2024/2025 Target Ranking for IB

Tier 1: Harvard, Wharton, Stanford

Tier 2: Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, MIT

Tier 3: Duke, Dartmouth, UChicago, Northwestern, Cornell

Tier 4: Brown, Georgetown, Michigan, NYU Stern

Tier 5: Notre Dame, UVA, Amherst, Williams

Tier 6: UC Berkeley, Emory, WashU, UT Austin, Vanderbilt

34 Comments
 

Yes but very top groups don't focus on stanford and the best buyside also doesn't focus on stanford. They are definitely T2 but T1 is earned by being the go to for the top few groups on the street and best buyside slots. Stanford is great but it's not the best.

 

What's this based on? 

Non-Wharton Penn definitely doesn't place as well as the rest of Tier 2. NU also does not place as well as most of the Tier 4 names, and per-capita probably isn't better than Williams and Amherst, and definitely not better than ND. Would move both down a tier from where you put them. 

 
Most Helpful

Penn non Wharton places the same as Wharton besides the tippy top banking groups, NU places lights out in recent years & the same as other tier 3 schools

 

I would say Northwestern is a tier above ND in terms of placements, especially HF and Quant. Both IB/PE placements are comparable. ND/Amherst/Williams should be grouped with tier 4. Also, I think Brown should be in tier 3. 

 

(insert my semitarget school) should be moved up, great placements this year

 

this but unironically

(my school actually placed quite poorly this year but that's just because our '26s suck)

 

Also bump Williams and Amherst up to T3. Great per capita placement and great quality of placement even throwing out nepo hires. Plus your life will be chill at them.

 

You’ll never find anyone saltier than Stanford rejects on Wso lmao

Stanford place less numbers because news flash…there’s less kids in the class (generally i.e Wharton alone is bigger than entire class at Stanford). Not only that, but there’s a fraction of those kids that actually pursue finance (and it’s a uphill battle given the Stanford curriculum is not built to prepare you to be a finance hardo. Pros and cons of that.) I’d be more interested in a per capita analysis, given maybe 20-40 Stanford kids even try to go finance - and usually the successful ones place in top groups and PE right out of undergrad

 

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