All great suggestions and I would add Holy Cross, Fordham, William and Mary as some other schools that punch above their perceived weight.
I would however ask again what are you looking for in terms of academic and community setting for your college experience? This info will make it easier to suggest schools that lend themselves to IB but also “fit” your goal.
May I also ask given you have done some research what about IB appeals to you and if there is a specific type of IB you are interested in? I ask this because there are some major misconceptions about the profession and huge differences between say M&A and FM roles.
If you would prefer not to go down this rabbit hole I respect your privacy but here to try and help.
I want a big school where I can join clubs and have fun. A school where I’m surrounded by hard working people that can still have lots of fun.
I think the appeal of IB for me is being able to work on deals in a fast paced environment. Right now, I’m interested in M&A and would love to learn more about these processes from the advisory role. Obviously I’m still young so I’m not gonna get ahead of myself and plan too far. If I do my analyst stint and I like it, then I’ll stay, but if I don’t, then I’ll explore the other opportunities like PE, VC. As I grow up, my interests will probably change, but as of right now, I want to explore how these companies interact with the market, raise funds, etc. and IB is the best place to do that.
and money, the money is a pretty cool bonus too
SMU has a FEW merit scholarships this big but the people I know who have received them had higher GPAs than OP (sorry). They do offer lots of other generous scholarships but most are not enough to get COA down to 40k
And yes it’s too much IMHO. Lots of horror stories.
You have inexpensive, quality in state schools - don’t knock UH Bauer. There are folks from there in IB roles, per the LinkedIn profiles. And they have a club at school. While it might not be the best place to launch your career ( and entry into a best place school might not exist), in most cases, debt makes something not best. It has to be paid back.
But IU might be worthy too. They have some merit. Not enough to hit budget but get closer.
If your transcript shows a 3.8 as you say it does, you’d be in. It’s very large - but seems like you’re ok with that.
As for IU affordability, I noted - it will get closer (but not quite there). Don’t forget, it’s possible to get merit aid - but usually $5-10K-ish.
OP is talking about crazy (to me anyway) debt - and perhaps IU has some off campus housing that could be had for less.
The current IU COA is $41890 + $13894 room and board.
The books at $1250 is unknown - my kids (neither business) likely didn’t spend that combined, personal expenses over $2200, and transport nearly $1K (OP might spend more coming from Texas).
Me personally - after A&M and UT, I’d look hard at Houston - there are kids from there in IB.
But Miami Farmer would be another that might get close to cost - and has a fine rep. How it does in IB, I don’t know - but like Houston it has some kids with linkedin profiles in established jobs.
And the ASU program is another I’d look at - although it appears hard to get into and OP seems to prefer UF. That said, why not apply to both?
Agree OP should still apply to IU, but know the price might not work out. Also agree could apply to both ASU and UF. My D works with someone from that ASU IB program. Investment Banking Industry Scholars | ASU W. P. Carey
As for U Houston, I wouldn’t expect many IB jobs coming out of undergrad there. I don’t have time to do a deep dive, but expect a not insignificant proportion of those you are seeing on LinkedIn went into IB after getting an MBA or other grad degree.
I will however stand down as others seem to be providing advice (not sure of their first hand IB experience). I would caution however on extrapolating based on LinkedIn searches.
Definitely not many - but I think you can say that for most schools. In the past I’ve found them at Va Tech, Penn State, and many more. I know someone from UF who just started at a main bank in Texas - although I don’t think his job is IB per se - but it’s an IB organization. His role might be IB - not sure.
I’d never say a concentration - not my place to say - but I’d never say none.
At Farmer, the first I saw was Jefferies. At Bauer, I saw Guggenheim Partners, TPH&Co,
In the end, you need to be able to afford school - and strangling yourself with high debt (if your parents were foolish enough to do so for you) is not a good idea, especially when the odds of achieving what you want, from even the ritziest of schools - isn’t strong.
If you want something badly enough, perhaps you’ll take advantage of the resources avail where you are - and make it work. It doesn’t mean it will - after all, it likely doesn’t for most at the highest level of school either.
But all you can do is try - and not having debt, as you can read anywhere and everywhere, is somewhat liberating.
Definitely EA at Ohio State, you must do so to maximize merit aid there as well as the best chance for admission to their honors program.
When figuring out how to prioritize your application efforts, remember that there may be supplemental applications for large competitive merit aid like Eminence Stamps/Morrill or programs like IBE.
IB is a highly selective occupation. While your SAT score is excellent, it is low for the type of schools that offer the most direct path to top IB firms. You aren’t in the top 10% of your class. The people with your profile who get the coveted IB spots have an uncle or someone pulling strings for them.
I would also be clear about what these alumni of various schools are doing in IB. How many are M&A or Sales/Trading? There are many, many middle and back office roles (risk mgt, finance, legal, HR, technology, etc) which provide excellent careers - but they are NOT the front office roles that people usually refer to when they say IB.
Former bulge bracket M&A guy with a son currently working for another BB firm, if your expectation is to work for a bulge bracket or known boutique in M&A or corporate finance, the realistic path is as @Catcherinthetoast outlined above. Recognize that you will still need to be at the top of your class. For my son’s Ivy, the general GPA cut-off for the top firms was 3.7 with a good mix of quant type classes. Call this Plan A. There are always exceptions, but usually there is some story/connection behind the exceptions. If you are fine working for a mid/small market regional firm, your path is much broader. Recognize though that the compensation will likely not be the same – bankers by and large earn fees based on a percentage of deal size and their comp follows fees earned. You’ll still likely work ridiculous hours. You can get there through decent grades at decent undergrad schools that have been listed in this thread; it might be easier with an undergrad finance or accounting degree, but econ or a quant type major will also work. Call this Plan B.
After finishing your analyst program under Plan B and your goal is still the “big leagues”, getting an MBA and doing well at one of the better known Bschools can open doors. You’d have to weigh the ROI of $200k plus in COA plus 2 years of lost income against the prospect of a lucrative job.
There is also a Plan C, and that is to work in industry after college. STEM may be a good choice, then apply for an MBA. That is what D’s fiance did. He worked as a scientist in a big pharma, got an MBA at a well regarded BSchool, and was a fairly “hot product” for consulting firms with a healthcare/pharma/biotech practice. The beauty of Plan C is that it may be easier to stand out vs a sea of “finance bros’”, especially if you are not a grad of HBS, Wharton, Stanford and maybe a couple of others. You may also enjoy an industry career and stick with it.
Finally, knowing what a lot of IB analysts do (research and crunch numbers across various companies and put together templated presentations), there is some risk that AI may reduce the number of positions required, making the funnel even narrower. Interested in what @Catcherinthetoast thinks about AI and IB analysts.
Ironic timing and an excellent question. I am on my way to Switzerland for a symposium and this is one of the topics. Looking at AI for possible KYC, Research and pitch book creation.
