CMU vs UCLA for investment banking
Hey WSO,
I’m currently deciding between Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business and University of California Los Angeles (admitted for International Development, but planning to switch into a more IB-adjacent major like bizecon or stat&datascience).
My goal is to break into investment banking or MBB consulting, and I’d really appreciate any insights from people who’ve gone through recruiting.
From what I understand:
- UCLA seems to have a larger network and West Coast presence, especially for tech/media banking, but isn’t considered a strong IB “target”
- Tepper is more quant-focused and smaller, which might help with tighter recruiting pipelines, but I’ve seen mixed data on actual IB placement numbers
- Both seem to fall into the semi-target category for IB recruiting
As an international student who will need visa sponsorship, I’m especially concerned about:
- Which school gives a better shot at BB/EB IB or MBB
- Differences in on-campus recruiting strength and alumni network
- Whether UCLA being non-business (initially) is a disadvantage vs Tepper
- Overall placement outcomes adjusted for class size
Would love to hear from anyone at either school (or in IB/MBB) on:
- Where you’d go in my position
- What actually matters more (school vs networking vs internships)
- How much harder recruiting is as an international at these schools
Thanks in advance 🙏 Hope yall have a great week!!
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's what you need to know:
Target Status and Recruiting Strength:
International Student Considerations:
Non-Business Major at UCLA:
Placement Outcomes:
Recommendations:
Key Factors to Focus On:
Ultimately, the decision should align with your long-term career goals and regional preferences. Both schools can lead to success in IB or MBB, but the path will require determination and strategic effort.
Sources: Vanderbilt Vs Carnegie Mellon for IB/Consulting, Yale SOM or UCLA Anderson for investment management?, Are These Good Schools for NYC Investment Banking?, Cornell Dyson vs Berkeley vs Claremont Mckenna vs ND Mendoza vs USC Marshall vs Stern, Investment Banking University Recruiting Report – 7 Key Takeaways
Recent CMU alum here. We have a decent club ecosystem centered around the Tepper Finance group umbrella org, with the Investment Banking Academy (mentorship club) and Tartan Student Fund (investment fund) being your likely points of interest to get on your resume.
As a whole, our placement outcomes have improved dramatically over the last 5 years post COVID. Noticeably more people go to BB/EB IB nowadays than when I was a freshman, though back then it was like single digits per class. However there is a consistent trend of (most but not all) of the best IB/PEsummer analyst offers every class gets going to DEI, at least back when diversity programs were much more of a thing. If you are in any of those groups or have some other extraordinary spike, you can almost definitely place into good banks and groups if you’re not dumb and lazy. Otherwise if you are a eg straight Asian/Indian male, getting the absolute best spots is going to be tougher, but you can definitely still get into a BB/EB. Check LinkedIn to see where recent people have gone
TLDR it’s definitely possible with adequate resources if you’re motivation, and outcomes improve year after year. it won’t be a walk in the park, but you will have a community of motivated sweats to learn from and back you up.
With that being said, CMU is still materially more difficult to recruit into IB from versus eg Cornell or Duke which have much more alumni on Wall Street.
Feel free to ask more qns
Hey thanks for the info! If you were in my position where would you got to? Unfortunately I am a straight asian male indeed lol. + I need visa support until I get my greencard.
If money matters, which is cheaper for you? Do you have a preference for East vs West Coast after college? Do you want to go to a private richer school or larger public school? Are you dead set on IB or would you be open to trying something in tech? (CMU hands down wins if you want to dabble in anything related to this). These are the bigger questions that you should answer first.FWIW many people start off in Tepper and by sophomore fall transferred to StatML or IS (most common), and some CS (more difficult). Many of them wanted to do finance initially but realised that they’d get much more value if they graduated from CMU down the tech route given the school’s prestige / comparative advantage in the space. Any of StatML/IS/CS especially the latter should set you up for at MINIMUM a decent Big Tech job if you’re not retarded. But depends if u even like coding For IB, I’m sure Both schools will give you an okay starting spot and adequate enough resources. I was international too. Maybe UCLA has a bigger ecosystem and more alumni but also more intra-school competition to access them? In either case I’d be confident in saying your success and failure will come down to your own ability to take advantage of their resources and hustle. Youre splitting hairs between the two atp: Neither are a Wharton, but neither are Kentucky State. n
UCLA grad here now working in IB. UCLA is a very good semi-target school for investment banking and does on campus recruiting with almost every top-tier group through the Investment Banking Workshop, which is the most important program to get into your sophomore year. I will say that opportunity at UCLA is not that evenly spread out; you are at a significant advantage if you get into the Investment Banking Workshop (which takes about 30 kids a year). If you work hard and are focused, you are likely to get into this program, so don't worry too much about selectiveness.
There is also a pretty strong club culture at UCLA. There are four main clubs at UCLA (BAM, BVI, BHF, BIT) which provide internal support and guidance and feed into the Investment Banking Workshop (the Workshop is run by kids who are in those clubs). If you go to UCLA I would make it a priority to get into those clubs freshman fall or winter, it's not really possible otherwise. Again though don't let this scare you, if you put in work to learn the technicals, have your resume properly formatted, and are personable, you won't have a problem getting into one of these clubs.
In terms of recruiting potential, UCLA places very well into investment banking roles all across the nation - I would say we are a target for any role on the West Coast and semi target for any bank in New York. The culture is also very good, I found that everyone was happy to help at any time regardless of being in the same club or fraternity etc. which is much more than I have heard from my friends at other schools.
I can't compare it to CMU, but I can say that you will thrive at UCLA as long as you are committed and willing to put in the effort. It is very much a "work hard play hard" type of place. Hope this helped!
I was searching for these clubs and saw some comments regarding selectivity and that they tend to prefer people in the same frat or close friend groups.
How was your experience getting into these clubs? And how should I prepare for this technical interviews? Any resources or advice will help me a ton. For me as an intl direct flight and lifestyles are pretty important. CMU does not have any direct flights. Meanwhile UCLA does. LOL this the only factor making me dislike CMU which makes this process hard.
Seems like UCLA is expanding their footsteps into East Coast recently. Amazing students and alumni. My only concern is the club. 4% acceptance rate kind of intimidates me as these clubs would actually increase my chance of getting into IB and also learn a lot from these skilled leaders with in the club. And not getting in would kinda get me fuc1ked.
Thank You so much for sharing!
I was not in a frat nor knew anyone coming into club recruitment and still got into one. The process is relatively meritocratic - of course people try to push for their friends but it often doesn't work. At the end of the day the clubs are trying to get the best candidates, too, so if you are good enough they will want you.
In terms of studying for technical interviews it is just the basic Breaking Into Wall Street guides that I am sure you can find online (finance basics, accounting, valuation, enterprise & equity value). They are possible to learn within a week so I wouldn't worry about studying over the summer unless you really wanted to sweat it out. The tiny acceptance rate seems scary, but once you take into account the amount of kids who apply without thought/throw an unformatted resume out there/don't think to study for the technical interview, the clubs are far easier to get into than you think.
International presence is also really good at UCLA both within the broader community and also in finance, so that should be a plus for you. And if you are recruiting to the East Coast, you are right, UCLA presence has increased there especially in the past few years.
I'd like to note that not getting into one of these clubs is far from the end of the world. Plenty of kids recruit successfully even if not in a club/the Investment Banking Workshop, it is harder but again if you put in enough work you will be successful.
Happy to answer more questions if it helps.
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