School Decision: UNC ($$$) / Emory ($$$) / Cornell ($) / Darden

abhimahna and woody93 - what do you think about banking options for a former consultant at UNC or Emory?

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Hey 1017bricks ,

Congratulations for great admits. I am not sure about UNC banking placement but Emory has a strong investment banking presence and allot of people end up doing banking every year. In my opinion, finance club is by far the best club at Emory considering the amount of efforts they put in investment banking and corporate finance placements. I would highly recommend reaching out to alums of both the schools. Moreover, you need to decide whether you wanna try consulting also - if yes - Emory is the best shot.

All the best and keep us posted wherever you go!

My advice to you is to let abhimahna connect you with current students in the finance club and ask them directly about the opportunities Emory provides for IB. If you can do the same with UNC, so it will be nice. It is great to check the the schools with those hefty scholarships at hand.

Good luck

UNC actually has a very strong banking program - I'd even argue its better in terms of placement than consulting, at least this year. Financial Services and Tech will be our top 2 preferences for industry's. I would really strongly urge you to speak with some admissions ambassadors on banking - but I know a lot going into banking. Also, if you want to be in the SE, all Darden, UNC, and Emory would be better bets than Cornell. Keep in mind, UNC's geographic placements are actually really well rounded, and a ton are doing banking in Charlotte and a good amount in NYC as well.

Current Emory Student here with experience in IB recruiting.

Given your goals, I'd say Darden > Cornell > UNC > Emory (after considering scholarships)

In the SE, Truist (Suntrust) becomes your major target if you want to pursue IB. They recruit from Darden, Emory, and UNC, and I'd imagine Darden would have a greater pipeline as compared to Emory/UNC. Emory historically has been sending two candidates to Suntrust. With the BB&T/Suntrust merger, there were conversations around the IB headquarters moving to Charlotte eventually (I am not updated what happened to that). In that case, I'd imagine UNC have a greater pull than Emory for Suntrust. As far as other IB opportunities as concerned in SE, there are a few small/boutique/mid-market shops in Atlanta. Citizens Capital Markets (earlier known as Bowstring/CHILDS) recruits from Emory (1 kid every year historically). Darden gives you a better brand, greater alum base, and more structured opportunities for IB as compared to Emory. JPM considers Emory a "core" school but their recruiting has gone down significantly in past few years and we've been sending only one candidate to JPM for the last two years. We do send people to BAC, Credit Suisse, Barclays etc but the numbers are very thin (mostly 1-2 candidates each year) and you have to hustle on your own to get those "non-core school" spots. We recently expanded our relationship with WellsFargo but we are still not "core" for them and recruiting is off campus as of today. Darden will give you easier access for sure. Even UNC would give you more structured opportunities and I know that more banks have them as core schools specially BAC with a huge presence in Charlotte. Cornell being in NYC gives you an entry into the door at almost every bank but maybe not at SunTrust (not sure). Also a better brand than Emory/UNC with better recruiting numbers both quality and quantity wise.

As for consulting, if you are targeting tier 2 consulting firms, then Darden > Emory = Cornell > UNC. If MBB and other strategy consulting firms, Darden > Cornell = UNC > Emory. Emory has a very thin pipeline with MBB. We just send 1-2 candidates each year to each of the three consulting powerhouses. Apart from that we have strong numbers to show for Big4, Simon Kucher.

Given the current circumstances with Covid, I'd also want to graduate from a Darden/Cornell vs a UNC/Emory.

All the best!