[2026] Comprehensive USC IB Recruiting Guide - Clubs, Classes, & Banks

Current Sophomore at the University of Southern California who just placed at a top BB (GS/MS/JPM) for SA27. Wanted to share some thoughts on the recruiting scene at USC, bank processes that are specific to USC, and clubs on campus. Won’t speak to the fraternity/IB scene as that topic is much more subjective, and I wanted to give a more general overview. USC isn’t an innate finance school, so there aren’t many more than ~150 students seriously interested in recruiting come Sophomore fall. Recruitment is undeniably competitive, but being in an environment like USC's where not everyone is gunning for IB, helps.

Placements:

First, would start off by saying that placements in SF/NYC/LA have been extremely strong in recent years. USC would still widely be defined as a Semi-Target for NYC recruiting, but is a strong target for groups in SF/LA. Placements into the buyside have also been extremely solid for those interested, though there is a clear divide between the number of students who aim to go into IB vs PE/DL/GE. I caveat that there are several top IB groups that have USC-specific processes, which is news that isn’t shared as commonly on WSO. If you go to USC and are a top student + in the correct clubs, you will absolutely get the shot to interview at the top groups. More on this below. 

• For specific info on placements, there is a clear concentration on Tech (SF) positions, and USC typically has the most success with EB’s here (Q/EVR/CVP) as well as BB’s (MS Menlo/SF, GS TMT, Barc, BofA).
• Several students also place into top HC groups in SF, mainly including MS, EVR, and CVP.
• For LA, USC is second to none and you can be confident to land an interview at the majority of groups in the city. Key concentration on MOE, HL, WF, PWP.
• NYC is a bit more divided, processes at GS, JPM, BOFA, EVR, and CVP are viewed as the strongest. Though as with any school in this range, with enough networking and intellect, you can place at virtually any firm. 

Clubs: 

1. Trojan Finance Academy (~70 Students): Probably the most advertised program for IB on campus, and the closest to a “necessity” to join. TFA is the Marshall Financial Services Career Hub’s remake of Trojan Investing Society’s Mentorship Program, and to have the best shot at TFA, you should join TIS Leaders in the Spring of Freshman year, and again in the fall of Sophomore year— before applying to TFA. The club takes you on a trek to SF/NYC and LA, where you meet with several banks for USC-exclusive info sessions. Banks are also on campus 3x/week in the fall semester, with certain info sessions being limited to TFA. SA26 placement was around 90% for TFA, with most who didn’t place being internationals. Note that the average GPA for TFA is ~3.90/4.00.
   1. Apply for TIS E-Board in your freshman year, will have extreme support while recruiting if you get the position.
2. Value Investing Group (3-4 students per sem, most selective): Has been mentioned more often than others on WSO, extremely tight group with intelligent members. Apply as soon as you get on campus if you’re interested, and prep hard for the interviews. They care more about how you think rather than your answers to the case studies, and placements have been lights out for top buyside/IB.
3. Global Investment Society - Investment Research (4-6 students per sem): Similar to VIG in that GIS IR is not a necessity to join, though it provides great pitching opportunities to professionals for students interested in the buyside. IR is split into groups so students can join groups that they are interested in recruiting for (TMT/Macro/Spec Sits/etc). Placements are very strong, top buyside/IB extremely possible if you make the most of it.
4. Global Investment Society Mentorship: Similar to TFA but more personal since it is a smaller group of students who are a part of it. Interviews are of similar difficulty to TIS Leaders, which shouldn’t be an issue for most. 

Classes & GPA:

Ideal classes for recruiting are: BUAD280/281 (Accounting classes), BUAD 306/308 (Business Finance classes), and FBE 421 (Valuation). These classes are best in reinforcing the principles needed for IB/Buyside interviews, and build good relationships with professors since they are well connected. 

Since USC is a Semi-Target, you need to build every possible validator possible. This means a stellar GPA, with above a 3.85 puting you in a safe place for recruiting regardless of location— though EBs in NYC/SF may be more stingy for 3.9+ when choosing on-campus chats. 

Timeline - Realistic recruiting process for a driven individual: 

Freshman Fall: Join general members programs to get a better understanding of finance, build connections with seniors (incoming FT). Maintain as high of a GPA as possible.

Freshman Spring: Apply for TIS Leaders, VIG, GIS IR. Take BUAD280 and BUAD308, maintain a high GPA and continue speaking with seniors. 

Sophomore Fall: Networking begins as early as you want, no later than October. Re-join TIS Leaders, then apply for TFA. Take FBE421, reduced courseload would help. Attend info-sessions, be memorable, and prep hard for technicals.

Sophomore Spring: Interview processes, reduced schedule would help. 

Interview Processes: 

Including a list of specific bank processes and what they look like for USC students. For all of these processes, being in TFA will help the most to ensure your name is in the highest priority resume stack, also offering an in-person office visit to each listed location. Virtually all banks will come on campus for info-sessions, even if not listed— these are the ones with specific interview processes. 

- BB + MM: 

Goldman Sachs NYC/SF: On-campus behavioral coffee chats and info-session in Sophomore Fall, strong representation in the ELS program with selected students, and more receiving SDs thereafter. Strongest placement into NYC/SF. Networking heavy. 

Morgan Stanley Menlo/SF: On-campus behavioral coffee chats and info-session in Sophomore Fall. 

JP Morgan LA/NYC: On-campus events for both offices, directly leading to the interview process. Strongest placement into NYC/SF. 

Bank of America NYC/LA/SF: Strong NYC pipeline, on-campus info-sessions. Networking heavy.

Wells Fargo LA: On-campus coffee chats and information sessions, strong placement in LevFin/FSG.

Houlihan Lokey LA: On-campus info sessions (TFA only for RX). Networking heavy, great placements into the LA office. 

Boutique: 

Evercore MP/NYC/HTX: Strong placement into all 3 offices, no RX placement. USC-specific coffee-chats (R1) and info-sessions, extremely networking-heavy.

Centerview NYC/MP: Solid target school, info-sessions on campus, and USC interview days for NYC. 

PJT RX: Strong link, not so much for other PJT groups. In-person office visit with the PJT RX team. 

Qatalyst: Solid target school for Q, comes on campus for an info session, interviews, + more. 

There aren’t an extreme amount of USC-processes, but many of the ones that are present are extremely strong. Again, students place outside of these groups often, these are just the groups with the best processes built with USC. Make the most of the seniors who are there while you’re a freshman, and seek mentorship whenever possible.