Target vs. Semi-Target — Does It Still Matter After IB?
Say you’re at a top IB (EVR, GS, JPM, CVP, etc). When recruiting for PE, or later on for hedge funds or other roles across financial services, does your college still carry as much weight? In other words, does going to a target like Columbia/Penn/Duke/Dartmouth still give you an edge over semis like Notre Dame/UMich/Georgetown/UVA (even though the latter arguably have stronger alumni networks)?
Or once you’ve landed the top job, does pedigree matter less, and people stop questioning your ability to perform?
Always been curious about this.
Discussed a little while back here https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/megafund-pe-placement-by-bank-and-schoolthe post provides data, there is discussion in the comments.
I think that there was an even better post with significantly better data/discussion than this one just a couple days after the post I linked, but I can’t find it anymore. I will look later and link that if I find it.
This thread is the better one. "The Real Large-Cap Corporate PE Placement By Bank" from 5/25/2025:
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/the-real-large-cap-corporate-pe-placement-by-bank.
It doesn't include a school by school breakdown, but I think I remember it being discussed in the comments.
Yes, that is somewhat informative, but my question is more wondering if under the assumption you land an elite IB job, does that diminish or drown out the value of your undergrad (assuming a T25 no matter what), since that elite IB job provides more credibility?
My question is more aiming at the fact: will a job at Goldman TMT, etc., eclipse your undergrad if you're coming from a semi versus a target, or does school always play a role when recruiters are looking at how talented you are?
Georgetown and semi target is crazy. Good one, kid.
Lol - Georgetown, while it has a few successful global heads, isn’t remotely comparable to true targets like Wharton, Princeton, Dartmouth, or Duke. Placement is heavily nepotism-driven and only a small fraction of students actually land well.
You are so out of touch with reality it is concerning.
I’m not saying Georgetown is a bad school - it’s one of the best in the world for politics, and yes, very solid for NY finance too. But due to the extremely wealthy student body - 22% of students come from the top 1% of earners (14% at Princeton) - and the heavy relationship-based recruiting, I’d argue it’s much harder for the average student to break in from Georgetown than from a place like Princeton or Yale, where if you have a 3.7+, you’re pretty much guaranteed a few top interviews.
The majority of kids at Georgetown are gunning for IB. That’s not the case at schools like Harvard or Princeton. That competition alone makes outcomes harder. That’s why I used the term semi-target: still easily top 20 for IB, just not one of the absolute top feeders.
Don’t take my word for it, but I’ve heard that PE placement places heavy emphasis on ivy/top target and the further up you go, H/W/S will benefit you the most.
Is Georgetown a top target in your opinion?
I just want to preface that Im a prospect for UK IB so not an expert by any means, but gtown is definitely a target idk if it’s a top target though.
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