Investment Banks target schools?

I'm currently a Senior in high school with college applications around the corner.

I plan on going into investment banking after getting my college degree. I've been told by countless amounts of people on how stressful and competitive it is. So no need to reiterate that to me, I'm aware that the chances of breaking into IB are slim but achievable with a lot of work and dedication. I'm here to ask what college might benefit me the most in terms of internships, connections, and recruiters going to that particular school.

I've been reading through these forums about what people constitute a target school to be. 

There're a countless amount of lists and opinions spread around the internet on which schools belong in which category. 

The question I came here to ask whoever might be reading this is the following. Out of this list how would you rank the following schools when it comes to breaking into IB (target, semi-target, not a target).

-Penn State (Smeal)

-Ohio State (Fisher)

-Indiana (Kelly)

-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Gies)

-A&M (Mayes)

-SMU (Cox)

-Bentley U

- UVA

- Chapel Hill

-USC

-UT at Austin

-Boston College

-Notre Dame

This list is somewhat extensive so even if you don't know where some of these schools might place; I would appreciate any knowledge on anyone of these colleges. Thanks for your time to whom ever responds.

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Houston recruits UT heavily. Just about every single bank with an office in Houston (which is most of them) holds info sessions around March-April where you get the chance to learn about X bank and network with current bankers. These are great ways to improve your chances at scoring first round interviews which fall on a set date in mid-late April if I remember correctly.

While I do have friends who received NY offers it is definitely more strenuous, as NY tends to be more competitive and hardo in general, and also doesn’t have as much of a set timeline as Houston recruiting does. However there is a program called Wall Street for Mccombs (WSFM) which is extremely difficult to get into, but if you are able to earn a spot it significantly increases your chances of getting a NY offer. On the other hand, there is a program called IBA which is a bit less sweaty than WSFM and focuses more on assisting with Houston recruitment. All in all, UT Austin is a great place to be and McCombs is a great business school that opens ample opportunities across a wide array of industries. Good luck.

 

Voluptates doloribus quo alias cumque sequi ut labore. Quos id unde dolores laboriosam. Possimus optio soluta sapiente eum ut.

Quia enim earum iure ut recusandae. Laborum sit esse pariatur et eos dolor repudiandae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”