Investment Banking Target Schools: Target vs Non-Target Tier List
The target, semi-target, and non-target school tiers for investment banking recruiting, and how much your school actually matters for breaking in.
The Hard Truth
Investment banking recruiting is elitist. Banks allocate limited recruiting budgets to schools with proven analyst pipelines.
Target School: Banks recruit on campus. Non-Core: You cold email 500 bankers for one phone call.
The School Tier List
Tier 1: Super Targets
Direct feeders to Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and elite boutiques (Evercore, Centerview).
| Category | Schools |
|---|---|
| Ivies | Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Wharton (UPenn), Columbia, Dartmouth |
| Non-Ivies | Stanford, MIT, Duke, UChicago |
Tier 2: Targets
Interviews are attainable. Competition intensifies for top groups.
| Category | Schools |
|---|---|
| Private | Georgetown, NYU (Stern), Cornell, Brown, Northwestern, Notre Dame |
| Public | UMich (Ross), UVA (McIntire), UC Berkeley (Haas) |
Tier 3: Semi-Targets
Alumni exist on the Street. No guaranteed interview slots. Networking is mandatory.
UT Austin, UNC Chapel Hill, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Emory, Indiana (Kelley), Carnegie Mellon.
Tier 4: Non-Cores
Everyone else.
Online applications are ignored. Use the Side Door method: Networking, cold emailing, and specialized student clubs.
Validating Your Status
- Open LinkedIn.
- Search:
"Investment Banking Analyst" + [Your School Name] - Filter by recent activity or review profiles directly.
Threshold: Fewer than 50 alumni in IB indicates Non-Core status. Start networking immediately.
For the complete recruiting framework, read How to Know If You're Cut.