Target schools for IB
I’m currently on the college application process and in need of advices regarding my school choices. I’m looking into IB for future career. Sorry I know this is kinda off-topic for this forum. However, my dream and goal is to work for one of the big investment banks after graduation, specifically in the investment banking department, so I want to know of any advice and things I should be doing in order to maximum my chances of one day landing a well-paid IB job.
I’ve already got accepted into Kelley, and I don’t know if I should apply to more schools or stuck with Kelley. Since Wharton and Stern seem impossible for me to get in, as well as other top business schools like Ross, Tepper, Johnson, and Haas, etc... should I just go with Kelley because it has sent many to the Street? So I don’t need to waste my money in application fees on applying other colleges that I know I’m not even attending. But, honestly the only reason I applied to Kelley is because of its representation on the Street, and it’s actually my safety school. I will definitely have regrets if I end up going to Kelley(because it’s my safety, and it’s a public school that’s not really well-known in my region), but in terms of career, Kelley is fine.
I want to enjoy my college life(because I didnt really enjoy high school), but I also do want to go a name-school because of my pride, but I know the risk will be that I can get depressed again due to stress.
Here’s a list of other colleges besides Kelley that I’m thinking to apply:
Emory(dream school!! but not confident in getting in)
NYU(cas)
USC (econ major)
Boston University
Boston College
University Wisconsin(Madison)
Lehigh
Smith College(All girls college, ranked #2 all girls school in the nation)
Case Western
I still haven’t made my mind up yet for my early decision 2 school. Among the schools I listed, could anyone rank them in terms of how “target” they are for IB? Or which might be easier to get an investment banking job after graduation?
Another question: does geographical location really matter? I’m based in Southern California, do I really need to go to east coast to find a high-paid job? My parents want me to stay close to home, so I was wondering do companies based in Cali offer similar salaries as those of in NYC.
I heard IB is tough and in fact my parents don’t want me to be a stressful investment banker...but I wanted to make a lot of money in the future to give back to my parents, who worked so hard to support my education. I come from a first-gen immigrant family.
Any suggestions or help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!
Most of the schools you mentioned (except 1-2) are all target/semi-target if you work hard you’ll get to IB.
College is one of the best years of your life go to a school that you think you’ll have the most fun/make memories at not which school will help you get into IB. So if you don’t really like IU apply to other places or else you’ll regret it if things don’t pan out.
Yes, college can be great years, but the reason you go to college is for the long-term career objective, not the short-term "fun". The "fun" advice is shortsighted. You can find fun at every university, so focus on the career objectives first, then the rest after.
Focus on the school that gets you to where you want to be professionally. Focus on target/semi-target schools for IB. WSO has a good database for that. "Investment Banking University Stats"
Good luck!
This guy gets it, facts over feelings.
Of course this forum upvotes this nerdy-ass hardo shit.
Thank you all for the answers! Just checked back the forum because I was busy during finals week.
Just checked back the forum because I was busy during finals week.Thank you all for the answer! Also I appreciate your honest suggestion. @Hamer"
From experience, BC CSOM is very good at placing into IB, S&T, and Consulting. Certainly one of the more underrated places where you can have a great college experience and set yourself up nicely for the future too. Reach out if you have any questions of the sorts!
Thank you for your input! The only thing that held me back is their academics. Somehow i feel like it will be easier to maintain a decent GPA at Kelley than at BC, but I dont know I'm still debating.
Thank you for your input! The only thing that held me back is their academics. Somehow i feel like it will be easier to maintain a decent GPA at Kelley than at BC, and from my understanding, Kelleys is more well-known to those big companies (?). I don't know... My dream school is Emory though, and so far I have accepted into Kelley and Pepperdine university in Malibu, California
There's been a lot of threads about this topic posted on this website, but here's a quick summary. Kelley is great if you are able to get into the IBW (which apparently is competitive and political, there's many threads on this site regarding the club), but the consensus is split if you are unable to get into the IBW. Boston College CSOM is a school that has seen significantly improved placements and many alumni on here have commented the school enjoys very good OCR. NYU Econ has many threads on here also, you'll be competing with the students from Stern but IB is still very doable apparently. UW-Madison appears to place well in Chicago and sends some kids to NY. I'm a current student at Case Western, IB is doable from here (I did it), but it's an uphill battle and the other schools I mentioned are much better options if you can get in.
California salaries are typically very similar to New York salaries. If you want to work in NY, an east coast school is a safer bet. If you want to work in California, a west coast school is a safer bet.
IB isn't the only path to making a lot of money. Just cause you might not make over $100k straight out of undergrad, doesn't mean that you can't make a ton of money in other fields. If you are prone to being stressed out and depressed, IB might not be the best option for you.
