What business schools to apply for to be an investment banking associate?

Looking to get my MBA to be an investment banking associate.

Should I just apply to the top 20 business schools?

Looking to eventually work on the west coast, preferably in southern California. (So would USC or UCLA be my best options? Or does location of the school not matter that much and would somewhere like Duke get me job opportunities on the west coast?)

I have an electrical engineering degree from UCSD. 3.01 major gpa and 3.44 overall gpa. 1 years work experience and I'm 26. - Thanks in advance.

8 Comments
 

Standard rule of thumb is to get into the best B-school you can (top 15-20) or a good regional recruiting target (USC qualifies, and is also a solid B-school) in the area you want to work. You're a little short on work exp, but some more WE + good GMAT + good story/recs, and you'll be competitive.

 

If I were you I'd definitely consider Berkeley, UCLA and USC. You'd might be able to get scholarships at USC & UCLA with a strong gmat score.

In Southern California there's definitely a lot of guys with Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA and USC degrees, but there is also a fair amount of guys with Penn, NYU, Michigan and Ivy League degrees. Personally, I'd go to the best MBA you can get into then network your tail off to get into the LA office. However, if it comes down to say UCLA vs. Duke; you may wanna go with UCLA for location. Although there are plenty of Duke grads in SoCal.

 

Haas and Anderson both have great placements in banking. You can't go wrong with either one for the west coast.

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 

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