List of Targets and Semi-Targets
First off, I just wanna say that this forum has more influence than you think. I know multiple suckers, including myself, who have based content on this forum as one of their major factors when considering which school to attend. As a rising high school senior, I'm looking for schools to apply to and I'm trying to find all the targets and semi-targets. Now there are dozens of threads similar to this, but none come to any sort of consensus. I'm gonna start off with my original list, but then I'm gonna edit this post based on all the comments that I hopefully will receive.
Targets (in no order):
-Harvard
-Princeton
-Yale
-Penn
-Dartmouth
-Columbia
-NYU
-Duke
-Cornell
-Stanford
-Michigan
-UVA
-Chicago
-Northwestern
-Georgetown
-Berkeley
-MIT
-Williams
Semi-Targets (in no order):
-Boston College
-Brown
-Vanderbilt
-WUSTL
-Rice
-UCLA
-Emory
-USC
-Tufts
-UNC
- Indiana
-Notre Dame
-Lehigh
-Miami of Ohio
-Amherst
-Middlebury
-UTexas-Austin
-SMU
-Washington & Lee
-Wake Forest
-Villanova
-UWisconsin-Madison
-Carnegie Mellon
4 Clarifications:
-I'm not include alternative majors/programs for all the schools, no Penn non-Wharton, no Michigan non-Ross, etc.
-Don't recommend the school you attend(ed), sorry, but too much bias
-I'm gonna alter the list based on feedback, if the person above you commented the same change you were thinking, please repeat it. Also throw bananas and shits generously.
-This list is very subjective, don't take it personal
I think Georgetown is a target.
Hey good luck, just went through the whole process and it can suck. Got into UVA at least..
Shit forgot all about them, will add. And yeaaa thanks. I would honestly love to go to UVA, elite school admission is ridiculous these days.
Go to UVA. You won't regret it. I've never met anyone who didn't have a blast there. One of my friends graduated from the Comm school and is working at Carlyle now making $150K as a 23 year old. Cville is dope also.
Yeah I'm attending- super excited
Not sure what defines a semi target but Deloitte targets William & Mary
Also note that your experience at a semi target may vary widely. Several of them have specialized IB groups. If you get in your options will be on par with targets. If not then SOL.
Quite surprised UVA, Northwestern and Georgetown beat out UC Berkeley. Not sure what's going on in your head.
Have you seen Cal's ranking for Haas Undergraduate or Econ?
OP is a rising senior. This post is his/her guess at targets vs. semi-targets, definitely not an accurate or complete list by any means.
Human condition: my ego got damaged and I failed to filter out the emotions in my response. I apologize.
In all seriousness though, I believe UC Berkeley's undergraduate Business and Econ degrees are consistently in the top ten [if not top five].
Would consider top liberal arts schools a semi-target too. Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, maybe Wesleyan. MIT semi-target. Not biased as a student of one of those, just know that there are solid OCR opportunities there. Might consider Brown a target, not semi.
Yeah I think MIT, Berkeley, and Brown are definitely targets.
OK it's updated for now, left some obvious schools out. And yea semi-target is really vague, but just gonna list schools that have some OCR/ decent alumni connection but not up to par to the targets. Thanks for the input so far.
Notre Dame could be considered a target, at least a semi target
additionally, region can really affect whether a school is a "semi target" or not, such as these: Texas - O&G banking Claremont - West Coast U. Washington - West Coast Illinois (same level as Indiana?) - Chicago
Notre Dame - strong semi-target or weak target (depending on how liberal your definition is) Texas - definitely semi-target Claremont - no idea, too small to tell U. Washington - doubt it, maybe a regional semi-target Illinois - definitely not on the same level as Indiana. Maybe a semi-target for Chicago, same goes for Wisconsin. Non-target elsewhere.
for texas and below i meant to imply that these are regional semi-targets
Definitely agree about CMC, highly disagree about UW as somebody originally from the Seattle area. Would also consider schools such as W&L and Colgate as semis. Maybe Pomona too given access to CMC?
Ultimately once you get to the bottom of the list for semi targets there really is no definitive cutoff. Some are more regional for sure.
Indiana- Kelley school of business can be considered a target. Tons of kids scattered across WS from there.
I'd consider Northwestern, Chicago, Fordham as semi targets. Brown, Vanderbilt, Amherst, Williams, Middlebury as targets. These are the only changes I'd make to the above list.
Chicago as semi-target...what?
Very few BB's recruited at Chicago when I worked in banking a few years ago. Might have changed since I don't keep up with where the BB's recruit these days.
Chicago and Northwestern are prob targets
Chicago is more of a target than northwestern by most metrics
Fordham? That's a major stretch.
