Cornell Dyson vs USC (undergrad)

  • The goal is west coast banking, specifically LA.
  • Would prefer going to USC over Cornell (location, girls, culture)
  • Got half tuition off at USC, no aid from Cornell
  • I know Cornell is much more of a target than USC, but heard some great things about USC's placement on the west coast. Would it be dumb to turn down an ivy?
39 Comments
 

It’s not that Cornell is more of a target than USC, it’s that USC isn’t a target to begin with. Sounds like an easy choice to me

 

Ignore whoever made that comment above, I was in your shoes - had to choose between USC, Michigan Ross, Stern and Cornell. At the time I didn't even know what investment banking was but chose USC for a lot of the same reasons you mentioned and ended up at a top BB in NY.

If you want to do West Coast banking, USC is a target for almost any firm, this past cycle has PJT Tech M&A, Moelis LA, CS LA, GS TMT, CVP, EVC Menlo etc. If your on your shit and have a good GPA with good internships/EC's you would get a look from any firm in the west coast. If you wanna do NY IB, I would urge you to choose Cornell. I personally was able to break into NY IB from USC but it was extremely difficult as we are a non/semi target in NY due to the fact that majority of people stay in LA/SF. 

 

If I was in your shoes this would be an easy decision. Culturally, USC >>> Cornell (way better weather, way more fun, girls are not comparable). What would tip the scales would be if you wanted to work on the East Coast - but since you know you want to do West Coast banking, USC will set you up very well for SF/LA recruiting.

EDIT: Not to mention you'll be paying half the price at USC. Jesus, this shouldn't be close

 
Controversial

Do not listen to these USC frat clowns...

Cornell is a target. USC is not.

The number of Cornellians on the street is not just slightly but literal multiples higher than that of USC.

I swear the tools at USC must’ve discovered WSO for the first time in the past few days because the amount of USC-promoting garbage has been unreal. Only a USC student would ever speak positively about a program like Marshall. What you see on display in this thread is the tard-cult... ahem... i mean the “trojan family”

 
Most Helpful

Yes, Cornell is a target for NY IB.

Yes, USC is not a target for NY IB.

However if you could fucking read that's not what OP asked - he asked which is better for LA/SF IB and if USC was a target in the West Coast, which the answer is yes.

Taking a look at your recent hate towards USC explains everything - sorry you couldn't get in bud.

 

That's awesome, thanks for sharing.

You're not going far in life with this attitude thinking you're better than someone because you go to Georgetown (personally wouldn't even consider this an option if it was free). Regardless, going on a online form to shit on a whole school might be the most egotistical/douchey thing I've seen. I hope for your own good that you change and develop a larger perspective on life than the ranking or how much of a target your school is.

You should hope that no-one finds out who you are cause you will be blacklisted from firms. Cheers kid. 

 

Always surprises me to see people act this way online. I'm ok with people lying about their stats, admissions, school's placement, etc... but the amount of disrespect and rudeness you seem to show is unbelievable.

You hide behind an anonymous name thinking your invisible and yet you have managed to reveal your school, your grad year, where in the country u went to high school, that it was a private high school with an endowment students could manage, your majors, your minor, what clubs at your college you're involved with, your interest in fintech (and apparently some fintech start up), and the two schools you were ultimately deciding between, amongst other things. Not to mention that if someone wanted to they could easily trace your IP address. 

Keep acting this way and one day you're going to piss off the wrong person. Everyone has a few friends at your undergrad b-school, myself included. All it takes is for one person on this forum who is sick of your shit to send a few text messages and suddenly everyone knows who you really are. Give helpful advice or get off this website- dont ruin your career before it begins  

 

Oh what ur gonna expose me by sending some screenshots of me dogging on USC to some rando MSB students and suddenly my career is gonna be over?

Ur a fucking dumbass, dude.

