New to WSO (hs senior)
Hey WSO, I'm new to the finance world but I think I would be interested in an investment banking career and would like to work on the east coast. I'm not applying ed anywhere, but I'm just curious how these schools stack up against each other: IU Kelley, Duke, Cornell, Emory, UMich, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, and Northwestern. These are all my reaches and I would be blessed to get into any of them. Ill prob end up at my state school (UF) ngl tho lol. Would appreciate any advice for RD too as well (stats are 3.9 uw and 1560 sat). Thanks.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's how these schools stack up for investment banking (IB) placement and your goals of working on the East Coast:
1. IU Kelley
2. Duke
3. Cornell
4. Emory
5. UMich (Ross)
6. Vanderbilt
7. Georgetown
8. Northwestern
Advice for RD Applications
State School (UF)
Good luck with your applications! Let me know if you need more specific advice.
Sources: IU Kelley Prestige, Northwestern ECON vs IU Kelley vs Vanderbilt ECON, IU Kelley Investment Banking Workshop admission questions
I think you should also consider UVA, NYU, Columbia. GL.
Ok yeah ill add those 3 for sure. From my current list tho how would you compare those schools just want to get a sense so ik in the future. Thanks
Just curious... how are those all reaches with a 1590 and 3.9? Is it that rough out there these days?
I have a 1560 not 1590 but yeah lol i wld say its rly competitive nowadays... u need rly good essays and ecs to get into t25s unfortunately like its a lot more than just academics. Do you think I can get into schools like Umich, IU Kelley, Georgetown, and Duke? And how would those all compare in the ib indsutry (im assuming u work in it) and how important is it to go to a target? thanks
You should see some of the GPA's these days. I graduated highschool in 2023 and knew kids with 4.3, 4.4/4.0 GPA's. AP classes really have skewed what "Good" gpa is.
I would rank your schools like this.
Target: Northwestern/DukeCornell and then Georgetown/Umich (in no particular order)
Semi Target: Vanderbilt/Emory (in no particular order)
IU Kelley is an exciting school in the sense that if you get into the Investment Banking Workshop, you can get some excellent offers. If not, it's a non-target.
UF would also be a non-target/very low semi-target, but it does have an Evercore pipeline.
I would also add UVA, since it doesn't have any supplemental essays. Also, it doesn't hurt to add the rest of the Ivies, NYU, and possibly the top LACs, such as Williams and Amherst, since you will have plenty of time to write the essays. Remember, in college, it's always a numbers game, and at this point, it's so volatile that nobody can accurately gauge your chances anymore.
As for chancing your application, I'm not an admissions officer, so I can't give you much advice. I would recommend talking to your counselor, or if you have any family friends who have experience in the college admissions process, I would ask them. You seem like an excellent student—best of luck to you.
Thank you so much for your detailed advice. I will definitely add UVA and NYU and a few other ivies. Within the target bracket, just curious why you put NU, Cornell, Duke from a different tier than Georgetown and UMich. Where would UVA, NYU, and Berkeley go? Also I think I might apply ED2 to Vandy (rly like the school), but can you explain why its a semi target? Thanks
(1) They are in a different tier because they are more prestigious. If anybody had the choice between NU/Cornell/Duke and Georgetown/Umich, and cost wasn't a factor, everybody would choose the former —it's as simple as that.
(2) UVA, NYU, and Berkley are in the same caliber of school as Georgetown/Umich, but if you want a ranking, NYU>Georgetown>Umich>UVA>Berkley, or at least in my opinion for NYC recruiting.
(3) Vanderbilt is a semi-target because it doesn't place many kids into investment banking. If you do a LinkedIn search and filter by year, you'll see what I'm talking about.
(1) Your hit rate will be much higher if you EA/ED. I'd really think about your decision for that
(2) All the Ivies and equivalents will be a long shot even with a perfect profile. I'd shotgun approach them and focus on "targets" like Michigan, UVA, NYU Stern, etc. Safeties like IU Kelly is good too, along with UF. Check out UT Austin, UNC, etc too.
Yes, I agree with this. ED will help out a lot. Unless you are burdened financially, I would strongly suggest doing ED.
yeah ok imma do ed2 to vandy or chicago i like both of those
Oh yeah I'm doing ea to umich, uva, iu kelley, other safeties, and maybe uchicago. Theres not enough time for ed1 but i might ed2 to uchicago? How strong is Uchicago compared to like Duke, NYU, and Georgetown? I heard chicago rly likes ed applicants and i rly like their econ program and academic rigor. thanks
UChicago is probably equal to Duke and above NYU and Georgetown. Yes, you are correct that UChicago has a low yield rate, meaning many of the applicants who get in choose not to attend. If you think your application is up to par, going ED2 will serve as a fine starting point for a career in IB.
Candidly, if your information on these schools are at this level so close to the deadlines, I think you're in for a tough time. I'd sit down for a bit and figure out what you're looking for. If you don't, you'll end up at a mid-tier state school.
i will def add other ivies and uva, unc, and ut, and nyu thanks for that
Incoming an1 at an NYC BB coming from my state flagship so am definitely biased but I really think you should consider UF on a full ride (1560 SAT should give you that in FL right?)
Def would take an ivy/t10 school + gtown (fantastic network) if money was not a concern but even then try to find a place you'd really enjoy, people get caught up with prestige/recruiting and forget to have fun and enjoy themselves and end up regretting in the long run
It wouldnt be full ride for UF but it wld be cheap asf and my dad rly likes the idea of that. but he said if i do get into a rly rly good target school, he said he will pay the money bc he knows its worth it. so do you think outside of ivy, t10, georegtown (??), nyu stern (??) i shld just go to uf instead. cuz i feel like uf is guranteed. or shld i even go to a lower target (not sure what that wld be) or semi. thanks man!
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