I have seen Fordham kids everywhere on the street in the past. Maybe different nowadays but not really sure.
List is updated and expanding. Notre dame: is it a target or semi-target?
I'd toss SMU, W&L, Wake, Richmond all as semi targets. Place pretty well into BB's.
There's only one target, and that's Nepotism College
Surprised to see my alma mater (Miami) on the semi-target list.
no such thing as semi target
You should add all the Non-US schools. UK, France, etc
Either the bank / consulting firm comes to your school (therefore your school is a target for that specific firm) or it doesn't (your school is NOT a target for that specific firm). This applies in 99% of the cases (there's a few where a firm sets aside a specific school's resumes and looks at them but doesn't actively recruit or visit campus).
There's no such thing as a "semi target" or a "strong semi target" or a "weak target." At the end of the day, you're going to have to network if you want to work at a firm that doesn't come to your campus.
You are correct - schools are either targets or non-targets for certain banks. If you go to Harvard and every BB and EB recruits from your school, it's a target. If you go to Indiana - Kelley and 5 BBs and 3 EBs recruit from your school (just making this shit up off the top of my head), it's a semi-target. While 2 BBs, an EB and a few MMs recruit from my school I would consider it a non-target because it is clearly a tier below Indiana. Since there is a fairly distinct difference in the level of recruiting from these three schools they can be broken up into multiple tiers. I understand the point you're getting at but there is utility in creating labels based on the recruiting-level for each school.
Oh yeah Boston College baby. Maybe we can get one whole win in the ACC this year. If only..
lol @ va tech.
Edit: Whoops, read too fast, thought this was a comment about getting the whole ACC on the target/semi-target list.
Sorry but not gonna include non-US schools, I think I'll get minimal input.
OP do you even work on the street?
It is also worth considering another important factor: once you get outside HSP different schools will do better in certain areas. For example your top engineering schools(places like Georgia Tech and MIT) will produce few bankers but a good number of quants....and for good reason. The guys from there are usually on a whole different level compared to your standard finance/econ major when it comes to mathematical analytical ability.
I do go there, but still I think by definition (not that there really is one) Villanova is a semi-target. We get solid MM OCR and have a good presence in BB (I'd say at least ~10 per year go to BB IBD at least the past 5 years.)
Williams, Amherst, and Brown may not have a large number of grads enter finance, but they hold enough prestige so that any student with an inclination to get on Wall Street can do so with ease. For that reason I think all 3 are targets, but then again it depends how you define target.
Suprised Rutgers isn't up here at all. Although im currently attending and have 2 years left, I watched several of my friends do extremely well recently.
A few include: -JP Morgan Chase- 2 analysts and 1 who made it to the final interview -Goldman Sachs- 2 (sales & trading, loans) -Deloitte- 2 -EY- 2 -Consulting firm on Wall street- old roommate
Keep in mind, Rutgers is only a 45 minute train ride to NYC with a large alumni network. Other large banks host OCI's beginning in the fall, so I guess by that definition its at least semi-target..
Updated list, input is obviously slowing down, but that's expected, plus we have a pretty comprehensive list here.
@metronorthdude Read the second sentence
deflateyourballs Just curious, have you considered adding Carnegie Mellon to the semi target list? This report has them pretty high: http://news.efinancialcareers.com/us-en/199099/top-50-universities-gett…
Also if you've got Miami of Ohio I'm pretty sure you should add University of Wisconsin Madison as well
you're right, missed both
UIUC has solid placements in Chicago IB. Probably a semi target. Some of the top WSO members have vouched for it in the past.
Btw thanks for compiling this. As a rising senior myself, I've looked at similar lists in the past and this one seems the most comprehensive. This will be useful for the 15 and 16 year olds on this site.
How do Georgia, Clemson and UF compare to other semi target schools?
Low end for sure. Maybe ok if you're trying to stay in the south, but idk if they'd even be considered semi-target for NYC/Chicago/NE
UGA seems decent. http://ugasmif.com/analysts/
Great post. Pretty comprehensive list. I would say UNC-Chapel Hill should be a target (Rice as well, maybe?) You're also missing BU, Penn State for Semi Targets
I can't link to the post - not a primate yet :( but there is a thread on WSO about representation on the street from colleges. Georgetown topped HYP, Wharton at 10% Look it up.
What are considered the Canadian targets?
I would say Rotman/Ivey, Queens, McGill in that order (for toronto/NYC recruiting for BMO, RBC, CIBC). But I am curious about Vancouver/Calgary recruiting? Sauder, University of Calgary, Simon Fraser in that order?
Which US Schools are TARGET? (Originally Posted: 04/06/2012)
Ok so I keep reading in almost every post here on WSO that banks to recruiting at "target" schools, and I wanted to have someone please give me a list of all these schools in America? I'm from Europe and it interests me to see what schools would be on there.
