Best Investment Banking Schools
Investment banking is a field that requires more than an undergraduate degree. In order to get into the business you require a specific GPA, specialized expertise and a strong network. Many future financial professionals are unsure of which institutions can be the most beneficial to the pursuit of their dream job.
Bulge bracket investment banks generally recruit for their analyst and associate positions from a small group of universities. These are referred to as “target schools.” If you want to land an entry-level job at an investment bank, it’s vital that you attend one of these schools.
The top investment banking institutions are ones that consistently send a significant amount of graduates to the largest investment banks and have impressive numbers of undergrads being placed. Some of these schools have extracurricular activities or student groups that give students the chance to gain exposure to the industry like the Stern Finance Society and Booth’s renowned finance curriculum.
This year, Cornell is the best investment banking school followed by MIT, and Columbia. All three schools are Ivy League and have a tradition of sending their graduates to Wall Street. The University of Texas at Austin was also included on the list. Its McCombs School of Business has a finance degree and an Investment Banking track.
While you can still be accepted into a top investment bank even not attending an academic institution that is a target but it’s going to be much more difficult. The most likely route for non-target students is to sign with a regional middle market firm and then gradually lateralize to a bulge bracket.