I’ve read that for interns CA is higher paying because of CA labor laws regarding overtime, any truth to that?
I am not familiar with SA pay for IB's in California, maybe someone else with more information can answer your question. In regards to NY and other locations, most interns are given pro-rated salaries, but some banks pay hourly and those interns can make a lot of money due to overtime pay. I would assume the same is true for California unless the labor laws state that salaried employees are not exempt from overtime.
Pay is higher. It's because CA interns get paid overtime & hourly vs prorated 85k in most other cities.
What other clear-cut ways are there to a 7-figure compensation?
I'm not sure there is such a thing as a clear-cut path to 7-figures. If you want to make 7-figures in IB you have to be a pretty good MD, and that's a lot easier said than done (most people will never make it to MD). In PE, you have to make it to the MD/Partner level, which again is much easier said than done. Being a PM at a Hedge Fund or an Asset Management firm might give you a chance depending on your AUM, but these positions are very difficult to come by. Other fields to consider are being a specialized Doctor, making it as a partner in a law firm, or starting your own successful business. Again, these are all time-consuming paths that most people will never successfully achieve. You can live a very successful and fulfilling life without making 7-figures, don't allow money to motivate your decision making in life, that's a sure fire way to live an unhappy life.
OP is a girl. Any girl that does some interview prep can get an IB job in Kelley, solid chance even her sophomore summer. However, it will be tougher to get IB in California as Kelley mostly feeds to New York and Chicago for IB.
The girls in this year's class are heading to Goldman, Evercore, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, BAML, Barclays, Citi, Jefferies, Rothschild, and Blair
Why is it easier for girls to get jobs in IB?
Would you rather sit across some pimply fucking nerd from Wharton or a dime from USC or Lehigh?
A serious answer to this question is due to the diversity initiatives many banks have implemented to diversify their employee demographics in IBD. Sophomore internships are almost exclusively filled by diversity candidates, which makes those interns more competitive for junior internships. Even without a sophomore internship, diversity candidates are more likely to get an interview for a junior internship. You still have to perform well in the interview though (hence why the poster above me specified interview prep).
Repeal the 19th amendment!
Thank you so much for your thorough answer! I recently just got accepted into Pepperdine University in Malibu,CA and am debating between working in SoCal or NYC. I personally wanted to stay in California merely because of its nice weather, and I'm not sure if I could handle the winter in east coast. Would you suggest working in east coast or west coast if I'm looking into IB? If I go to Pepperdine, will I be able to secure a good IB job in Cali? Or should I go with Kelley because it's experienced and has sent many to the Street? Thanks in advance!
You can certainly get a good IB experience on the west coast. San Fran is very strong for Tech and LA is strong for Media. Moelis LA gets a lot of love on here and Houlihan Lokey has some strong groups out in Cali. Most people on this site will agree that the east coast is stronger for banking, but you can still get a good experience on the west coast if that's what you prefer.
I personally do not know anything about Pepperdine, so I am unable to comment about the school's placement into IB. In regards to Kelley, like another user said above, it mostly places into Chicago and NY so I'm not sure how possible west coast placements are from there. I would suggest you reach out to career services at Pepperdine and ask them about placements, they'll probably give you a bias answer, so definitely do a linkedin search as well for alumni placements.
If you want to work on the west coast, the best schools would be Berkeley, USC, UCLA, Claremont McKenna, and obviously Stanford. But banking is possible from any school if you network well and hard enough. And as stated above, you will have access to diversity events and internships that will make you a more competitive candidate as long as you prepare well
Kelley is a great school and places a lot for IB, but there is a huge side to the school a lot of people miss out on. The courses are very hard and a lot of people drop the program the first or second year. A lot of people who went there had trouble finding a good job, and kept getting rejected from internships, even at the Big 4. One friend of mine got rejected from a store management internship at Target (this may be a bit on the worse side, he was probably overqualified). Do not think this school will be a Target or even semi Target for IB (unless you are in IB network). So if you don’t get into the IB or IM workshop, you are going to be pretty much screwed. From what I hear, program is very competitive too.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great school, especially if you can get into the IB network. Just be careful. I will gladly eat monkey shit for this comment.
Thank you so much for showing me the other side of Kelley! It helped me out a lot! I wouldn't know this if you didn't comment.
This is very accurate. A ton of friends from high school went there and only the top 5% or so of Kelley grads end up placing at top firms and they are pretty much strictly confined to being workshop members wether it be consulting workshop, IBW, IMW, etc.. otherwise you will stuck at a big4 or worse.
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