Wall St. MBA Rankings?
Interested in people's thoughts from people in the know/work on Wall St. in NYC in IN, Pe, or Hedge Funds.
If you had to rank MBA programs by number of people represented IN Finance jobs on Wall Street in NYC (investment bankers, traders, pe, hedge funds), how would you rank the top 15 or top 25 MBA programs?
What would the ranking be if we changed the ranking criteria to the likelihood earning an MBA from a specific MBA program would allow you to land a job on Wall Street in NYC (investment banking/pe/hedge funds)?
Also, for each ranking, I would love to see the ranking broken out into tiers - sample could be something like:
1. Highly Represented/Very Likely
2. Decent Representation/Decent Likelihood
3. Moderate Representation/Doable, But Requires Extra Effort vs Those Ranked Above it
4. Almost No Representation/Possibility, But Requires a Not-Insignificant Amount of Luck, Along with Hard Work to Earn a Job on Wall Street
5. No Representation (or only a handful such that the representation is basically zero)/Almost No Shot to Work on Wall St in NYC unless you work extremely hard and have an extreme amount of luck/lucky connections
And finally, what would you say would be the maximum age cutoff generally speaking for someone to earn a job in Wall St in NYC in IB, PE, or Hedge Funds? (Age securing an internship/age starting to work the job on Wall St in NYC?)
Is the answer different if you have prior Finance experience, like FP&A?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's a breakdown of MBA rankings and insights for Wall Street representation in NYC across investment banking, private equity, and hedge funds:
MBA Rankings for Wall Street Representation
1. Highly Represented/Very Likely
These schools dominate Wall Street representation, with strong alumni networks and consistent placement in IB, PE, and hedge funds: - Harvard Business School (HBS) - Stanford GSB - Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) - Columbia Business School (CBS) - Chicago Booth - MIT Sloan
2. Decent Representation/Decent Likelihood
These schools have solid representation, but may not match the top-tier schools in terms of alumni presence or access to elite finance roles: - Northwestern Kellogg - Dartmouth Tuck - Berkeley Haas - Yale SOM - Duke Fuqua - Michigan Ross
3. Moderate Representation/Doable, But Requires Extra Effort
These schools can lead to Wall Street roles, but candidates often need to work harder to stand out: - NYU Stern (notable for strong NYC connections) - Cornell Johnson - UCLA Anderson - Virginia Darden - Texas McCombs
4. Almost No Representation/Possibility, But Requires Luck and Hard Work
These schools have limited representation on Wall Street, and breaking in often requires exceptional effort or unique circumstances: - UNC Kenan-Flagler - Carnegie Mellon Tepper - Georgetown McDonough - Emory Goizueta
5. No Representation/Almost No Shot
Schools outside the top 20-25 MBA programs generally fall into this category. Representation is minimal, and breaking into Wall Street from these programs is extremely rare without significant connections or luck.
Maximum Age Cutoff for Wall Street Roles
Impact of Prior Finance Experience
If you have prior finance experience (e.g., FP&A), the age cutoff may extend slightly, as your experience can offset age concerns. However, breaking into PE or HF from non-traditional finance roles still requires significant networking and effort.
Key Takeaways
Sources: Linkedin research on Tier 2 US mbas, What I've learned so far after 1 yr at a top MBA program (If I could do it over):
I’m an an1, so you can take what I say with a grain of salt, but I have seen that HBS is the best broadly, with GSB being the best if you plan on working in tech for the rest of your career. Both can open a lot of doors for you.
IMO a MBA from a non HYPSW isn’t worth the opportunity cost, you’d be better off just working.
Yeah love that Princeton MBA.....
I meant Ivy tier universities. It seriously can’t be that hard to put 2+2 together
Most common feeders into IB that I can think of are (in no particular order) Columbia, NYU, Cornell, Chicago, Wharton, HBS, Tuck and to a lesser extent Northwestern, UCLA, MIT.
HBS/GSB are in a class of their own for PE opportunities, with Wharton being a step down but still head and shoulders above the rest. After those three it's less the school than the candidate (though some would argue it's because of the candidates that those schools get the placements).
For investment banking, Wharton, CBS, Booth, Cornell and NYU are the top five feeder programs. Wharton, CBS and Booth will differentiate a little within that set for placement into top firms/groups but these five send the most every year.
HF's aren't as big on recruiting MBAs so not as many datapoints. I'm sure HSW do well, and would just throw CBS into that mix as well given their value investing program seems to place well into public markets.
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