Best school in Texas for a job in Hedge Funds

I live in Houston and I'm going into my 2nd year of high school. I'm ultimately looking to prepare myself to live my dream and become an analyst in a medium to big sized hedge fund. I'm ranked 10th in my class out of ~660. I don't think I will be able to get into Yale or any of the main target schools. I'm looking mostly at UT Austin, A&M, or Rice University. If I go to UT or A&M my parents will pay the full price of my tuition, but if I go to Rice I will have to pay about half. Any feedback would be great!

 

Not sure if any of the Texas schools are going to give you the entry ticket into a top fund, nor would many of the ivy league school's. Alternatively, I would focus on Energy focused finance and get your first jobs in Energy I-banking down in Texas. Build the network, track record and industry expertise, then start thinking about pursuing your dream.

Although, if you really are a Sophomore in high school, you should probably focus on some other priorities...

 

I think taking the SAT and getting college acceptances is probably what you want to focus on. Maybe do some self reflection/exploration as to what you want from a HF experience anyways. Also consider working harder to get into a target if you really want it, I've been on Wharton's Career Site probably as often as ours (McCombs) if you exclude OCR.

One step at a time and such. Heck, I wanted to be a physicist until my senior year.

 
Best Response

sorry to hijack the thread OP, I don't have any insights on TX schools.

I'm just wondering when 15 & 16 year old boys started worrying about getting into a hedge fund moreso than getting a good junior prom date. is this a recent thing or have I just been raised in such an environment that I was oblivious to this all along?

 

SMU given the close proximity to Crescent Court. I've only seen a handful of hedge funds post on McCombs OCR in the past 3 years...and most were for jobs in Dallas. Although Austin has recently developed a decent sized buy-side presence.

Disclaimer for the Kids: Any forward-looking statements are solely for informational purposes and cannot be taken as investment advice. Consult your moms before deciding where to invest.
 

P.S. the only way you're going to land a hedge fund gig straight out of undergrad is if you find a PM who prefers to train his juniors from the ground up. Otherwise you will basically be a cost center for at least 1-1.5 years. Deciding on which school to attend in order to maximize your chances of making it to a HF is like deciding what bar to go to in order to get laid...there are a lot of intangibles at play that will ultimately determine your success. If you're going to do the 'traditional" undergrad-->ib-->HF route, pick UT.

Disclaimer for the Kids: Any forward-looking statements are solely for informational purposes and cannot be taken as investment advice. Consult your moms before deciding where to invest.
 

The finance professionals (including HF) I've met from Texas all seem to have gone to UT-Austin and Rice. SMU has a rich alumni network and good business program, and half the people in energy finance seem to have gone to A&M (College Station, not the other campuses). I'd say you have a decent chance of working your way into the business if you go to any of those 4 schools, but don't waste your time with anything else in Texas. As others mentioned, apply out of state as well.

 

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