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Do you like Houston?
Don’t hate it. Would prefer Dallas but I know most of the banking jobs are in Houston. The upside for Nashville is the healthcare IB offices which seems like a growth sector relative to oil and gas. I know McCombs is great in TX and higher ranked so I’m leaning that direction.
Del
If you’re interested in NYC maybe consider schools like UVA, Duke, Mich where you’ll have a good shot of getting an IB gig in any location.
mccombs is much stronger than owen’s as a brand
McCombs
If you're comparing the two programs, McCombs is the stronger school and places better. I get that Vandy has this appeal due to their great MSF program. But the analyst and associate pipeline is fairly different and Vandy just isn't as established on the MBA side as McCombs is.
If you want IB and are thinking of these two schools, I would also apply to: Stern and Johnson. Both have a great NYC IB pipeline.
Best of luck!
UT for anything in Texas, Vandy for anything in “Midwest.” UT will also place in NYC. Can’t speak on UG there (not familiar), but know that their MBA/ Business school is highly respected and falls in the top 15-20 across the board. Plus who doesn’t like Austin, as opposed to wherever Vanderbilt is?
McCombs has done a lot in recent years in bolstering the pipeline of MBA bankers to non-Houston locations and I would go so far as to say I think you will see in your class or soon thereafter that the majority flips to non-Houston. Opportunity set out of powerhouse state school vs elite private also vastly different: much larger and broader alumni base.
This is what I’m saying. Good school
Self-explanatory but you can just search alumni from both schools in IB on LinkedIn and see what is out there.. when choosing my MBA program I even got on a quick call (I cold emailed off Linkedin) with alum at a MM firm that I loved before I committed to the program to see what his experience was like there (I was very lucky he was chill and took the call - obviously that isn't the case sometimes).
Most students doing one year MSF generally recruit for analyst spots vs full time MBAs and associate spots. Seems like a crucial detail thats missing here.
Thanks for the comments - I've been accepted to both schools and feel like I know where I'm heading. Totally understand the difference between MSF recruiting and MBA but didn't know if there was a similar pipeline for associates.
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