72 Comments
 

I think the competitive landscape looks like this

For California Stanford (top target) Cal/UCLA(targets) Clermont Mckenna/USC (semi targets - targets in LA) Smaller UCs: Irvine/Davis...etc.

Then there are UBC, UW, and more northern schools which get a good look in

 

In terms of people looking outside in, it is probably considered a tier above; however, the three schools are relatively similar so you could put them all in one target 'band' if you want

 

West coast semi-targets are probably UCLA, USC, Claremont McKenna, and Ponoma. I think UCLA fits in better with this tier because while they send kids to IB, it's more like 10 to EBs, which is line with other semi-targets rather than lights out placement at targets.

Array
 

I'm not sure what you mean when you say a lot go to EBs because of location. I'm saying sending 10-15 kids to EBs is similar numbers to other semi-targets, like UNC, Indiana, Texas, Emory, Vandy. Also, HLHZ CF is MM, only their RX is EB.

Array
 

How do schools like the smaller UCs, UW, Pepperidne, and Santa Clara do in the West Coast?

 

I think in terms of BB they do the best with BAML, with two incoming summer interns. This year Lazard also had a legitimate resume drop up on Handshake.

 

horrible. avoid at all costs if you want banking. transferring from tier 2 UC as there is virtually no chance to break in. anyone who says otherwise is lying

 

This is false - USC absolutely sends more kids into banking than UCLA; I personally think UCLA is the better school but when it comes to IB recruiting, the alumni network at USC is unparalleled and they all go to bat for each other like no other school.

Pinging Synergy_or_Syzygy , he probably has a better idea when it comes to this though.

 

It depends a lot on the bank with regards to hiring practice. I would say in general USC has an actual finance program (compared to UCLA's biz-econ) and a generally bigger and more organized finance club in the Trojan Investing Society. So there is a bigger candidate pool at USC which is of high quality.

That being said, UCLA's Sharpe Fellows program (https://partnership.ucla.edu/sharpe-fellows-program/</a">Link) has some of the best resumes I've ever seen and those students receive great mentorship.

Our bank will continue to recruit heavily on campus at USC as well as always interview some top UCLA students who are proactive and reach out to us, including the Sharpe Fellows. Same applies for top UC Berkeley students who reach out to us; our Bay Area office goes on campus and sends students who have expressed an interest in LA to us.

All of the above applies definitely to LA banking recruiting. New York is a different animal and I won't pretend to be able to speak to who is a target where.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

Any thoughts on how UW places in West Coast? I heard they do a recruiting trip to SF? Are they general well regarded, they're like 20th in the nation on rankings

 

I wouldn’t say UW is overrated. By nature of being in Seattle (Amazon/MSFT HQ, large presence of most other big tech-virtually no big banks) it is dominated by tech and Corp fin. However, Foster is a well respected business school, and if someone takes the necessary steps, recruiting is possible for most banks. I know alumni who currently or previously worked at GS, JPM, MS, Laz, Moelis, Blackstone, and more. There just aren’t that many students gunning for positions discussed on this site. Happy to answer any other questions about UW.

 

US News Public university rankings - difficult to compare public to private

UCLA - 1 UCB - 2 . . . UW - 22

 

What about Pitzer, Scripps and Harvey Mudd? I would add all the Claremont schools but list them by tier.

  1. Harvey Mudd
  2. Claremont McKenna
  3. Pomona
  4. Pitzer
  5. Scripps
 

Santa Clara’s banking culture is growing very fast. Have been placing kids in BBs and EBs over the past few years.

 

I got to one of the core west coast schools. I think usc/ucla are equal, both sending 25-30 kids into ib. UCLA kids are more technically prepared but lack EQ/connections/trojan network of USC. The early recruiting timeline of alot of west coast offices benefits the early prepraration of ucla and as function of that ucla signs more, earlier, at the good shops. However, when you look at NY recruiting, USC is able to place more numbers into better shops. As a public school without undergrad biz, ucla is more cut throat and has 10-20% less kids who recruit.

Hass is clearly beter than both schools. Stanford as well but they tend to have less kids wanting to go into banking and those who do tend to go to NY. Kids at the core schools tend to do alot of offcycle internships, something most CMC/pomona kids don't do which kind of shafts them for recruiting.

 

Rem quaerat commodi iure dolor ut quas. Assumenda reprehenderit dolore natus. Laboriosam et voluptate omnis exercitationem nesciunt. Velit perferendis necessitatibus est dolores. Quo dolorem molestiae deleniti perferendis quo. Non vel est dolorum reiciendis.

Placeat incidunt sit consequatur consequuntur minus. Nihil molestiae maxime consequatur id pariatur qui voluptates. Deserunt voluptas reprehenderit ea debitis fuga exercitationem natus. Ipsam voluptatem quisquam molestias illo. Non minus quia quod ut dolor praesentium. Est facilis tenetur dolorum voluptatem aut maiores.

Quo voluptas quos sed corrupti. Qui dolorem molestiae tempora laboriosam debitis. Beatae quia amet voluptatum optio dicta numquam amet. Nesciunt reprehenderit quis rem qui tenetur consequuntur.

 

Vitae quos qui voluptatibus earum ex autem. Ducimus temporibus et dolor incidunt in optio est. Amet excepturi rerum voluptas vero molestiae provident. Repudiandae repudiandae tenetur quaerat quis. Enim error nam perspiciatis repellendus dolor illo qui. Cumque unde voluptatibus facilis consequatur.

Numquam harum facere blanditiis esse corrupti. In qui iusto labore ducimus sequi. Aut quod omnis enim suscipit eum cupiditate provident. Deleniti enim voluptatem corporis aspernatur vel sit. Vero odio animi voluptate praesentium harum atque quas et. Non aut voluptatem qui vero. Qui vel aliquid sint beatae.

 

Ipsa enim cumque eaque magnam. Fugit sapiente cum cum dolorum et hic dicta. Et maxime modi autem enim nihil dolores excepturi quia. Non atque repellat et tempora nemo. Fugit aut tempora voluptatibus est consequatur optio dolor. Illum est ab ex quasi enim perferendis pariatur.

Rem porro quo pariatur. Suscipit quos impedit optio dolores. Ut sit aliquam aut possimus. Architecto at et alias eum nihil nesciunt praesentium.

Quia odit ex sit vel saepe harum. Ipsam aut inventore vel inventore accusantium sit. Aspernatur animi id ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”