del

As a non-target who elected to go my state school over targets for financial reasons, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Can you stumble into a top banking or buy-side program like you might have from HYSPW? No. Do you have to grind? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. Is it unattainable if you’re like able and can play the game? Absolutely not. Is it as easy as going to a target? No, but it certainly isn’t as hard as it’s made out to be; I just think people don’t understand it’s a numbers game / or how to play the game. Obviously there are plenty of non-target student who try and fail but as bad as it may sound, I don’t think they would’ve made it from a target anyway. I see plenty of target kids in, let’s say, less desirable roles and I’d argue they’re cut from the same cloth as the non-target kids who just don’t get it (i.e., the club bots). Just my view, happy to hear others’.

the big fish-little-pond effect of non-target state schools plays a huge role in this too. it’s easy to be the best, and therefore, stand out during applications. At least, that’s what I think.

have seen many more mediocre kids from nontargets than targets. they definitely look at you in the context of your surroundings rather than in absolutes. also, most nontargets have way better career services infrastructure than ivies in addition to the big fish small pond effect.

Definitely easier now than it was before. It’s hard to get in from anywhere, but if you know your shit and grind, they’ll take you over the prick from Wharton who looks down at his Analysts/Aso bc they went to Penn State.

If there’s anything FTs hate more, it’s seeing that they placed a bet on someone being chill and it turns out they’re a dick (especially at regional offices (SF, Chicago, Houston that have more say)

Wisconsin has a robust banking pipeline. Has to be one of the best in the big 10.

It’s when you get screwed in PE interviews 

UG will not stop mattering for finance until you reach the VP levels / equivalents in other sub-areas (AM, VC, etc). I can tell you 100% in AM for instance, until you make it to the Analyst level and have been there for 3+yrs after the UG will matter for jumping. There are processes I am in right now where I know the PM specifically asked to exclude anyone below T25 undergrads...

Once you are 30+ then the UG becomes a much smaller consideration but even at 35, a Vanderbilt UG will look better than a kid who went to Rutgers 

You’re pretty screwed coming from a non-target with no alumni pipeline helping you out. It’s a lot easier if you have an alum setting up interviews.

This doesn't surprise me if true. A couple macro factors playing into favor for state schoolers trying to break in:

- Finance isnt the top dog for many target grads, tech has and continues to take a sizable portion of ambitious elite school grads

- More options, especially with hybrid/remote work, changing competitive landscape. There are definitely some tweeners who go to good schools who in the past who would pursue finance careers just out of peer pressure or money instead of pure ambition. Now a lot of those people can opt for something far less demanding and in different locations. Eager to do a 5 day a week in-office grind will help you stand out today, even as a state school kid

- Networking and learning ins and outs of a job, interview process, etc. continues to get easier and easier

In a lot of ways younger millennials and Gen Z have been spoiled careerwise. Things are so much better for workers than anyone who is old enough to remember looking for a job in the years right after 2008

bump

if this school has a huge alum presence why are you calling it a non target bro? target is not just ivies uchicago anymore man 

So if you go to a state flagship school, of which, lets say, there are 50, you could make it out fine. But there are 3000+ other nontargets school that are still fucked lol. Theres also a high probability you do everything right and still dont crack it whereas the ivy league student who puts in the same effort (or less even) would have a plethora of opportunities. Generally, it is bad form to give false hope by stating you’ll be just fine going to a nontarget, imo.

I do agree with the sentiment that state flagship school degrees will age like a fine wine. Its getting increasingly competitive because it is cheaper and very well resourced relative to a no-name private school. Outside of maybe T50 schools, I dont know why anyone would elect to go to a under-resourced, smaller private school over a state flagship.