Yale vs. Stanford Undergrad for IB=>buyside
Hi all! I was recently accepted to Yale (ChemE & Econ) and Stanford (Energy Eng & Econ), and I'm interested in the IB=>buyside pathway. I'd also prefer to stay on the west coast throughout my career, though I'm open to NYC if the benefits over SF are truly that large.
Though I'm leaning towards Stanford (in-state, dedicated energy major w/ tons of funding & resources, location/weather, etc), I've heard that in recent years, Stanford students have appeared "underprepared" for their interviews and generally may have garnered a bad rep in the IB space. I've also heard that the (reportedly few) students with top BB offers are not very willing to take coffee chats or otherwise help current students. By contrast, a third of Yale's class of 2025 went into finance (20%) or consulting (13%), with GS/MS/JPM and MBB as the top employers. So, if I break in to relevant clubs and network aggressively, I think I'd have a much larger alumni pool to give me an edge in the recruiting process.
I'd appreciate any advice and information anyone could provide as to the realities of east/west coast BB recruiting from either school, as well as how SF/NYC respectively place into PE/buyside. Thank you!
-
*I know there's a very similar post on the Business School forum from ~11 months ago, but the information I've seen about Stanford in particular completely differs between the last year and 3-4 years ago so I'd like to know more.
Stanford’s the better school with better QOL and better opportunities in the tech/ai space, but Yale is Yale and is much superior for NYC finance
Makes sense! I should've specified--I think I'd prefer to stay on the west coast (SF, really), while in IB as I'd be able to stay in state (CA native) and be involved with California's energy transition. How much of a difference is there in placing to PE from the west vs. east coast?
Just go to stanford tbh
Lol that looks like the move for sure, just trying to get some final confirmation. It'd suck if I went to Stanford only for every recruiter to block me from the start yk (though I doubt that circumstances would be that bad no matter what).
It's stanford. Even though the alumni network is terrible in IB, you have instant credibility at every shop. Just don't slack and u should be fine.
Thinking that "every recruiter" will block you after seeing Stanford on your resume is hilarious. There are guys who have done transfers from community colleges to schools barely in "target" status and still place somewhat respectably in IB.
You are far more in than you are out compared to 90% of IB applicants by attending either Stanford or Yale.
Pick the school that makes you happy or is most fiscally sound and don't look back.
Stanford will also be far better for West Coast recruiting so maybe this is actually just a no brainer.
First of all, congrats! I think you should decide based on which colleges location, vibes, or academics interest you the most. I went to Princeton and did early admissions there because I wanted to stay in the east coast and liked the idea of a more undergrad focused school. You will get very similar set of opportunities from a HYPSM school in life, but especially in finance. Yale also has more of a traditional pipeline for your specific interests. Though Stanford, just like Princeton, is still like a super target for IB, there is just less people interested. It's laughly easily to get an top BB/EB offer from a HYPSM, and anyone who cannot do it is socially inept. These firms come on campus and basically beg people to join.
Yeah, even I was starting to feel that irrespective of other people's thoughts about each school, Stanford's academics + SF's location/school culture make it a better choice. Looks like I'll only be confirming my decision when I visit both in a couple weeks--thank you!
Congrats! There is no true wrong option here. There isn't anyone relevant who will look down on a grad from any of the HYPSM schools. I would make sure to visit just to get a better vibe on exact culture and people. When both schools are roughly the same rank like Yale/Stanford, would really focus mostly on where do you see yourself enjoying the four years of college.
Neither compare to the Ivory Towers of Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard
Congrats on Cambridge!
?
He’s a troll who goes to Cambridge and copes over the fact that Cambridge is not as well-known by third-worlders and random laypeople as Harvard/Oxford are.
At least none of us have to live in a failing state like the UK whose entire economic output is money laundering for rich Asians. Pretty sure your GDP has been the same since the GFC.
All I will say is that almost every Oxbridge vs. Princeton international kid I know picked Princeton, and we are probably the least recognized HYPSM globally due to smaller size.
That’s surprising to hear. Almost every person on TikTok, Quora, r/6thform and r/UniUK would tell you to pick Oxbridge over Princeton due to its superior worldwide prestige. I wonder which country you’re referring to? I think Britain has more respect and prestige/influence on more people in the world because of the Commonwealth and it having the best unis, top tier military, media influence, etc… seriously just check out some threads on those platforms discussing Oxbridge vs HYPSM prestige, particularly posts by Asim Qureshi and others on Quora.
I think the UK is doing far better than the US that’s why we had higher GDP growth than the US in past years, That could be why more international students prefer Britain. Seriously though go on r/6thform if you want to be humbled.
Bro snuck in Cambridge.
Yale
You'd prefer to stay in the West Coast so Stanford
If the goal is to do the traditional IB to Buy-Side path, you can’t go wrong with Yale. There is an unbelievably strong alumni network and you will have a ton of peers on the same path. Yale also has a very strong pipeline with just about every bank, but specifically GS (I think GS recruited more from Yale than any other school in recent years), BofA, and Barclays. Most BBs and EBs will come to campus and host recruiting events. It’s a very well-established path, and you will have no issue going into IB as long as you are locked in.
