Need Advice For Transferring Schools

Alright so right now I am a sophomore at Bucknell and I have been heavily considering transferring schools, and I am specifically looking at Penn State. My goal is to work in Philly, but I am keeping an open mind. My friends and family are giving me different opinions, with the main concern being that they think my financial career options will be limited. However, none of these people are in the industry (and many haven’t attended college, since I’m a first gen). Do you guys think I would be shooting myself in the foot if I transferred to a school that is arguably considered “less prestigious”? Anyone who can input is appreciated, but I am mostly concerned with people who hire from these schools, so mainly Philly and some in NY. Thanks guys

6 Comments
 

Penn state’s IB placement is almost exclusively out of the finance program they have. I think it’s the Nittany Lion Fund. Sorry but besides that Bucknell and PSU are considered non targets. Are you thinking of applying to any semi targets or targets? Or is your GPA and ECs not good enough?

 

Dude I have never heard of bucknell TBH, and everyone knows Penn State. The brand name alone with open significantly more doors, imo 

 

Dude I have never heard of bucknell TBH, and everyone knows Penn State. The brand name alone with open significantly more doors, imo 

To follow up - Penn State is no Harvard/Wharton etc but still a great school. Better than my undergrad for sure lol 

 

Yeah man everyone around my area (PA and rich kids from NYC suburbs) hypes this place up because it’s an expensive lib arts school with a low acceptance rate. But that’s exactly where I differ with most people; where I know that this place isn’t Stanford or Penn, and besides the prestige of top 10-ish schools, the next best thing is name recognition (and PSU is obv known everywhere).

 
Most Helpful

Eum eaque rerum laboriosam quo qui autem tempora aut. Ut eum velit fuga dicta consectetur. Omnis non eum atque. Esse commodi molestiae maxime modi.

Maiores numquam aut ab et quo. Sapiente qui officiis sit iure et voluptatem. Quia officia dolorum debitis molestiae aut. Non est dolore minima voluptatem itaque veniam. Inventore quisquam odit tempora distinctio qui nobis. Voluptatibus et quo cupiditate deserunt temporibus.

Voluptas est est asperiores voluptatem aut dolorem. Eum aut voluptas repellendus eum officiis veritatis. Dolores quo facere est quia magni molestiae voluptates. Suscipit inventore alias quaerat quasi sit quia. Vero modi voluptas debitis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”