People hoping to one day work for a large bank or investment firm will want to know which university is the best place to help them realize the dream. After all, the most prestigious people in the field tend to come from a small group of well-know schools, and utilizing the alumni network can be crucial. This post will provide you with the top 10 universities get Wall Street jobs in US.
Ranking of Universities getting Wall Street Jobs
| Ranking of US Universities Favored by Wall Street | |
|---|---|
| Institution | 2024 Rankings |
| University of Pennsylvania | 1 |
| New York University | 2 |
| Cornell University | 3 |
| University of Michigan | 4 |
| Harvard University | 5 |
| Columbia University | 5 |
| University of Chicago | 7 |
| University of California Berkeley | 8 |
| University of Notre Dame | 9 |
| Duke University | 10 |
| University of Southern California | 10 |
Ranking source: College Transitions. And it’s based on the undergraduate backgrounds of nearly 10,000 entry-level investment analysts at 15 of the most prestigious banks, with PJT Partners, Goldman Sachs, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Barclays, Guggenheim Partners, Evercore, Greenhill, Lazard, Moelis & Company, Centerview Partners and Perella Weinberg.
Universities Info
No.1 University of Pennsylvania
Total number of employed alumni:486
Top company hiring alumni: Goldman Sachs
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Centerview Partners
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. It enrolls about 10,020 undergraduates in popular majors such as finance, economics, and management science and information systems.
The University has 4 undergraduate schools and 12 graduate and professional schools. Colleges enrolling undergraduates include the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Wharton School of Business, and the School of Nursing. Graduate schools include the School of Law, the School of Medicine, and the Wharton School of Business.
No.2 New York University
Total number of employed alumni:302
Top company hiring alumni:JP Morgan
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Guggenheim Partners
New York University is a private research university that enrolls approximately 26,730 undergraduates in popular majors such as economics, arts and sciences, electronic media.
New York University consists of 18 colleges and institutes, most of which are centered in Manhattan and lower Brooklyn. NYU is also an international university, with campuses at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai, as well as 11 global academic centers in London, Accra, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Berlin, Paris, Prague, Madrid, Florence, Tel Aviv, and Washington, DC.
No.3 Cornell University
Total number of employed alumni:248
Top company hiring alumni: Goldman Sachs
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Guggenheim Partners
Cornell University is a private research university in Ithaca, New York, enrolling approximately 15,500 undergraduates in popular majors such as biology, computer science, and business.
Cornell has seven undergraduate colleges and seven graduate colleges, each of which develops its own academic program, and in 2001, Cornell established a new medical school in Qatar, declaring that it “serves society by educating tomorrow’s leaders and expanding new frontiers of knowledge.” Cornell also established the Cornell Tech Campus in New York City, a graduate program campus that combines technology, business and creative thinking.
No.4 University of Michigan
Total number of employed alumni:236
Top company hiring alumni:Citi
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Moelis & Company
The University of Michigan is a highly rated public university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the Detroit area. It is a large institution with approximately 29,850 undergraduate students, with popular majors including information sciences, business, and economics.
The University of Michigan is one of the world’s leading comprehensive research universities Michigan has 19 academic colleges. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the largest college at the University of Michigan. The University of Michigan is a member of many prestigious academic organizations, including the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Universities Research Association (URA). It is also one of the most popular institutions for students, with over 80,000 undergraduate applications annually, ranking it among the top 10 in the United States.
No.5 Harvard University
Total number of employed alumni:231
Top company hiring alumni:Goldman Sachs
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Centerview Partners
Harvard University is an elite private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the Boston area. It enrolls approximately 5,700 undergraduates, with popular majors including economics, computer science, and social science research methods
The university currently has ten colleges and one institute of advanced studies. It is one of the most difficult institutions in the country to get into. The graduate programs are diverse, while the bachelor’s education is focused on the liberal arts and sciences.
No.5 Columbia University
Total number of employed alumni:231
Top company hiring alumni:Goldman Sachs
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Morgan Stanley
Columbia University is a private university in New York City that enrolls about 6,400 undergraduates in popular majors such as computer science, economics, and biology.
Columbia University has 20 colleges, including 4 undergraduate colleges and 16 graduate colleges. The university’s research efforts include the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and gas pedal labs with major tech companies like Amazon and IBM.
No.7 University of Chicago
Total number of employed alumni:212
Top company hiring alumni:Goldman Sachs
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Centerview Partners
The University of Chicago is a private research university located in Chicago, Illinois that enrolls approximately 7,560 undergraduate students in popular majors such as economics, mathematics, and biology.
Founded in 1890 by oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, the University of Chicago includes colleges as well as a variety of graduate programs and interdisciplinary committees comprised of four academic departments, six vocational colleges, and a college of continuing education.
No.8 University of California Berkeley
Total number of employed alumni:203
Top company hiring alumni:Goldman Sachs
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Centerview Partners
The University of California Berkeley is a public university located in Berkeley, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, with approximately 29,300 undergraduate students. Popular majors such as computer science, economics, and cell biology.
Berkeley is one of the 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities and maintains close ties with three U.S. national laboratories of the U.S. Department of Energy, including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
No.9 University of Notre Dame
Total number of employed alumni:191
Top company hiring alumni:Bank of America
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Greenhill & Co.
The University of Notre Dame, a private Catholic university located in the town of Portage, South Bend region of Indiana, is a mid-sized institution that enrolls approximately 8,830 undergraduate students, with popular majors in economics, finance, political science and government.
The University of Notre Dame is a U.S. News & World Report Top 20 nationally ranked institution of higher learning, and its University Division of the College of Business was ranked second in the nation by BusinessWeek in 2016
No.10 Duke University
Total number of employed alumni:157
Top company hiring alumni:Morgan Stanley
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Lazard
Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina, enrolls approximately 6,790 undergraduates in popular majors such as computer science, public policy analysis, and economics.
Duke’s undergraduate enrollment is one of the most selective in the country, with an overall acceptance rate of 6.2% for the class of 2026. Duke spends more than $1 billion a year on research, making it one of the top 10 research universities in the United States.
No.10 University of Southern California
Total number of employed alumni:157
Top company hiring alumni:Morgan Stanley
Company with the highest percentage of alumni: Perella Weinberg Partners
The University of Southern California is a private university located in Los Angeles. It is a large institution with approximately 18,560 undergraduate students, with popular majors including business, communications, and biology.
The school has a large network of alumni around the world – the Troy family, which includes prominent individuals in the fields of politics, business, science and technology, and the arts – and the school is among the top recipients of alumni donations in the United States each year. In addition, the school has a large number of international students, with more than 10% of the student body coming from more than 110 countries.
Students getting Wall Street Jobs
In conclusion, the University of Pennsylvania is the winner among schools that favored by Wall Street according to the data. So congratulations go to the University of Pennsylvania. But other schools are also very good for someone who want to work on Wall Street. If your future career landscape is on Wall Street, applying to these target universities mentioned above will be especially helpful. The large alumni network will provide you with many great job opportunities.
FAQ
What major is best for Wall Street?
You have to get a bachelor degree in business or math related major at least. Such majors include finance, business management, economics, accounting, statistics, mathematics, or even computer science.
What GPA do I need for Wall Street?
3.7+ GPA for people who have a little experience. Banks prefer good experience to good GPAs (subject to a minimum in the 3.3-3.5 range).
Does Wall Street pay well?
Of course. The average salary ranges from approximately $79,844 per year for Senior Operations Analyst to $447,248 per year for Senior Investment Analyst.
