Did I make the right decision?

Hello, I have been reading the forums quite a bit and it seems that your school's pedigree plays a very important role in landing your first job out of school. When I was a senior in high school I choose my state school over some other schools who are core recruiting schools for a lot of the BB's (I didn’t know this at the time) simply because they gave me a full ride and my background is less then affluent. In addition I will be graduating in 3 years instead of 4 because of AP credit from high school so this basically leaves me one less summer to get relevant work experience. Besides banking being a lucrative career, I think it’s the best learning experience a person can get in a span of two years. Obviously this might sound naive knowing that full time analysts and associates post on this board but it sounds like an interesting career path. Has been going to a non core school and having less work experience then my peers put me at a disadvantage?

Thanks in Advance for your advice.

4 Comments
 

Short Answer : Yes Long Answer: The way out for you is to transfer if you still have time, to a school like UVA, Texas etc or make contact with whatever few Alumni in the industry and try to leverage those relationships. Lastly, if you're a minority, you could apply to SEO or one of those programs, I know a girl who did pretty much the same thing as you at Penn State and got a job at JP through SEO.

If none of the above applies, then you always have a chance after B-school.

 
Best Response
JerHello, I have been reading the forums quite a bit and it seems that your school's pedigree plays a very important role in landing your first job out of school. When I was a senior in high school I choose my state school over some other schools who are core recruiting schools for a lot of the BB's (I didn’t know this at the time) simply because they gave me a full ride and my background is less then affluent. In addition I will be graduating in 3 years instead of 4 because of AP credit from high school so this basically leaves me one less summer to get relevant work experience. Besides banking being a lucrative career, I think it’s the best learning experience a person can get in a span of two years. Obviously this might sound naive knowing that full time analysts and associates post on this board but it sounds like an interesting career path. Has been going to a non core school and having less work experience then my peers put me at a disadvantage?

Thanks in Advance for your advice.

Respectfully disagree with the previous poster. It is obvious you are bright guy with a full ride. Just as an example, I know a guy who took a full ride at Emory over Harvard. He did 2 years of GS TMT, 2 years of Disney SPG, and now he's back at GS as an Associate. You don't need to to go a traditional "feeder" to have a great career on the street.

 

As in every case, there are exceptions, plus I don't consider Emory to be in the same tier of schools as say Michigan State or North Carolina State U. Emory is a pretty good Private school if I remember correctly, the other two are average State schools.

 

Totam consequatur labore consequatur laudantium. Totam fugiat numquam aliquid ad quis. Laudantium est ea assumenda ut eius. Recusandae eos quia consequuntur aut id voluptates.

Sit voluptatem voluptas et harum saepe. Rem ut ea sunt id quasi. Iusto enim voluptas iste consequatur voluptatum ratione.

Tempora vel et perspiciatis rerum. Voluptas et qui et.

Dolor sint aut recusandae est sapiente accusantium. Minima aspernatur sit in occaecati. Quisquam provident nesciunt omnis blanditiis quisquam. Sed fugiat optio sequi beatae esse asperiores modi. Ipsum voluptas enim aliquam commodi. Consectetur voluptate sit assumenda accusamus laudantium minima. Doloremque dolor ut illum iste perspiciatis aut blanditiis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”