Non target education, target school price tag

Financial Aid just came out for next year at my small, Northeast, non-target, decent alumni network school. Without going too much into detail, it’s too much money. I’m not here to complain because I knew going in that they might screw me after my first year, but I need advice. I really like the program they have; front loading the finance courses to educate freshmen, whereas a lot of schools wait until junior year to get to the real work. I worked my ass off freshman year and have a 3.9 GPA, got a summer internship in a finance field, working towards my wallstreet prep certificate this summer, and became the only freshman to be an excel mentor since the program started ~15 years ago. So my question is this: Do I have a shot at IB at a non target state school? I understand that everybody’s friend’s cousin’s dog’s previous owner’s son’s nephew made it to wallstreet out of a school you’ve never heard of, but in reality, what’s the likelihood? My thought process is if I go to a cheaper state school, I can afford a MBA from a target grad school, and I won’t be as rushed to get a high paying job to pay off my student loans before the interest smothers me. I’d love to go to a UT Austin or UVA, but I just don’t think I’d get in coming from my current school. I understand how niche this situation is, but any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

1 Comments
 

Consequuntur consequuntur est labore. Vel ea recusandae accusantium in officiis architecto. Dolorem doloribus repellat quia aperiam recusandae est rem.

Iste quaerat qui eum autem consequatur. Qui unde voluptate ea deleniti aspernatur et nam.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (82) $151
  • 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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”