Sales and Trade Schools
I'm currently a high school senior and I'm done applying to college. I wanted to know if the same schools that considered IB target schools are also sale and trade target schools? I don't see much about sales and trade target schools. For my specific situation is Kelley or UW-Madison of any good for sales and trade? I've also applied to UC Berkeley and UCLA which I find out about later and Claremont Mckenna. I think Berkeley is great for sales and trade, but I don't really know much about the others. For Kelley all I hear is its IBW workshop is insane and even if you don't make that their are other workshops that can help you land a job. Anyways, I would appreciate any advice, thanks for reading.
When it comes to Sales and Trading (S&T), the target schools can differ slightly from those for Investment Banking (IB). While IB tends to focus heavily on traditional target schools with strong alumni networks in banking, S&T often values quantitative skills, market knowledge, and networking, which can be found across a broader range of schools.
Kelley School of Business (Indiana University):
Kelley is widely recognized for its Investment Banking Workshop (IBW), but it also has other strong programs and workshops that can help you break into S&T. While Kelley may not be a traditional S&T target school, its robust finance curriculum and alumni network in finance can still provide opportunities, especially if you leverage its workshops and networking resources effectively.
University of Wisconsin-Madison:
UW-Madison is not typically considered a target school for S&T, but it has a solid reputation in finance and offers resources that could help you break into the field. If you’re proactive in networking and gaining relevant skills, you can still position yourself well for S&T roles.
UC Berkeley:
UC Berkeley is an excellent choice for S&T. Its proximity to financial hubs and strong quantitative programs make it a strong contender. Berkeley’s alumni network and reputation in finance are significant advantages.
UCLA:
UCLA is another strong option, particularly for West Coast opportunities in S&T. While it may not be as prominent as Berkeley for finance, it still has a solid reputation and alumni network that can help you break into the field.
Claremont McKenna:
Claremont McKenna has a strong focus on economics and finance, and its small size allows for close connections with professors and alumni. While it may not be a traditional S&T target, its rigorous academics and networking opportunities can still make it a viable option.
Final Thoughts:
For S&T, schools like UC Berkeley and UCLA are stronger options due to their quantitative focus and proximity to financial hubs. Kelley and UW-Madison can still provide opportunities, but you’ll need to be proactive in networking and leveraging their resources. If you’re aiming for S&T, focus on developing strong quantitative skills, market knowledge, and networking, regardless of the school you attend.
Sources: How To Get Into IB From Kelley, Berkeley vs UW Seattle, IU Kelley Transfer Prospects, Why does IU Kelley get so much hate despite being a top ranked school?, Wisconsin is apparently shutting down their MBA program
Imo they're essentially the same list, unless you're specifically going for quant roles, in which case I think schools like MIT, Cal Tech, and Princeton are your best shot, but those are targets(besides Cal tech) for IB as well.
If you're targeting like commods desks or TDPs at supermajors, then you'll want to head down south, preferably a school like Rice. In any case, if a bank goes to your school to recruit for IB, they're also on the lookout for S&T, because S&T is part of IB(Just not the IBD that WSO holds near and dear to its heart).
I don't think I'm going to be trying for quant roles, probably derivates trading or something like that. I wonder if location of the school matters more for Sales and Trade because of market open. Would a school closer to the East Coast provide with me a huge increase in my chances. For example, UC Berkeley or Cornell. For those two would Cornell be a lot better because of the location? (I live in California btw and ideally would like to find a job in California, but not a big deal just a preference because of weather lol)
Well, UC Berkley to Cornell is not exactly an apples-to-apples- comparison lol. I mean both are great schools but we're talking about Cornell here.
I don't think location doesn't matter as far as it when the markets open. If you want to stay in LA/Cali, I'd would go to Haas. It's a fine enough school to do what you want to do and plenty of firms go there to recruit. I agree with Mr.Dimonkey down below. S&T rewards students from all kinds of schools, hell, some guys don't even have a college degree.
I think s&t is broadly more "scrappy" and especially on the trading side, you eat what you kill in pnl and as long as you can prove you know your stuff and still go fight for networking opportunities, the meaning of a target is far less substantial than it is for IB. You'll discover a lot of people in s&t who didn't come from glamorous schools but are just as intelligent and top notch traders. clearly depends on asset class and frequency/latency too
I appreciate the response, I think as of right now I'm looking into derivates trading probably not anything like quant. Considering that do you still think that my school would not matter as much as IB or for derivates trading would I need to be coming from a decent school?
I don't think you got my point. You need to be technically sharp and detail-oriented if you want to succeed in trading. You get a decent bit of financial fundamentals from being at a decent business school, but you need to find/fill opportunities, knowledge gaps, in-roads to be top notch (financial math, social intelligence, connections) compared to the entire graduating class trying to enter the workforce no matter where you go to school. Ivy+ has probably a better starting point as others mentioned but it doesn't get anyone to the offer automatically.
Two details to clean up if you want to convince anyone trading is for you, or you know what you're talking about:
You got a lot of learning to do. Good on you for starting early
if you want to be in derivatives (especially on the trading side) study a stem subject and rank your schools that way
Interesting, so would you consider a school like Purdue or Georgia Tech to also be a decent school for sales and trade?
Just trying to get into Ivy and equivalents, major in Applied Math / Statistics and take some relevant CS courses.
Top STEM focused schools are also good. You have mentioned a few, like Georgia Tech or CMC. May also consider Carnegie Mellon, Harvey Mudd, etc.
Would you consider Baruch a good school for sales and trade? Its not the best undergrad, but they have a pretty reputable MFE program and I'm not sure if that translates to their undergrad being decent in the same thing?
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