Define good IB placement

I see this discussed a lot and want a better understanding. I get that IB recruiting is focused on top schools (Ivies, LACs and about 20 others). I understand Tagret vs semi vs non. All that said, how do you define good IB placement? Pure Volume, percentage, both, OCR?

As an example, my son attends Wake Forest. Many better informed than me would consider Wake to be in the non to semi target range. Yet is places quite well for IB (more in CLT than NYC but actually have many in FO NYC jobs) . Small school. Business school grads per class is roughly 250. Finance majors counts for approx 115 per class. 2016 had 59 out of 115 placed in banking (per their first destination report). many in BBs, many as 1st yr analyst. Of course other majors sent kids to banking. Is this considered good placement. Seems like a few BBs (not just Wells and BofA) come to campus. Wells, Bof A, JPM, and Suntrust were all considered significant employers in 2016 (2017 numbers aren't out yet). A few others went to Citi, UBS, PNC, FIfth Third,

Appreciate your insight.

3 Comments
 

I think the answer is fairly unclear. Volume probably isn't the answer as some semi-targets have very low placement rates in IB or may place very well at specific MM banks and boutiques.

Number of banks attending OCR is usually what separates a target from a semi-target to me. EBs like PJT and Lazard rarely show up to semi-targets/non-targets.

I think a good way is to look at the composition of analyst classes for EBs and BBs and figure out what schools show up the most. It should give you an idea of what schools companies recruit from and in what volume.

Wake Forest is a fine school and that placement is great, but Wake Forest probably just isn't seeing the same sort of looks that targets get.

 
Best Response

Thanks for your reply. OCR activity makes sense as a guide to being a target as in, they have targeted the school and are coming to recruit. From that I would put Wake as a target for Charlotte area banking (Wells is there three or four times a semester, B of A the same. Also gets a fair amount of attention from regionals. I know GS was there is the fall but I think that was a one off. Decent amount of alum at all the BBs so I guess it's about networking to get to NYC. My son actually would prefer Charlotte as he finds NYC suffocating. Long term would like asset mgmt or management consulting but is interested in banking.

 

Voluptatum eaque non debitis sed quisquam et consequatur. Eum animi dolore accusantium natus autem ut asperiores. Ut quis tenetur facilis magnam. Rerum delectus architecto voluptatem ad ut tempora.

Suscipit veritatis et totam rerum. Rerum rerum alias quae magnam quis. Omnis recusandae dolor nulla quaerat qui odio magni maxime. Delectus corrupti reprehenderit voluptatem. Incidunt voluptatem harum odit aliquid. Id quas esse aut consequatur. Nobis vitae sequi molestias aut sint.

Array

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”