The best investment banking schools are those that consistently send an abundance of students into top investment banks, and have impressive placement rates for undergrads and have special programmes or student groups to help you prepare for finance careers. Cornell, MIT and Columbia all meet this standard along with having prominent alumni from the industry and extracurricular activities such as Stern’s finance society and Booth’s famous finance program, which offer the opportunity to learn about real-world investment banking challenges.
These schools also typically have a large alumni base within the field which is beneficial for networking. They are typically located near the financial hub of small or regional investment banks. In addition, they usually have top-rated programs in their finance and accounting departments.
When selecting a school, it is important to should also take into consideration your personal interests, the type of career you’d like to pursue and the types of jobs you’re interested in at an investment banking company. As opposed to other industries where hiring is more competitive through technical interviews, recruitment for investment banking is heavily dependent on school reputation and the quantity of top performing students that the school produces every year.
Think about universities like NYU or UMich for students in the undergrad level. They have a strong reputation in the business world and are known for their outstanding results in placement and alumni networks. In Europe, consider HEC Paris and Oxford Said Business School. In Asia look into HKUST, CUHK and Chinese universities like Peking University, Tsinghua, and Fudan.