<p>Everything I have heard on this site has led me to believe in order to become an ibanker you need to go to a top undergrad school and then to a top business school such as Wharton, Sloan, Haas, and Ross. If you go to a lesser tier school can you be just as successful in that field.</p>
<p>No, but it is much more difficult if you don't go to a target school. It also depends on whether or not your heart is set on bulge bracket firms.</p>
<p>Undergrad school doesn't really matter, unless it's the only university you ever attend. What really matters is the quality of the last institution where you studied. So if you are doing an MS or MA or MFE or MBA, then the school where you get that graduate degree matters, and your undergrad school becomes virtually irrelevant. Any of the above degrees can help you get into top investment banks, so long as they are from proper target schools.</p>
<p>nauru, but how would you go straight from an undergrad school to a top MBA program? Where do you work in between those?</p>
<p>Where you did your undergrad does not matter. Whats of more importance is where your recieved your MBA from. Typically if you're looking towards wall street, a top 10 MBA program is your best bet. There are B-schools that are known for certain programs, I would check which schools are best for I-Banking. Doing so, more recruiters within that field are more likely to approach your school looking for job applicants because they are aware of the stellar reputation of the schools program.</p>
<p>You generally won't get into MBA programs directly from undergrad. However MS, MA and MFE programs all take people directly from undergrad and these can definitely help you get into banking. Once you're in, high performers generally don't need to get an MBA. It's the people who weren't doing so well in their jobs that find they need to go to HBS or Wharton to get their career back on track. Think about it, if you're raking in the dough, why miss out on two years of salary, plus two years of huge bonuses, plus two years of work experience, and on top of those negatives pay out of pocket (or debt) 150k+ just for a piece of paper? The people who are most likely to be willing to do this are the people who aren't missing out on much by leaving their job, and have few attractive alternatives to forking over a few hundred grand in cash, forgone income and opportunity costs in exchange for a piece of paper that says top MBA.</p>
<p>So you mean let's say you go to a state school and get a degree in Finance. Then you go straight to your master's in that Finance degree from NYU or Yale for example. With no work experience in between, it would be easier getting into a BB or boutique compared to just out of undergradate from state school? Would you go straight to an associate position or still be an analyst for the first 2 years?</p>
<p>after your MBA you would be an associate</p>
<p>So the master's in your degree is just to help you get into a firm since your undergrad wasn't too good job placement wise?</p>
<p>to the OP: You don't have to go to a top undergrad but it definitely increases your chances dramatically. Several have networked and worked their way in from non-targets. But if you are aiming for the top boutiques or BBs, a target school makes a vast difference in getting you the interview.</p>
<p>Yes, doing an MBA at a top 10 school and then going into banking is also an option but generally very few are able to do an MBA at a top school w/o previous work experience.</p>
<p>While your best best is going to either an Ivy (HYPPCBD) and other similar top schools (S,MIT) or getting an undergrad degree from a top undergrad b-school (Wharton, Darden, Ross, Haas), be careful about locking yourself into a career, even in your head. That is, go to a school you'll enjoy and study something you'll enjoy. Banking is not for everyone, and you may not even like it once there. So if you study finance for the only reason of going into banking, you may end up really unhappy.</p>
<p>And while attending those schools DOES give you an edge, if you work hard and do everything right, you may be able to get in from a non-target. </p>
<p>Also, if you are a "diverse" candidate apply to ML4T and/or SEO. It'll give structure to the process and invaluable insight to you.</p>
<p>^^^^^^just to fix something, UVA's undergrad B-school is McIntire not Darden</p>
<p>Thanks -- I remember being slightly confused about it as I wrote. :)</p>