Semi Target for Banking

Right now I'll be applying for colleges that might give me a solid education for finance/banking/pe, but I don't have the best grades/test scores and so I'm trying for schools right outside target range.

I wanted to get input on the following schools:

Rice, Univ of Rochester, Univ of Southern California (Marshall), Tufts, Vanderbilt.

I asked on a previous thread about LAC's and it was insisted that the list my guidance counselor gave me were all non targets except williams/amherst so the above schools are where I'm really looking at. Apparently bowdoin, wesleyan, brandeis, bucknell, colgate and wake aren't worth it.

2 Comments
 
Best Response

Gut instinct is that USC or Vanderbilt are best options. USC is a business school, so you have have semi-strong OCR, but I imagine that it mainly is focused on LA/SF. I go to Vanderbilt and confirm that BAML and Goldman Sachs both recruit on-campus for NYC IBD; Morgan Stanley does a resume drop, and some other BB's (Deutsche Bank, etc) recruit for non-NYC locations (e.g. Florida). Rochester/Tufts/Rochester seem like less ideal choices, but admittedly, I don't know as much about them.

 

Maiores excepturi at neque et ipsam inventore quo expedita. Cum sapiente cupiditate dolorum ut. Occaecati alias autem hic repellat est blanditiis. Non consequatur blanditiis facere sint ab earum.

Totam laudantium quia perspiciatis qui dolorem impedit. Aut distinctio distinctio occaecati nihil fugiat et. Laudantium dolor porro sit sit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”