And good luck getting my IP dipshit

 

No actually. Someone is gonna send them to a parent who's high-up in Ibanking, or maybe someone could just submit some anonymous screenshots to any bank. They'll drop you for messing up a technical, nevermind "USC boys are too busy r@ping women."

And keep acting like you don't care, but I can see you going back right now deleting your offensive or personal comments. Don't worry, this is the internet- they'll exist forever. 

 
Funniest

Hey Scott - I would highly advise you to redact your posts because I found out who you are in less than 5 minutes. I don't give a fuck but someone will actually blacklist you, finance is a small world. 

 

Can we find out who this kid is? 

Interned with a few MSB kids at my BB last summer, surely they could blacklist him

 

Since you want to do West Coast banking specifically then you should be fine at USC. I wouldn't listen to most of these guys trashing Cornell though. If you do your research then you'd find that Cornell has a ridiculous alumni presence and is a target for every investment bank. Definitely possible to get into a West Coast firm from Cornell though, not to mention you'll have much better chances at East Coast firms in the event that West Coast recruiting doesn't work out.

 

Cornell alumnus here. I loved it and know that Cornell accelerated my ability to end up where I am.

USC is not a target, but if you're entrepreneurial, you can make something happen. You will have to work harder and you may find LA more distracting than Ithaca.

Use LinkedIn and check the alumni base of your top banks. If you don't find a lot of USC grads, your odds may be lower.

 

If you are sure you want to do a career in LA or on the West Coast, USC will be more than fine as it's probably the most common target banking school here. You can easily do BB/EB in LA -> MF / UMM PE from USC.

And no offense, but there are some dogwater takes from non-verified users here. Trust the people actually making the hiring decisions (me, lapike, etc.) and not a non-verified "Intern in IB - Gen"

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

I'd look at it this way if it were me (I go to neither): You are smart enough to get into Cornell so worst case you will perform well at USC if it is as bad as all the people trashing it say. It is a target for West Coast banking with recently people at HL RX, Moelis LA, PJT SF, GS TMT, EVR Tech, etc,. If u have ur shit together you will be alright. 

However if you go to USC, make sure you join TIS and get into the mentorship program and you will do just fine: https://trojaninvestingsociety.com/ 

If money matters to you and you want to be on the West Coast, USC will serve you well. If was Wharton vs USC, perhaps it is a different conversation. I think the tuition difference is pretty key but not for all families and West Coast placements between USC and Cornell will be similar, perhaps even better for USC. 

 

Et voluptatum occaecati a nobis deleniti voluptate fuga sit. Provident velit non numquam officia accusamus eos. Est numquam ipsum ullam ipsam aspernatur qui id.

Quia animi eum cumque. Distinctio dolorem quas ipsa labore magni. Magnam velit libero veritatis earum maiores.

Ut ipsa pariatur doloribus facilis voluptas perferendis voluptas rerum. Perspiciatis vero ea dignissimos nobis pariatur tenetur numquam odio. Illum eos animi ex recusandae voluptas.

Placeat nobis aliquid id voluptatem atque et perspiciatis nobis. Repellendus dignissimos qui laboriosam voluptate minus quaerat.

 

Placeat sit id et illum saepe. Et ea voluptatem hic minima sit sed quia. Recusandae necessitatibus sapiente assumenda commodi et.

Soluta est quia tempore esse blanditiis ullam dolor. Harum omnis ut numquam. Cupiditate voluptatibus labore repudiandae ex esse tempore voluptates id. Qui officia dicta error. Voluptas consequatur ratione voluptatum rem blanditiis fugit sit ut.

Autem nemo sapiente voluptatem eligendi quam et nemo nobis. Sed corrupti impedit voluptatem et et. Pariatur maiores ipsa consectetur aspernatur maxime dolorem cupiditate. Quas aspernatur quasi totam expedita quia velit.

Itaque vitae odio quos et cumque cumque tempora. Cupiditate sint voluptatem error unde ducimus in.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”