<p>CUE 7, Im not sure that you are entierly right. There IS a gap between Wharton, Harvard, and Princeton when it comes to job placement and reputation in finance: Wharton comes out on top - particularly when compared to Princeton. Wharton sends the most kids directly into Private Equity of the three. The preference fo Wharton kids is so strong that some firms recruit exclusively at Wharton - Silver Lake for instance. Out of the firms that do recruit at all three, based on the figres i’ve seen, Wharton almost always comes out on top. PE firms don’t have the extensive trainng programs BB firms do; so, ceteris paribus, such firms would prefer a Wharton kid over an equally intlligent Harvard or Princeton kid because the Wharton kid would have a far deeper knowledge of finance than a kid from the other two schools. </p>
<p>The same is true for IB; Wharton sends the most kids to just about every single bulge bracket firm followed closely by Harvard. These two schools make up the top tier. Princeton and the other HYPSM schools not already mentioned come in after that. If you are looking solely at business placement, then Wharton is hands down the best institution on the face of the earth. It is the absolute pinnacle in recruiters eyes. Wharton alone has poduced more billionaires than all of Yale Univesity combined. It also out does Princeton, and MIT in that regard.</p>
<p>For kids, like me, who are absolutely sure that they want to get into the financial industry; Wharton or Harvard are their top choices. Between the two, it just comes down to whether they want to study business or have a more liberal artsy experience. But, at least among all of the kids I know who got into all of them, Wharton is the clear favourite between Yale and Princeton simply because Wharton opens more doors than any ohe school. My general perception is that Wharton’s only true peer school is Harvard. I’m basing this on inference and just what i’ve gathered talking to people in the industry so it may not be entirey accurate.</p>