Which MBA programs place well in Houston IB

I know that UT and Rice are big in Houston but I recently spoke to a Rice student and she told me that Rice only placed 6 students into FT IB this season. That sounds pretty bad to me, which is why I have almost completely crossed Rice off my list. Then this person said UT placed the same as Rice....so that leads me to following conclusion, if Rice and UT are having a tough time getting Houston IB spots then there MUST be other schools who are doing extremely well in Houston.

Which schools are these? I know Booth has always been strong in Houston but which other schools are expanding their reach down into Houston?

The status quo is definitely changing down here when it comes to which schools place well in the city. In the past, Houston wasn't a prime location for many of the students at top schools, but now with the economy booming more so than any other city in the country, I feel like everyone is trying to get their piece of the pie... does anyone else feel this shift in attitude towards Houston??

 

As one who reviewed MBA resumes, I would say interest was generally down this year as was resume quality. But you also have to think about how many want the gig. Rice is fairly small. UT is small relative to its undergrad population. In my class, I would say ~25 people really put in the time to get interviews, and if we're being realistic probably ~15-20 had the "fit" necessary to land an associate gig in Houston. Of those, 10 (that I can think of off-hand) got Houston IB jobs.

If you definitely want Houston IB, can't go wrong with either school but UT gives more optionality overall.

 

Is there a specific reason why you are so set on getting your MBA in the Houston area? I guess if you would go to a Top 10 program, you would get interviews with firms in Houston as well and maybe even easier than coming from a Houston school.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

Well, because I want a job afterwards and quite frankly I don't think I'm getting into HBS or Wharton. I work for a blue chip oil company as an analyst in commercial trading, I want to do an MBA in a big city; Columbia, UCLA, Chicago are my "dream schools", with Columbia and UCLA being tied based on where they're located, eventhough I really like LA I'd choose Columbia over UCLA any day because it allows me mobility, but getting into Columbia is a crap shoot for me. The reason I'm so concerned is if I get into UCLA but don't get an IB job in LA, how screwed am I if I then want to head down to Houston, a city where I've lived my whole life, for a job in IB?

 

Yeah, I totally understand your concerns. Maybe you should just try to get your hand on some current ranking and apply to the ones that you know you'd have a chance and at the same time give you the opportunity to go back to Houston?

Besides that, maybe 1-2 years in another city would be beneficial?

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

The Houston groups are very particular on fit, more so than anywhere else. This may not be true across all banks, but from what I have seen is definitely true. They are not as concerned with prestige as other locales and will gladly take a candidate who is maybe #6 or #8 on someone else's list before they would go with their #1, just based on fitting into the group.

 
Best Response

There is no such thing as a top 10. There is H/S/W...maybe chicago...then there is where do you want to live. I swear no one in Houston gives a damn if you got your MBA at UCLA ( or dartmouth or duke or MIT). People are going to immediately ask, "so you want energy IB yet you chose to go to school in LA?" This is going to be even more true if TX is everywhere else on your resume. Looks like you tried to get away, not looking to come back.

You go to b-school for the network. if you choose to dilute that by moving out of its region of relevance/strength then I think you've done yourself a disservice. I wouldnt go to UT to move to Chicago (though people do). I certainly wouldn't go to a California school to move to texas. Rankings are at the margin. They arent teaching DCF any differently at Duke and UCLA.

HBS will open the door although honestly I my first question to those people is "have you considered taking your own life since you went to HBS and are now in investment banking?".

 

Seems as if you recruit Associates for your Bank so I'll value your opinion.

I wouldn't mind staying in LA if I got IB out there. Let me ask you this...if you're recruiting for an associate at McCombs but this person has experience in something other than energy, would this person be at a slight disadvantage or a huge disadvantage?

My obvious concern is that I don't want to be pigeon-holed as the Energy guy if I'm at UCLA when I apply for LA IB positions.

 
ThirdCoastBorn:

HBS will open the door although honestly I my first question to those people is "have you considered taking your own life since you went to HBS and are now in investment banking?".

Laughed. +1

 

Great for Rice. It is all random year to year and bank to bank. Last year I thought Rice MBA resumes were terrible. This year I was less than impressed with the UT crop. Some Houston banks like the East Coast schools, Some are all in on McCombs and Jones. Some years you get a ton of interest from MBA programs all over the country, other years not as much. Suffice it to say there are ~45 summer associate spots in Houston (with Citi taking 15% of them) - if you are not socially awkward, you speak english, and are competent in your interviews you will get a job at a decent place in Houston from McCombs or Rice. I will never know why someone leaves Houston to go to Fuqua or YSOM and then wants to come back and do energy banking as an associate. That is a waste of money and network. But that is a different rant.

 

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