Gtown vs. Vandy vs. UVA vs. Wake Forest vs. Emory

UVA. End of discussion.

The college experience itself aside? I'd say that's the most important thing to consider for the ages of 18-22. Look you're on WSO as a high school senior. If you apply the things you learn here, attend any of these schools, and make a 3.5+, you'll be well on your way to getting an IBD SA gig.

That said, of your listed choices, I'd say Vandy and UVA offer the best OCR opportunities. All the schools have a pretty solid alumni base on wall street though.

I'd go UVA, with Gtown 2nd.

For IB I would go Gtown > UVA > Emory > Vanderbilt > Wake Forest. Gtown does incredibly well on the street- particularly at JPM, MS, and GS. UVA also does well, though to be honest I have seen more Darden students than UVA undergrads. Can't go wrong with either. After those 2 a big drop- as for Wake Forest haven't seen anyone represented in NY, though I'd imagine they have placement at Wells in Charlotte and some of the other southern banks.

At the very least it would be super close between Gtown and UVA, not a "UVA end of discussion" by any means.

I agree. Georgetown hands down.

In my BB I see lots of Gtown kids.

Georgetown is great for undergrad recruiting into IBD, merely okay for graduate. I think UVA and Georgetown are both solid choices so pick between the two based on money and how you like the schools.

Which would you like better, City, or college town? Is one markedly closer to home? Georgetown vs UVA.

/thread

If this is undergrad, Georgetown is far and away your best bet.

UVA hands down if you can get into McIntire, otherwise Gtown

There are quite a few wake forest alums at JPM, GS and Barclays -- not quite sure what Black Jack was talking about. Of the BBs, JPM, GS, Barclays and Citi actively recruit wake students and most others have taken students recently for IBD/S&T. Very loyal alumni base.

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Well said tonychokerromo. My sentiments exactly. Georgetown 1st choice, but if instate choose UVA.

Thanks for the great responses guys, I really appreciate it. One question though - why are Vandy and Emory not as prestigious in this regard? they both have comparable, if not more selective admissions statistics.

I have no clue about Vandy and Wake Forrest, and Gtown/UVA has been covered pretty extensively.

However, RE Emory. They're a strong target for Lazard (takes 2-3 kids a year from what I remember) and the king of southeast if you're not obsessed with NYC. You'll live like a king making 100k in any southeast city as a first year analyst, and my friends there definitely work less on a whole.

Also, the kids from my high school who went to Emory were honestly not that bright. I don't think it'll be hard to shine there relative to your classmates. They have a decent alumni base, and if you network, I don't see why you wouldn't have a shot at most of the BB's (not as much of an alumni base regarding EB's).

Plus, if finances are an issue, Emory has the best financial aid program out of these schools from my recollection.

Disclosure: got into emory and turned them down.

gtown has best placement of those schools

Definitely Georgetown. People saying UVA are clueless; UVA is good but Georgetown gets great recruiting.

Recruiting at Georgetown is retarded, I looked at my buddy's on campus recruiting and every single bank you can think of recruits heavily from there.

http://careercenter.georgetown.edu/document/1242785463822/class-of-2012…

check that out, specifically the info starting on page 20

Georgetown will have the best placement into NYC. UVA (if McIntire) places very well also. Not as strong in NYC as Georgetown. Emory will place well in the Southeast, but simply isn't as finance oriented as the others. Vandy struggles because of its location (Nashville is fun, but not a finance hub). I still know a good amount of guys from Vandy that ended up in banking, though (Atlanta, NYC, Charlotte). WF (if Calloway, or whatever it is called now) places very well in Charlotte (B of A, Wells, Jef real estate, some boutiques) and has some people scattered at the BBs in NYC.

All of these are great schools. It's weird that a high school senior would already have their heart set on IB in NYC, but if that's the case I think Georgetown and UVA are your best bet. The other 3 will offer great opportunities, but primarily south of the Mason Dixon.

OP keep in mind this is regarding how much of a target a school is for IBD vs. academic/educational quality and the overall prestige of the school.

With that in mind, in terms of IBD recruiting it is easily: Georgetown > UVA > Emory > Vandy > WF

While these schools are pretty much on par in academic quality more or less, banks do not come to all of them equally. The main part here is location. Although UVA is located in the south it still has a strong presence from the street as its MBA program is top notch (easily best MBA program in this list) and the UG program benefits from this.

I am familiar with Emory OCR and the only BBs/elite shops that actively recruit there for IBD are Citi (capital markets origination) and Lazard. Other banks that consider Emory a target are BMO, HLHZ, SunTrust, Robert W. Baird, Raymond James, and few other regional banks. To make it up to NYC you really need to network and land interviews without ocr if you are looking at shops like JPM/MS/GS. Not a lot of people from Emory end up at GS/MS but JPM/BAML/WF are well represented.

If you're gunning for NY, do Georgetown.

gtown

Go to UVA and have fun and don't worry about any (real or perceived) marginal difference in recruiting.

I don't think that cooldurg's analysis is indicative of "marginal difference in recruiting" but is instead perhaps a wide spread between the schools.

Not sure why everyone thinks Emory recruiting doesn't have good access to top banks in NYC. Did my undergrad there, and its like 80/20 for bankers who end up in NYC vs. everywhere else, including Atlanta (I am included in the 80% who ended up in NYC after graduation). OCR is very active for banking; I was even on the other side of the table, interviewing [and hiring] numerous Emory students (FT and internships) to my former team. Can't say I knew many people who wanted banking and didn't get it (well, I suppose some went into BO/MO roles). Consulting recruiting, on the other hand, was surprisingly more scarce. All that said, if you don't go to/get into Goizueta, it becomes a serious uphill battle without networking.

And Atlanta seriously kicks ass. I'd take it over any of those locations, but could justify Nashville or DC (though ATL is much cheaper and easier to live in that DC).

Bottom line, go to the school you are most comfortable at, in the city you'd most enjoy. It's 4 of the best years of your life and a major financial investment, so you damn well better enjoy it. Just work hard, prepare for interviews, get engaged on campus, and network. If you're committed to putting in the work to stay towards the top of your class, you can land an analyst role from any of those schools.

Gtown>UVA>emoryy>vandy>Wake -my unbiased answer

Thanks again for your tremendous insight guys. Really appreciate it. learned a lot

Georgetown without a question is the best of those. .. .. UVA/Vandy take a not too far but definitely not close second. Emory right below UVA/Vandy. .. .. .. .. .. Wake Forest is way down here. Sorry, compared to these four schools, Wake Forest doesn't stand a chance.