West Coast Target Schools?

Hi, I'm currently in high school so please be a little patient with me.

So I know I want to go into investment banking, but I want to stay on the west coast. My question is: What schools are seen as targets for the west coast offices? I know that Cal, UCLA, and USC are considered targets, and I was hoping some of you could add more.

Thanks!

35 Comments
 

I wouldn't say "only ones" necessarily. There's a lot of other great schools on the west coast (UCSD, Claremont Mckenna, etc.) but as far as the main targets for west coast IBD, its those 4 schools. Outside of those 4 just requires more legwork

 

Will likely be different in SF vs. LA, but for LA, probably the order of West Coast schools of most analysts to least analysts, considering Target status, is

  • USC (incredible network and UG finance club, most commonly seen IBD Analyst in LA) ->
  • UCLA (very well respected but no finance major, just "business/econ")
  • Berkeley (less common but very good) ->
  • Stanford (rare but it's Stanford) ->
  • Other (Claremont McK, UCSB, UCSD, etc.)

But also, you're competing against more than just west coast schools. There are a lot of Analysts from East Coast schools (e.g. Wharton, Ivy League) as well as Ivey in Canada.

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

The schools with me most alums in finance are UCLA, USC, and UC Berkeley. As others have mentioned, Claremont Mckenna (CMC) and, to a lesser extent, Pomona College are decent choices as they have fiercely loyal alums and a decent presence in banking.

  • UCLA: Large student body. No undergrad business program (business economics fills this gap)
  • Berkeley: Large student body. Undergraduate business program (Haas) is selective -- you may be forced to choose a different major
  • USC: Fairly large student body. Strong alumni network. Expensive tuition

In terms of USC as overrated, what exactly do you mean? At a private school like USC or CMC you will get a lot more attention as an undergrad (e.g., better research opportunities, smaller class sizes, better class availability, etc.).

 

As a former USC undergrad, I can honestly say that everyone I knew who wanted to get into IB did. I selected it because the network carries immense clout in California, and it has the best greek system on the west coast. Obviously I'm biased, but have zero envy for those who went to a "true" target school.

To clarify another post: the acceptance rate for 2018 was 13% not 16%

 
Funniest

Every school you listed except Stanford is easy to get into.

USC - 16% acceptance rate UCLA - 14% acceptance rate UCB - 15% acceptance rate

Real targets are HYPWS.

Saying USC is a target is like saying Cornell is a target lol.

 

"Target school" means which schools do banks in an area "target hiring" from and actually hire. In New York it's a much bigger deal because there are a specific number of slots for specific schools. The West Coast is completely different, so if you don't know, please hold off on contributing to avoid misleading people. I've led recruiting for 3 years worth of Analyst classes at my BB bank and know how it works at most other banks in LA.

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

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