Everyone has a different opinion. There are Target Schools and Regional Target Schools. Regional Target Schools dominate recruiting within the region of the school. Target Schools include Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Wharton, Stanford, NYU, Dartmouth, MIT, University of Chicago, etc. Semi Target Schools include Duke University, Emory, maybe Williams College? Regional Targets, which are often Semi-Targets as well, include UC Berkeley, UCLA, UT:Austin, etc.
Just the biggest and the best universities in the country: namely University of Phoenix and DeVry's Keller School of Management.
This is brilliant!
This is too freaking brilliant.
Not to pseudo hijack this thread, but I'm curious if you guys would hire someone from phoenix or devry if you were interviewing them? Say they somehow got an interview and killed it. They knew their shit, were sociable, etc., but went to phoenix. Would you auto kill them on the spot or not care considering they were smart and would be a good fit? When I was an analyst and interviewing for my group I actually interviewed someone from phoenix. No idea how their resume got through and how they got through HR, but there they were. I'm not gonna lie, they really knew their shit. We went super brutal on them in terms of technicals and there were hardly any missteps. I was kinda dumbfounded.
For the North East:
Targets would be Columbia / Yale / Princeton / Dartmouth / NYU / Harvard / MIT / UPENN
Semi-Targets/Regional Targets would be Villanova / Boston College / Bentley / UCONN / Baruch (prob. a few others)
Top US targets for London:
Harvard Wharton MIT Stanford Chicago Caltech Yale Princeton
Those schools + European targets made up most of my analyst class.
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/faq-what-are-target-non-target-and-semi-…
Illinois, Wisconsin, ant Texas could be added to regional target list. All targets for Chi/Hou and somewhat for NY.
Really depends on what level you are talking about. Are you talking about undergraduate or graduate?
If you are talking about undergrad wise, a few Canadians schools such as Queens, Ivey and McGill can be argued as being target schools and their placement is quite excellent. You might want to look into that as an alternate option.
For Canada. While I've seen some alumni in NY, they are about as common as Uconn grads.
Can all the Ivy's be considered targets? All the NESCAC? Patriot?
Came from a NESCAC school...Williams/Amherst are semi-targets. The rest you really have to hustle/network out of to get anything. Given that some of them are in the middle of nowhere, it is kinda tough to pull off but not impossible.
No one mentions West Point but I hear a WP degree has more clout than any other.
Anyone know if Carnegie Mellon is a target school?
Which of these schools would be considered semi-target? (Originally Posted: 04/09/2014)
I'm looking to apply to University of Rochester, College of the Holy Cross, University of Michigan (potentially Ross, but maybe Econ if I can't get into Ross), and Michigan State University. Which of these would be considered semi-target/target? I've been looking at Rochester more closely but it seems like their business school doesn't even get ranked on Bloomberg Businessweek so that's a concern.
none. ross is a target, but i wouldn't really even consider michigan econ a semi-target
Definitely go to Ross if you get in. It is far and away the best of all of the schools listed. If you aren't confident about your abilities to get into Ross, Michigan is probably still a better option than the rest, but none are really semi-targets even. Second to Michigan, I would probably say Univ. of Rochester is your next best bet.
Michigan is a target. Not getting into Ross would make recruiting really though and make it a non-target. I wouldn't consider MSU a target but I do know a few smart kids there have been getting good placement into the Street (i.e. BB -> megafund). Everything else you listed would definitely not be a target.
Wait, you said you were going to Michigan State on a different post today.
Ross is best bet, but as stated above, not getting into Ross would hurt you because you'd have to compete against Ross kids. If you can't get into Ross, I would say University of Rochester. Could be considered a semi-target.. very few larger banks but a fair amount of MM banks recruit there.
Which b-schools should I consider targets? (Originally Posted: 01/21/2015)
Any guidance would be much appreciated. Looking to break into an IB or capital markets associate role Here's my info:
BB S&T Analyst for 3 years Top 10 public university, summa cum laude (3.9 GPA) GMAT: 700 3 internships in undergrad: BB PWM, MM IB, BB S&T Lots of volunteer work the past 3 years and throughout undergrad
For admissions I would be considered an underrepresented minority (URM). I will be applying to the MBA business schools">M7 but I believe they will be reaches for me. I'm wondering how competitive I may be for Yale SOM, Johnson, Tuck, NYU.
You will get into MBA business schools">M7 if you have essays. If not then you will be competitive at all those schools you listed.
In what way "have essays"? as in have the ability to write? or have great topics...
He meant if your essays are good in general.
Schools have more lenience on essays if you're a 770/3.8 than if you're a 700/3.9
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