Is McComb's Business School of UT Austin a good school to get an investment banking job?

Thanks! But if someone doesn't get accepted into the Business Honors Program but can still attend McCombs, is it futile looking for a career in investment banking (regardless of location)?

wow this guy sounds exactly like me, but I promise you right now this isn't me as another poster lol.

But basically (since I asked similar stuff), what I gather is that McCombs is decent, and BHP is top-notch. You have to be the best at McCombs, but from there, you can still get into BB, M/B/B, etc. Most of the jobs are in Texas, but I mean even if you hate Texas, just stick it out for 6-7 years (including undergrad), then get a top MBA and move elsewhere. Plus UT would have a good socal scene, etc. as well, which is a huge plus. Others can chime in though b/c I'm still not an expert on my own school yet (sad huh)

Lot's of UT people on energy trading floors if that interests you at all.

I love UT. My brother goes there, he is not a BHP but has a near perfect GPA at McCombs. Every BB and a few MM banks recruit there. Plus, Austin is an awesome city.

You dont need any other other reasons to go. You won't regret going there, I can almost guarantee that.

UT has recruiters from both NY & Houston. The majority is from Houston, but there is still many individuals that go to NY for ibanking each year.

Can you get investment banking or consulting jobs in chicago from UT? I somehow want to work in Chicago way more than NYC and definitely more than Houston.

BY being in the BHP program, a student takes special classes which are meant to be more difficult and advanced. These student are the best of the best....kind of like GT or PRE-AP classes in high school and their major is Business Honors. The FAP is a program were any finance major can apply and run a special budget of the school. It is hard to get into and a student lasts for a year and a half.

Lots of UT-Austin kids in my analyst class. 3 of them are in Houston doing oil/gas, a couple more got S&T and IBD gigs in NYC. Compared to a lot of other semi-targets, it's got an unbelievable college atmosphere. Great weather, beautiful girls, amazing sports, and Austin is a helluva a college town. Could do a lot worse than UT, especially if you get into BHP.

texas is one of the best schools to go to if you want to have a balance between a great college experience and banking ops as well. the business school really preps students well for ibd, especially with the FAP program. in my opinion, the FAP tag is even stronger than BHP when it comes to recruiting for banks. some companies actually ask the head of FAP directly for recommended recruits.

i'm not sure about international experience, other than several students that have done internships abroad in london, singapore, and hk. i feel that UT does not have a high degree of direct international recruiting exposure, however you can definitely get there on your own if you make the effort.

as far as placement goes, if you are interested in houston offices, UT is hands down the place to go. it blows away rice and a&m in terms of preparation for the position, esp since those regional offices are looking for technical skills. for ny, there are clear opportunities with each bank as well. UT's alumni base in NY is huge, and UT regularly places 1-2 kids in each BB each year. Same for boutiques like Lazard, Greenhill, Evercore, Blackstone, etc as well.

overall, texas will give you not only a great college experience with its parties and live music, but you'll also find plenty of opportunities.

I attended UT-Austin and pretty much the majority of my business school friends got IBD positions (Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Wachovia, Goldman Sachs). While most were in BHP, a few were not but had excellent GPAs and were in the FAP program.

Most of them took Energy positions in Houston.

Career Services does a great job with placement. BHP and a top GPA, and you can write your ticket to anywhere. If you want to stay in Texas, there are a ton of energy-related i-Banking jobs (including trading floors) in Houston.

Also agree 100% with the statements about Austin - great town, college atmosphere, three lakes, sixth street, good looking women, you name it... the hardest part will be for you to keep from being distracted and keep your GPA up.

I don't know about Chicago recruiting, though - are you trying to trade ags and softs? Otherwise Chicago seems a little show from an i-Banking standpoint.

UT Austin feeds well into most of the big investment banks and also has a superabundance of very attractive women. I work in DFW but am all about the weekend excursions to Austin.

Are there a lot of SA's for BB comming out of UT austin ... what about sophomore rotationals

Search function bro

FWIW UT has this weird connection with Goldman Sachs and sends multiple people (NY, SF and Houston) annually.

Why do you want to do IB?

