UT vs USC vs Vanderbilt vs Emory for Undergrad
Hello, I'm an high schooler who was just accepted into UT Austin, Emory, Vanderbilt, and USC. My intended career is IB; I was wondering which school would be the best option for a career in investment banking. UT will cost 30k per year, and the other 3 will cost between 40 and 50k per year probably. Please let me know in terms of Wall street (NYC investment banking) as well as Houston investment banking; I'm not really sure where I want to work yet. Thank you so much!
Vanderbilt I would say is the most recruited from for IB if not UT Austin. If you want to be on the east coast, e.g. NYC banking then go to the school most on the east coast. Sure you can move, I knew a girl at USC who did an IB internship at GS in Utah then FT in NYC. However, you want to increase chances, and make things easier on yourself. If it was me, I'd choose Vanderbilt.
I’d vote for USC, but then again I go there... Semitarget for NYC, target for west coast. It’s also adult Disneyland. Vanderbilt is probably a good balance between NYC and Dallas. UT obviously is great for Texas- probably the best. Emory isn’t my cup of tea and I don’t know much about it.
For NYC it probably all of them just above Emory. For Texas it would probably be UT>USC> candy/Emory For west coast USC>UT>Vandy>Emory
USC is probably the most overrated school in the country. Super expensive, looked down upon in Cali, and does not recruit well in IB.
Yeah u for sure go to or went to either UCLA, UCSB or Berkeley
I attend UT Austin. It is by far the best bang for your buck if you are an in state student. It has a very strong finance orgs on campus, and a pipeline to NYC through Wall Street For McCombs and the Investment Banking Association. It is a competitive process, as it is with any other school, but UT has a strong finance community for IB.
The business school is also stronger than that of the other three in terms of resources and opportunities from what I have heard (not sure though)
UT of course places much more into Houston as well.
Given the state of things, and unless you are ultra passionate about O&G and Houston, I would not factor in that location in your decision.
I've lived on both coasts--Vandy has the best reputation and "prestige" nationwide. I understand UT's perception in the south and in Texas but nationwide is different. If money isn't a factor and you don't have a preference for the west coast, Vanderbilt seems like a no brainer.
For Houston hands down UT. 30k is a lot for a public school though, and while the other options are really expensive, they aren't significantly more than UT. But UT doesn't place nearly as well in NY.
Emory is a nice school, but placement is weak compared to the other schools on the list. You'd probably have a good experience going there though.
USC is a great feeder for west coast offices, but you seem more interested in NY and Houston, where USC is much weaker. True some people place in NY every year but no more than Emory.
Vanderbilt is probably your best bet. Definitely a solid semitarget. Good placement. But most importantly, the best balance. It's an SEC school, you'll have a great time there. But at the same time you're not sacrificing anything in terms of recruitment going there.