48 Comments
 

half-decent fratty southern school...

decent amount of mid/back office kids who will swarm Manhattan with their plaid shorts in the summer

very few in IBD. From my impression, the majority of alums stay regional in south/midwest

 
Solidarityhalf-decent fratty southern school...

decent amount of mid/back office kids who will swarm Manhattan with their plaid shorts in the summer

very few in IBD. From my impression, the majority of alums stay regional in south/midwest

You're right about the fact that many stay in the south, but few Wake Forest grads go to the midwest.

There are over 1,000 alumni in financial services in NYC from Wake, to answer ops question.

Regardless of location, the focus on recruitment there is front office. There is, to the best of my knowledge, no recruitment for back office, and very little middle office either. I think the Charlotte banks mainly go to the state schools to fill these rolls.

 

Wanted to get an update in 9/2017. Per Linkedin there are plenty of people working at BBs (GS, JPM, MS, CS, Citi) in NY. Of course they still have many in Charlotte (BOA, Wells). Based on their titles they are all over the place including IBD (some associates, analysts, lots of interns which will lead to hires,etc.) Is Wake Forest becoming better known on the street? Curious because my son is in undergrad and will likely steer towards finance.

 

Hey there, I’m a graduate of the Business School at Wake and to answer your question: yes. Many BB’s from both NYC and Charlotte even come on campus to recruit. If the student gets good grades and networks effectively while doing proper research on the role, he/she will be fine. The combination of business courses with the liberal arts is also a huge differentiator because it makes students even more engaging candidates.

 
Best Response

What is considered heavily recruited? Wake is a small school. Business school has about 250 per class. About half in finance. Last yr, out of 115 finance majors, 59 accepted bank jobs (per their first destination report - they actually have a spreadsheet on their website that accounts for every kid, where they work, role, etc.) Many of them are analysts and many represented by BBs.

I think roughly 50% actually getting banking jobs is pretty strong. So is the gross number considered light or is it the percentage? In reality, don't know exact function or group.

 

Actually, Wake Forest is well represented on the street considering its size. Alums are at every BB and top boutique firms.

Also, James Woolery, a Wake alum, was named co-head of J.P. Morgan's North America M&A....

 

Wake is actually pretty well represented in IB at Bank of America and Wells Fargo, as well as the Charlotte, Atlanta, and Virginia MM firms. There aren't a ton of Wake Forest alums in NYC, but they're out there, just not in the same numbers as you'll see UNC or Duke grads (though Wake is smaller population wise). I'd say it's definitely a decent option - their Calloway undergrad business school has taken #1 in BusinessWeek's "academic quality" ranking for like 4 years in a row or something crazy.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 
boutiquebank4lifewake forest is the harvard of the town of wake forest

You're such an asshole, but this made me laugh out loud.

Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
 
Otter.
boutiquebank4lifewake forest is the harvard of the town of wake forest

You're such an asshole, but this made me laugh out loud.

yeah, except Wake Forest is in Winston-Salem....

Wake is a really top-notch undergrad business school, and for its size, it places pretty well onto Wall Street. There are only like 5,000 undergrads total, and I think like 200-250 kids in each undergrad b-school class, so its size really holds it back if you're talking about the volume of Wake Forest bankers. Obviously, much more heavily represented in Charlotte and the southeast, than NYC, but you'll find their grads sprinkled around the street.

Most Wake grads I've met in banking have been really good. Quantity over quality.

 

I know a couple of Wake Forest grads who ended up with absolutely amazing PE offers a year or two out of undergrad - but they are definitely the exception. We actually talked about this extensively. It's not like at a target where your friends all pour into IBD/PE and you can easily find alumni to network with during interviews. You have to stand out and have the skills, prove yourself, etc.

 

MS in Accounting is not likely to get you there - career services places a ton of effort placing at Big 4s.

MM IB -> Corporate Development -> Strategic Finance
 

Yes. Graduated in '10.

I'm not in banking (working on this).

Need more info.

"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 

Yes, there is actually a small but well placed WFU alumni base in finance. Banking and PE mostly, haven't run across very many (if any) traders. It's also a very tight group it seems - the Wake guy in my office always has one or two resumes from WF grads whenever we're hiring.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

Can anyone speak for the quality of WFU's management masters program?

"There are only two opinions in this world: Mine and the wrong one." -Jeremy Clarkson
 

Repellat consequatur et perferendis non iure quisquam fugiat. Nulla non ex suscipit rerum et. Itaque unde provident quo qui dolorum.

 

Voluptatibus modi id voluptas sunt facere omnis aliquam enim. Quia excepturi neque reprehenderit in et. Et explicabo sed itaque minus. Est cum modi officiis minima voluptatum sed.

Pariatur omnis accusantium vitae sapiente dignissimos maiores. Temporibus aperiam quod a expedita. Et omnis suscipit adipisci et exercitationem ducimus autem quo. Fugit dolor dolorem et harum dolores aliquam rerum. Dicta sed nam qui blanditiis. Cupiditate numquam alias ad non. Omnis sunt molestiae neque autem.

Et nulla amet ut et ut neque animi ea. Vel dolores perspiciatis expedita voluptatibus odio aliquam molestiae. Est odit magni fugiat corporis fugit sit. Mollitia minus tenetur officia.

 

Quaerat nostrum ratione dolorem dolores veniam natus expedita. Voluptatem autem ut autem quo aut dolorem. Eaque aliquid illo reprehenderit. Libero voluptatem cumque sit recusandae ut eaque voluptas. Et tempora quam quis aut labore libero qui. Amet dicta voluptas consectetur quasi et quia ut rerum. Tenetur optio ea distinctio culpa porro.

Asperiores unde culpa autem iusto. Dolor consequatur blanditiis et sequi iste tempora. Dolor id velit accusantium asperiores. Facere omnis ipsum est sequi natus aut. Sunt maiores dolor eum nemo commodi beatae corrupti.

Qui maiores omnis unde commodi qui. Dolorem deserunt at tempora. Qui ab consequatur quia laudantium voluptatem officia tenetur. Quos animi et nesciunt eius quaerat officiis laboriosam velit. Dolorem odio aut quae harum.

Nisi eligendi nihil velit iste. Aut dolore aperiam ipsum perferendis. Corrupti voluptas ipsum deleniti harum esse id. Dolorem ducimus aliquam enim dolorem.

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%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 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 No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (45) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
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...”