the diversity in their workforce. In academia if all material taught is the same, why does your pedigree matter?
The reason they don't recruit at non-targets, is because there is a lack of people who want to do banking. i.e. at my school I can count the # of people who are actually applying to IBD on 1 hand. Someone going to a target, isn't necessarily smarter ...they just have better opportunities.
As far as 4.0 at non-target vs target. Its more or less the same, except the competition at target schools is higher. Think about it, if all the people in your courses had a 3.5 average, the curve would be much smaller. I can't say the tests are similiar in hardness, but I know for a fact that at NYU they have open book tests.
Another thing to consider is the level of teachers. Who do you think will be able to give you more information, someone who's been in the industry for 30 years, or a 26 year old who's only been in the workforce for 3 years.
As far as the cost, you are paying for the name, thats it. It doesn't matter if you are at NYU or University of Miami, you'll learn EBITDA...and quiet often, you are learning from the same materials.(provided the teacher didn't write a book, then you are screwed)
So the main reason why pedigree matters, is because ibanking is not a rocket science, so anyone can pretty much do it, so the banks focus on top end institutitions to make their search easier.
Disclaimer: The post above has been made by someone who is not currently employed in IBD, and has not had an interview yet...
For one, there is a much better chance that the kids from the top schools are smarter, harder working and won't fuck up. As per their track record of working hard and succeeding all of their lives.
"To Know Me Is To Love Me"-Jebus Price
yes of course it matters. if you're from a target school, it's at least twice as easy to get that interview.
aspiringmoney you are so off base its not even funny
the reason why banks don't recruit at non-targets isn't because not enough people don't want to be in banking its because banks don't want non target kids, plain and simple, obviously there are exceptions here and there but for the most part if they can get enough quality at their targets why waste time and money at nontargets.
going to a target, for the most part does mean your smarter, you kicked ass in hs and you had amazing standardized test scores. the only excuse for not going to a private target is if you live in california (berkeley and ucla), michigan (umich) or virgina (uva), where the value of the public out weighs the expense of a private.
The tests are probably much harder. I for have friends that took summer classes at nontargets and said they were a joke. The professors hold you to a much higher standard and it requires a much greater understanding of the material to succeed.
Do to the increased competition (ie smarter classmates), better professors and a higher level of difficulty kids at targets are more prepared.
Yes banking may not be rocket science however its no walk in the park either. banks would much rather have smarter people doing the work. For one there is a lot of writing in banking, i guarantee the average writing ability of someone at a target blows away that of nontargets. Additionally financial models can be very complex and require high levels of concentration, attention to detail and flat out intelligence. I would imagine you, and most other college kids have never seen a model just as I hadn't, but trust me some of them will blow you away. While nontargets kids may be able to understand the material and get the job done they will probably be slower at picking things up and will take longer to complete a task.
Think of it as the NBA draft, the best players go to the best schools and play for the best coaches and ultimately are drafted with greater frequency. Sure they are diamonds in the rough however most players come out of the UCLAs, UNCs, Kentuckys Dukes of the world.
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