As far as the QOL - a lot of people don’t give Yale credit for how fun it is. Great party scene between the few frats and teams with houses, as well as those within the dorms, there’s a ton to do in New Haven, and the food scene is great. People often shit on it as a city, but it’s actually a lot of fun, and I personally was never concerned for my safety. The residential college system also gives you a great network of people that you wouldn’t necessarily meet in your classes / otherwise, and the senior societies are really unique. I think it overall makes you a little more well-rounded.
All that said - you can’t go wrong with Stanford either! You are choosing between 2 great options
Go to Stanford.
You already said you want to be on the West Coast, that alone should carry the decision.
And yes, Yale’s finance edge is real but it’s mostly a NYC story. The alumni network is deep in New York because grads default there, which builds the network further, which makes the next class default there too. It’s a loop. If you’re not trying to spend your career in NYC, you’re not really capturing what makes Yale’s finance placement special.
And honestly you’re ~18. You might think you want finance now but there’s a real chance that changes. Stanford gives you optionality in the industries that are driving the most economic value and creating the most wealth today (Tech and AI). Yale just can’t match that and Stanford keeps finance open if you want it. You’re not closing any doors, especially given your west coast preference.
Anecdotally, as a Yale grad, I have more friends in SF than NYC. Probably not the norm, but I feel like both schools give the optionality of working wherever you want. Obviously it’s probably easier to work in NYC if you go to Yale and easier to work in SF if you go to Stanford. But I’m not sure I’d choose where to go to school based on which city it’s easier to work in afterwards. Just go with the one that feels right on revisit day
Edit: Would caveat this by saying that it is definitely easier to go from NYC to a city that is not NYC than the other way around. A lot of firms simply will not let you lateral to NYC from a non NYC location for headcount / COL reasons. Just look at GS as an example - they’ve been trying for years to move people from NYC to Dallas and SLC
I could see that; I was looking at the geography or yale grads from the email I mentioned, and something like 15% of Yale grads from that year went to California! Also, based on your own / your friends experience, do you think I'd be limited when trying to break into PE/C-Suite/maybe even HF positions if I tried to stay in SF vs. be in NYC? For reference, I'd probably be aiming for tech/energy-focused work to match my energy engineering passion and niche. Thanks for your time!
Ah, the NYC feedback loop was definitely something I hadn't considered. I'll ask this as if I did actually break into IB: do you think I'd be restricted in moving to PE/HF/C-Suite if I was in SF as opposed to NYC?
What great options these are. I think given you have some partiality to the west coast, you would not shoot yourself in the foot at all by enjoying everything outside of your career stuff at Stanford: 24/7 weather machine, great sports, if I had to guess you’d be walking amidst some of the next Jensen Huang’s and Hewlett Packard’s of the world which would be a great through line into what has always made the Silicon Valley valuable…money in the silicon layer. Just my 2c
Much appreciated, man--considering the AI revolution and the like, Stanford's reach within tech is definitely appealing, especially considering my interest in energy storage / systems (e.g. powering data centers). Thanks!
I figure I might as well also ask: based on your own / people you know's experience, do you think I'd be restricted trying to break into private equity / C-Suite positions if I aimed to spend my career in SF over NYC? For reference, I'd probably be aiming for tech/energy-focused work to match my energy engineering passion and niche.
Choose the school u like more but know that both of these schools are good enough for any job and that it’s just a check off the box
Can't go wrong with either place and we can talk about the strengths / weaknesses of both schools until we are blue in the face. That said, in my opinion Yale has something Stanford does not given your objective: centuries of tradition and a level of prestige that I think is greater than Stanford's, even if marginally. That's important because when you're aiming for an industry full of insecure risk-averse strivers, it checks boxes in people's minds (in addition to removing false assumption that you are a smart Stanford gal/guy who probably wants to do Tech / VC and is using IB as stepping stone). Also, as has been mentioned, the Yale network across IB and all of finance is much deeper...Stanford has its heavyweights but they are mostly in the tech universe / Silicon Valley. Good luck
Both are extremely elite. Yale has more PE/HF presence but Stanford is elite for VC/Growth/AI. Neither will hold you back at all and any career differences are extremely marginal. I would choose based on where you would rather spend four years at (I’m partial to Cali weather over Connecticut) and your enjoyment of tours / people you’ve interacted with at each school.
With such a degree. I’ll go straight to Power Market or Energy Trading
Go to Yale bro; Stanford is for your AI B2B SAAS startup
this is a bunch of nonsense - pick whatever school you lile
You laid back Cali fuckers irk me
you will spend a lot more effort recruiting for IB if you’re at Stanford, especially if non-diversity and non-nepo. there are no serious pipelines for recruiting there. if you are just considering finance, it will not be easy.
Ut eum fugit quasi in dicta officia. Aut ratione tempore est ipsam culpa illum repudiandae facere. Sit minus est tenetur consequuntur asperiores. A voluptas excepturi magni est impedit quas nihil.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Non ad molestiae ipsum atque qui. Quia nihil ut exercitationem consequuntur sint et. Sed illo quia ut sit.
Eveniet modi tenetur dolor earum fugiat rerum optio. Sequi nesciunt vero hic odit veniam repellat. Dolores unde fugit totam nobis ut provident possimus quia. Doloribus et ea quod cupiditate sint. Adipisci dolorem non doloremque est esse qui aut. Accusamus distinctio atque ut harum soluta recusandae cum.