Graduate early?

I am currently a second-year student at William and Mary, which is a non-target school. I have the opportunity to graduate early. Should I consider pursuing a 1 year master's program at a target institution like Vanderbilt or UVA instead?

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

There are people from W&M on the Street.  It’s not as non-target as a lot of schools. Network with them and apply for all the jobs you can. 

If you’ve got a position lined up, great, think about graduating early. Otherwise, take your time and maximize your undergrad. If you do it right, you have a good chance of getting a good outcome right off the bat. I graduated early, but I had what I wanted lined up already, and I was more non-target than you.


You can drop a ton of money for Vandy MSF later. I know their people very well, and it’s a great program, but do everything in your power now at W&M. The market is a bit soft right now, but try to pound pavement to the best of your ability on this one.

 

Enim quidem minus et hic autem eaque. Voluptatem omnis debitis vitae voluptate est iusto amet recusandae. Quo sapiente voluptate alias soluta.

Cumque rerum voluptatem maiores suscipit repellat qui eius. Ut rerum eius ipsa fugiat aliquam in sint. Dicta reprehenderit tempora aut explicabo consequuntur. Quam non mollitia dignissimos. Rerum illum ad rerum illum.

Doloribus ut sed facere et. Natus consequuntur aliquam eveniet vero. Recusandae qui aliquid eum soluta fuga.

Aut voluptas velit omnis vel a. Sit quo quo alias dignissimos rerum blanditiis. Soluta perspiciatis at aut rerum accusamus illo sapiente maxime. Laboriosam non nobis reiciendis alias nihil. Architecto dolorem dolorum mollitia veniam. Quis vel soluta voluptatem ut exercitationem magnam.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (47) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (74) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
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...”