What school should I attend?

I am currently a senior in high school, and I'm deciding what college I should attend. I wanted to become an investment banker, however I realized that it is not a career that I want because of the long hours and stressful environment. Now I shift my focus to other careers such as DCM/ECM and corporate/commercial banking. My question is do I need to attend a target school (like investment banking) in order to break into these fields? btw I am deciding whether I should attend SUNY Geneseo or Indiana University.

 

Oh goodness. I wouldn't spend the extra money. Work hard at SUNY and see if you can transfer to a target if you crush it there. If you can't transfer to a target (where you won't be paying out the wazoo) then spend that time networking to break into the industry. Cornell takes transfers. NYU and Columbia I don't know much about.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 
Best Response

"My question is do I need to attend a target school (like investment banking) in order to break into these fields?"

DCM/ECM, yes, recruiting is similar to IB - you would probably want to go to a target. For corporate/commercial banking, if you want to work for this division at a large multinational bank like JPM or Citi, then yes, you want to be at a target school. HOWEVER, there are lots of commercial/corp banking jobs at smaller, more regional banks that recruit from what IB would consider non-targets.

As far as IU vs. SUNY Geneseo, did you get into Kelley at IU? I don't know anything about SUNY Geneseo but if you got into Kelley and do well in college/major in accounting/finance, you will have a very good chance at getting a well paying job at like a Big 4, with the added potential of IB, especially if you get into the banking workshop. Also keep in mind that your career goals may very well change while you are in college.

 

If you are absolutely sure you can do well and get into Kelly ex post, then IU. Be honest with yourself, because college can throw a lot of variables at you (Greek life if huge at IU, and can definitely impact your GPA) and IU is absolutely not worth the out-of-state money if you don't get into Kelly. The safer option is the SUNY>target route, but also be aware that transferring could suck after you make a solid base of new friends.

Good luck!

 

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