Which Undergrad- Stanford- USC- Cornell-Duke
This is not a troll post as I have just recently been accepted into these schools
I'm interested into going into Investment banking(EB) and then breaking either into PE,VC or Quant
Although Stanford seems like an obvious choice I have heard it doesn't place well with IB firms.
Heard USC is one of the best schools for student life, party scene and good for finance to.
Just pretty unsure and was wondering for your guy's advice.
stanford or duke, depending on location/sports preference. Would personally choose stanford. College isn’t just about job placement and ur not closing any doors by picking any of those school.
Graduated from Stanford and my younger sibling is there rn too and I can provide some insight from what I've heard. Stanford is amazing for IB placement - the problem is the kids just aren't as preprofessional as they are for other schools, and if you are prepared and network well you will have no problems getting interviews and offers. Kids on the east coast will know their technicals and have relevant internships done way in advance of recruiting, but most Stanford kids just aren't as prepped as their counterparts. However, if you are dedicated to finance and put in effort you really aren't going to have trouble. Looking at Linkedin and from what I personally know from my exp and my sisters is that the main finance clubs are Stanford Finance, Blythe Fund, and Kudla Fund. From what I've heard from my sister for this class (co26)and seen on Linkedin for current students there's placements into Blackstone, Evercore, Vista Equity Partners, Starwood, P72, Citadel, Bridgewater, Thoma Bravo, KKR, Centerview, Lazard, GS, MS, Maverick Capital, PWP, Bain Capital, Warburg and more. In conclusion you will be more than fine with Stanford and you'll have a really good time.
Oh alright thanks so much, I was just skeptical since I read other WSO posts on the forum that says Stanford isn't considered a target by many NY banks and is only recruited heavily by Centerview partners and others.
stanford is amazing but not as rosy as what the above poster says, esp if you're non diversity. All of the decent placements at SF, blyth, kudla, I'd say that 50-75% is diversity and nepo (it's stanford) - take a look at their HS, its probably a prep school. Knew some non diversity friends that didn't get places they wanted but honestly there's so much beyond banking. spend like 2 months learning leetcode and you'll be happy with your FAANG+ offer and 45hr work weeks.
Prob worth changing username if that is your real name. Also, huge congrats on the acceptances - I’d choose Stanford
Went to Stanford and am in PE now & my brother went to Duke. Would definitely choose Stanford, cannot recommend more based on my exp. Duke is super fun with the basketball/sports culture but Stanford is one of a kind (and gives you a lot more financial aid!).
Awesome place from a social perspective as well as startup/entrepreneurship and pre-professional perspective. Work hard play hard culture, ppl are incredibly well spoken and social but also super sharp. If you know you want to do finance, easy to get in the right clubs early on. I was late in figuring out I wanted to do finance but still landed an internship at an UMM buyout shop with a reputable analyst program and ended up working in growth post-grad. Tons of friends did CS and switched from SWE to IB/PE/consulting later on and now work at KKR, Permira, Silver Lake, etc. Stanford gives you a ton of optionality from a recruiting front and was just a ton of fun
hey bro change your username to something more anonymous. also all great academic choices but stanford’s brand is a league above. will pay dividends later in pe/vc recruiting and a lot of the lack of presence at top EB’s is self selection. don’t overthink it
Congrats kid. Don’t use your first and last name on this forum as your username lmao
Stanford and change your username or make yourself anonymous lol
Duke is more fun and places better into NYC than Stanford. Other schools u listed don’t matter
Go to Stanford or USC. Biggest regret in life is not taking the USC trustee scholarship for another east coast target. Got the eb offer but I hate all the insufferable preprofessional fucks at my school.
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