You're at minimum 4 years away...and why do you want to work at GS? My god when I was in HS and even my first 3 years of college all I did was enjoy life and party...trust me you will have plenty of time to worry about this "grown-up" stuff later on...that's my advice

"I want to work preferably at Goldman Sachs"

LOL

Again, most of this is answered on this board. Good chunk of the BBs recruit, EVR likes us as well. BHP/FAP help. Banker comp is standard. Banking is competitive.

Also please do something interesting with your summer/free time. It'll help you more than anything on this board will before soph year of college.

LOL at your username.

I'm impartial to finance but knowing a few UT guys, I think you'll be fine either way brotha. hook em

McCombs is great. As long as you stay focused and keep your GPA up you should be fine. If you do well enough after your freshman year, consider applying to BHP. Extremely prestigious - I've known people who have gotten great ibd interviews just based off the fact that they're in BHP. Look to join a finance org as well (UIA, USIT, UCF, etc.) I'm more partial to UIA because nearly all of their executive members have gone into IBD. Hook 'em!

Hook 'em and congrats on getting into McCombs! Echoing the others, try to get into BHP if you can. It's a wonderful program. You can't go wrong with either accounting or finance, but finance seems to have more interesting options within, like energy finance. Granted, you could take energy courses even if you're not a finance major. Definitely try for FAP or any of the other student orgs. The alumni network is also unparalleled, so you're in a great place.

Enjoy your summer and good luck with freshman year!

change your picture and get a new account...

no need to double major - waste of time. Time better spent elsewhere. and please work on your social skills while in college...thats probably your #1 weakness right now if I had to take a guess.

presentation skills, confidence, charisma, getting laid... all that should be your focus

workout...get somewhat jacked...go to pool parties

^ I second what zeroblued said. Don't double major, it really doesn't add any value. Instead you should take GPA boosting classes. Go finance instead of accounting. FAP gives you crazy connections. Work on your social skills because whether you like it or not your interviewer will look at you and give you the offer based on if they like your or not.

I would do finance personally. You'll be wasting a year doing the MPA program if you want to do investmenr banking. Don't know many MPA kids in banking here in houston.

Two people I went to high school with are in the 5 year mpa program at McCombs took the Investment Banking route. One them had so many credits and managed to finish the program in 4 years of them did local boutique IB internships their second year summer, Citi Houston IBD their third summer, and got GS NY FT.

The other one took the normal 5 year route. Second year summer did Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch, then third year summer did Financial Reporting at GS NY, and now will be doing Greenhill or Jefferies (not sure) IBD Houston for his"fourth summer".

The extra year is what you make of it. Personally I think its great because it can work in your favor as an extra summer internship to build up experience to break into a great bank like the latter person mentioned above (notice the progression from BO to FO slowly).

So all in all IB is definitely possible out of MPA. According to them the BB offices (Houston at least) seem to have a more considerate GPA cutoff since they are MPA students. Also keep in mind with most of the MPA kids aiming for Big 4//MBB/F500 that leaves less "competition" for IB from the MPA pool, but then again you will be vying for spots against the BHP guys.

^ good point. For some reason I was thinking of the 1-year MPA program, not the 5-year.

I know of/know people from UT Austin have gone to Greenhill, Evercore, Guggenheim in NYC, and GS SF. If you network and work hard, you'll be fine. BHP is an outstanding program.

.

UT is recruited. Aren't you in McCombs? Just go to the Ford Career Center and ask. Don't you have friends? You should have been overhearing about their interviews.

Yes, I'm in McCombs...I know UT is recruited, but I was wondering how much a necessity of a 3.9/4.0 would be. I know people(honestly, not many) who have gotten BB jobs in NYC, but I did not know their grades, prior experience, etc...

Plenty of McCombs students get IB jobs in Houston, which is why I want to know the differences between working inside/outside NYC.

The different between a 3.8 and a 3.9 is marginal. If it's within that range, they will look for other factors to differentiate.

Most people from UT in NYC IBD are in business honors.

Yep. I know JPM looks at UT kids.

UT non-BHP places really well in Houston IBD. Btw, I'm pretty sure I know who the OP is.

Tooleveraged,

???

Thanks for the advice guys.

hook em