Getting into IB
Hey guys, I'm an Korean American applying to colleges. I'd like to get into IB / MBB Consulting in NYC. I am currently considering the following schools:
Amherst, Columbia GS (I am eligible), Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Grinnell, Harvard, Haverford, JHU, Pomona, Princeton, Swarthmore, UVA, UPenn, Wesleyan, Williams, and Yale.
Because I attended a university in Korea for 12 credits, I'm only eligible to apply to these colleges as a first-year student. I have okay stats(1580 SAT, 3.9 GPA, recruiting for D3 baseball, 7/250 for the whole class, 2/165 for humanities students, fluency in 5 languages), but considering that I attended a public high school makes me a overall weaker applicant.
Therefore, I'm also considering applying to Stony Brook Korea as a business management major and doing a minor in applied mathematics. I am aware that Stony Brook rarely places into Wall Street, but I feel like SBU Korea provides me with a chance to either
1. be close to Wall Street for a solid internship as a senior
2. graduate for a solid MBA placement in the US
What is the consensus for Stony Brook on Wall Street? Is there no representation at all? Also, if I were to apply to SBU, which major should I choose between business / technological management / applied mathematics and statistics?
honest answer: for ib recruiting, the school name matters more than almost anything else here. bb and eb recruiting in nyc is built around on-campus pipelines at a fixed set of schools, and stony brook (us or korea) is not one of them. there is some representation, but it is people who networked their way in, not campus recruiting.
with a 1580, 3.9 and d3 baseball recruiting you are a real applicant at the schools on your list, and several of them (upenn, harvard, yale, princeton, dartmouth, duke, columbia) are the core of the nyc ib pipeline. even the liberal arts ones (williams, amherst, swarthmore) place well per capita. public high school is not the weakness you think it is.
doing stony brook korea and fixing it later with an mba is the slow, expensive route. get into the strongest school you can first. major barely matters at a target - econ is the default, math/stats works too. same answer for mbb, they recruit off the same target list.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's what you need to know:
Target Schools for IB/MBB Consulting: Among the schools you're considering, institutions like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, UPenn (especially Wharton), Dartmouth, and Columbia are top-tier targets for investment banking (IB) and MBB consulting. These schools have strong alumni networks, on-campus recruiting, and a proven track record of placing students into NYC IB and consulting roles. Schools like Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore are also highly regarded, though they may require more proactive networking due to their smaller size and liberal arts focus.
Stony Brook University (SBU) Representation on Wall Street: Stony Brook is not traditionally considered a target or semi-target school for Wall Street. Placement into IB or MBB from SBU is rare and would require significant effort on your part, including networking, maintaining a stellar GPA, and securing relevant internships. The Korea campus may further limit your access to Wall Street opportunities unless you actively build connections and leverage internships in NYC.
Major Selection at SBU: If you decide to attend SBU Korea, choosing a major that aligns with quantitative and analytical skills would be advantageous. Between business, technological management, and applied mathematics/statistics:
Alternative Pathways:
Recommendation: If your ultimate goal is IB or MBB consulting in NYC, attending a target or semi-target school from your list (e.g., Harvard, UPenn, Dartmouth, Columbia) will significantly increase your chances. If you choose SBU Korea, focus on excelling academically, securing internships, and networking aggressively to overcome the non-target status.
Let me know if you'd like further insights on specific schools or strategies!
Sources: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/yale-vs-columbia-vs-nyu-stern-undergraduate?customgpt=1, The Comprehensive List of Transfer Friendly Schools For Investment Banking, Undergrad B-School Environment Changing, Berkeley vs Brown vs Stern, Undergrad: NYU Stern vs. Cornell A&S Econ
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