<p>I grew up hearing, "it doesn't matter where you get your education as long as you apply it and make something of it." A couple years back I was introduced to college rankings and how they play a large influence.</p>
<p>But what if you can't get into those top ranked schools. Say you scratch out Penn, MIT, NW, U of C, Harvard, etc...where's the best place to turn?</p>
<p>My major is finance and I'm hoping to get into investments revolving around private equity firms. Hedge funds, venture capital funds, mutual funds, etc. </p>
<p>Do firms and investment groups just look at the top ranked schools? You might recall that I was interested in Fordham and Boston College and some of the middle-ranked schools. Are these schools excluded from the types of jobs listed above?</p>
<p>Also, if you can only get into the middle-portion of the list, which ones do you guys recommend?</p>
<p>You'll have to spend more time getting into those positions. The positions you speak of are the most prestigious jobs in finance. Therefore, you need to either go to a prestigious university and then go straight into one (if you're lucky) after undergraduate. If not then you can still get into these positions. You'll just have to spend more time working at the medium entry level jobs in finance. It is a less conventional path but it still can work if you're driven, competent and know how to posture.</p>
<p>Find a way to get into one of those schools because that is one of the only ways (or close to) you will be hired for one of those ballin jobs. No offense if you go to U of Illinois you will have to be one of the top people in your class to have a shot at IB let alone PE and HF. Bust your own balls because it is going to be a painful four years.</p>