Which non-target has the best placement?
What is the best non-target school to break into high finance? (I know it may be a circular question)
What is the best non-target school to break into high finance? (I know it may be a circular question)
Career Resources
Career Advancement Opportunities
July 2026 Investment Banking
Overall Employee Satisfaction
July 2026 Investment Banking
Professional Growth Opportunities
July 2026 Investment Banking
Total Avg Compensation
July 2026 Investment Banking
“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”
Leaderboard
| 1 | 99.2 | |
| 2 | 99.0 | |
| 3 | 99.0 | |
| 4 | 99.0 | |
| 5 | 98.9 | |
| 6 | 98.9 | |
| 7 | 98.9 | |
| 8 | 98.9 | |
| 9 | 98.9 | |
| 10 | 98.8 |
“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Baruch is a good choice.
Fordham-many place in BB
SEC schools like UF, Vanderbilt, and UGA have solid placement if your in certain clubs
Brother, Vanderbilt is a top 15 school and already sends tons to NYC
Not American, so could be entirely off the mark here, but isn't this a somewhat redundant question? If a non-target placed well then would it not be a semi-target or regular target?
Genuinely not trying to come across as an ass here - this is a genuine question and I fully comprehend that I could be entirely off the mark. The whole target school thing is less pronounced in my much smaller domestic market (essentially only 3-4 schools where I'm at place consistently, with the others being pretty much a diceroll in terms of how many if any will place).
Oddly enough Northeastern had pretty awesome placement this year among a lot of the EB’s, will caveat not as much among BB’s though. Placed at banks such as Moe/EVR/PWP/Gugg/LT/JPM/FTP/BofA/etc.
People throwing MS should learn the functionality of a LinkedIn search
Least obvious Northeastern mf
Yeah, obviously I wasn't trying to hide that I attend Northeastern you moron. OP was asking for schools that have good placement and I offered this years' placement among my school. What I posted is true and verifiable by a simple LinkedIn search. Worth providing a holistic list of non-targets that may be within OP's reach if he is looking. Just trying to be helpful
Went to NEU and second this. I didn’t land an IB role personally but I was able to interview and make it to final rounds at several respectable IBs w a ~3.4 GPA - Raymond James/Citizens/MS/Jefferies. Ended up doing all of my co-ops at regional PE/VC firms (yes on the investing side ;) not back office)
Nescac schools do well in placement especially with EBs
How about SUNYs?
IMO Hamilton (so many GS alum) or Colgate (fratty/finance culture, lots of alum for school it’s size).
That's like asking which Scandinavian country has the best horse racing jockeys
Tulane is solid
I went to a UC school and I have seen students get a lot more interviews than in past years. I think IB is a lot more accessible now with so much information freely available online.
I went to Santa Barbara. I have also run into a couple people from Irvine and Davis who made it in. Historically we would send 2-3 per year to alright banks. Last two years has been 5-10 summer analysts. You still have to play the networking game but it seems banks have been more receptive to giving first round interviews.
Positive development imo. Gives students more viable options even if they found their interest in finance after getting to college. You don’t have to just go do big 4 accounting.
Nova
My school (George Washington) places relatively well into GS for kids who are actually willing to work hard in recruiting, though few are actually willing to do so hence poor placement. I find that students who actually care tend to get something
Ohio State
Big state schools always send a couple kids each year
Georgetown
Yale
Just know that a lot of non targets at BBs or EBs are diversity hires.
Apart from all the jokes, IU has been killing it lately. 200+ Wall Street placements per year (in AM, LMM PE, IB (many of which are small boutiques tho), S&T, ER, PWM, ect). Tons of freshmen have boutique IB/LMM PE/HF internships, pretty nice place to be if you fucked around in high school w shit grades & SAT score but wanna get serious about life in college. Could very well be a semi-target in the next decade if IU leadership plays its cards right by lowering acceptance rates and increasing standards for business school.
My analyst class was full of IU guys.
IU Kelley already is a semi-target because of its IB workshop. At this point, industry connections matter a lot more than selectivity for target or semi-target status
What’s the workshop’s criteria?
Morehouse and Howard
Not anymore, byebye affirmative action and diversity programs!
Oh lord you will bring Chucky-DickCheese into the thread
They are high targets, just HBCUs.
non-Williams LACs like Midd, Bowdoin, Amherst
I def think at least Amherst and Midd are semis-- non targets are usually easy to get into, while these schools have >10% acceptance rate. Proportionally these schools place super well (also consider lack of interest in finance at these schools)
Kenyon College
I got in at a top MM from a private school with a 85% acceptance. Go to the school that is the best fit for you to succeed based off atmosphere and the people you'll be surrounded by.It's more about the person than the school. Kids that come from non targets tend to be the grittiest and most technically sound people I've met in this industry. Meanwhile I've interned with Harvard kids who quit 2 weeks in cause the hours were too tough and had to teach Columbia kids how to open excel. Indiana University despite not being a traditional target, everyone I've worked with from there was sharp. Not a IU Kelly kid I swear lmfao. Go where you'll succeed. While a top school helps, it doesn't make up for work ethic and genuine interest in the space.
Disclaimer: I’m a white guy who grew up in a lower middle class home. So not diversity as well.
Isn't this a paradox? By definition, a 'non-target with good placement' will be at least a semi-target.
Ut omnis dolor unde et impedit in eaque ratione. Eveniet quidem assumenda officia qui fugit sit expedita odio. Enim suscipit aut cupiditate quis facere laborum.
Autem cum est incidunt commodi. Repellat laboriosam assumenda aperiam repellat fuga qui quia. Aspernatur quisquam voluptatem cumque est. Ut similique sapiente aut perferendis debitis vitae. Quis consectetur id nemo est nobis magni.
Ratione nemo qui ducimus tenetur ut. Doloribus enim aperiam fugiat quae. Voluptates et consectetur sunt omnis occaecati omnis voluptatem est. Nobis et at minima quasi. Nemo asperiores rerum iusto laboriosam qui sunt. In excepturi qui velit accusamus maiores tempora odio.
Nisi corporis exercitationem voluptatem enim ducimus cumque eum. Animi ut ad dolores. Aliquam architecto fugit et ut cumque tenetur. Adipisci ea facilis aut. Dolorem et omnis omnis architecto ut nihil deleniti. Nulla praesentium quia facilis in harum qui.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Deleniti non magnam aspernatur laboriosam sit officiis. Neque laborum vero blanditiis ipsa amet. Porro deleniti ut ut et aut temporibus minima.
Sint cumque expedita sequi repellendus quia illo quia. Molestiae nihil cupiditate exercitationem dolorum. Iste est mollitia mollitia rerum consequatur et. Esse incidunt fugit quae qui veritatis. Velit voluptatibus voluptatem et cumque. Rerum rerum sunt quis officiis. Ut fugiat quae illum sed tenetur.
Nam ut recusandae modi distinctio molestiae. Non sit odit at voluptatibus.