How do you know that you're in a "target school"?

A lot of you mention that you are/aren't in a "target" school. How do you know that you are in one (i.e. companies always come to your school for presentations, perhaps?), or could anyone provide a list of the targets?

Thanks in advance.

 

if you havent seen BB banks at your school this fall, you're not at a target.(ie, your not at an ivy, MIT, DUKE, etc) Dont be discouraged, you just have to work a little harder. You really have to go out and utilize your alum network because no one will be coming to you.

 

as the old adage goes, "if you have to ask..."

But seriously, a target means that a company is spending lots of money to specifically recruit from your school. They probably have a long standing relationship with the career services department and will hold 1st and sometimes 2nd round interviews on your campus.

The list of targets varies by company (sometimes you can figure this out from their website under "event calendar" or something), but always includes the Ivies and most schools at the top of the US News rankings.

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Best Response

For you to lump Michigan in with Indiana and WashU is an insult. WashU and Indiana do rep the BB, but not all of the banks come there to interview. At Michigan, every BB comes to visit and hires for S&T and IBD.

And as for the question, this has and will be debated a lot on this board, but my personal definition is: a school where all the major/BB banks recruit, and hire, undergraduates for their analyst classes. If "most" or "almost" all the banks come to your school, you are a semi-target.

 

From the confident swagger of the econ majors.

From the electric feeling of power in the air.

From the look on people's faces when you tell them where you go to school.

From the hatred harbored by the townies and locals toward the students at your school.

Believe me - you'll know.

[by the way, to the guy who wrote "DUKE" in all caps: you're a tool]

_______________________________________ http://www.drmarkklein.blogspot.com/
 

Despite the sheer amount people from "target" schools working at BBs I-Banks, they are suprisingly overrated. Don't get me wrong the top kids at the top schools are a head and shoulders above everyone else. Those kids work at the top groups at GS, MS, Blackstone, KKR, and TPG. However,(as an example) the kid from Harvard who works in Consumer Products at UBS is not on the same level. Lots of senior bankers who are alums of Harvard and Yale recruit there largely because they went there, despite the fact that they can't recruit top caliber kids. In fact, at two banks I have worked at "non-target" kids have had a higher SA offer rate (obviously though in fewer cases)than their "target" counterparts. In fact, I think the "second rate" target schools of UVA and UMich provide the best all around analysts I have seen. Point of it all if you are a Harvard or Yale graduate and you work at DB, BS, or UBS...whats your excuse?

Mark Klein: You are a tool...

 
I-banker2007:
Despite the sheer amount people from "target" schools working at BBs I-Banks, they are suprisingly overrated. Don't get me wrong the top kids at the top schools are a head and shoulders above everyone else. Those kids work at the top groups at GS, MS, Blackstone, KKR, and TPG. However,(as an example) the kid from Harvard who works in Consumer Products at UBS is not on the same level. Lots of senior bankers who are alums of Harvard and Yale recruit there largely because they went there, despite the fact that they can't recruit top caliber kids. In fact, at two banks I have worked at "non-target" kids have had a higher SA offer rate (obviously though in fewer cases)than their "target" counterparts. In fact, I think the "second rate" target schools of UVA and UMich provide the best all around analysts I have seen. Point of it all if you are a Harvard or Yale graduate and you work at DB, BS, or UBS...whats your excuse?

Mark Klein: You are a tool...

I don't understand your point here. Naturally, not everyone who goes to a target can work for a top group. Just like everywhere else, there are differing levels of ability among students at top schools. Therefore, why is it surprising that those students who aren't top of their class end up working for those "lower-tier" BBs you mention? Also, perhaps "non-target" kids have higher offer rates because their employers know that those people are more likely to join full-time, given their relative lack of contacts and on-campus interview opportunities. Let's say that I made it to GS's final round for SA without receiving an offer and ended up joining BS for the summer and received a full-time offer after the summer. As a target student, I will be inclined to give GS and other firms one more shot when they come to campus for full-time before getting back to BS. I don't think that non-target students have this built-in menu of options.

 

If you don't know whether your school is a target then you probably don't go to one.

But this year, I don't think it mattered. I actually think being at a target may have hurt me as so many kids already had and accepted offers from their SA. As a college athlete I worked at a boutique in New Haven so I could lift with teamates. Several banks told me they could not take any more Yale kids since they already had a ton of summers from Yale and then cut back their FT recruiting this year.

I have several friends at UT Austin who got jobs with banks who did not even interview here this year.

 

i second the "if you have to ask" point.

but it is best to think about the situation in different terms. as mentioned, there are really only 10 surefire targets. and i would argue 5 (harvard, wharton, princeton, michigan, virginia,), but that is neither here nor there. think about which banks invest in your campus - presentations, sponsor clubs/events, resume drops, etc. while there are only a handful of places that every bank goes to, there are a lot of places where a critical mass (3-4) BB will go.

you have a solid chance of interviewing in IB - BB, MM, etc - if you go to a school that has 3-4 BB invested, so think about it in those terms not target or not target.

 
ea_cupivit:
Thanks for the replies!

How do banks think of Liberal Arts colleges?

Amherst and Williams are targets... lots of recruiting, and also less competition, since the students are less pre-professional. Maybe Swarthmore and Middlebury too. I know of people from Pomona, Bowdoin, Carleton, etc. doing very well. The loyalty of the alumni network is a huge factor in itself.

 

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