Buy-Side or Sell Side?

Hey guys, I am an incoming first-year. I know for a fact I want to work in the financial services industry. However, I can't decide which specific aspect to aim for. I have a basic overview of HF, IB, and PE. Ideally, I want to break into the top companies of each category, so BB for IB and Blackstone kind of companies for PE. Is one industry more prestigious over the other, and how can I gear myself to break into each specific sector? For reference, I will be attending Stern (From my understanding of the data tables on WSO and Peakframeworks, Stern should put in a good spot for any of them, right? It was second for IB, 4/5 for Hedge Funds, and somewhere around 6/7 for PE.) in the fall. Also, which one will help me get into a top business school? I want to apply for one of the M7 and use Stern as a fallback because of the NYUxNYU program.

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