Where Goldman Sachs, JPMorganChase & Morgan Stanley Hire Their MBAs

Which business schools supply the most MBAs to bulge-bracket investment banks and the elite boutiques?

If you guessed Columbia Business School, you guessed right. But it may very well surprise you to learn that at least as a percentage of overall banking placements, the school at the top of the bulge bracket and elite boutique list is none other than Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. And no less surprising, Fuqua is followed by Michigan Ross, USC Marshall, the Yale School of Management and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

That’s according to a new analysis published by Menlo Coaching, the MBA admissions consulting firm. Menlo Coaching’s research team analyzed 51,991 student profiles on LinkedIn to gather valuable insights on each MBA program’s job placement history in investment banking. Among other things, the firm has crunched the numbers on not only the MBA hires but what percentage of a business school’s graduating class they represent.

LOCATION MATTERS & THEN THERE ARE SURPRISE WINNERS IN PLACING MBAS IN I-BANKS

The big surprises? “First, location appears to be a big factor for successful investment banking outcomes, with NYC-based programs Stern and Columbia at the top of the listings—but one Chicago-area school outperforms even the storied Wharton MBA program,” says David White, founding partner of Menlo. “Second, our analysis reveals some surprise winners in terms of which MBA program sends the highest percentage of its total investment banking graduates into Bulge Bracket firms. And if you are targeting Elite Boutiques, you might want to extend your target programs beyond the usual East Coast business schools.

Bulge Bracket & Elite Boutique Placements

Top 5 Programs – Bulge Bracket Placements as % of Overall Banking Placements*

*for schools with 5 or more placements in Bulge Bracket roles

	MBA program	Total	% of overall bankingplacements
#1	Duke (Fuqua)	25	92.6%
#2	Michigan (Ross)	18	81.8%
#3	Southern California (Marshall)	7	77.8%
#4	Yale School of Management	17	77.3%
#5	UCLA (Anderson)	11	73.3%

“Duke Fuqua shows an impressive 93% of graduates who go on to work for Bulge Bracket banks—the highest of all programs that send a significant number of graduates into banking,” notes White. “Michigan Ross makes their mark in second place, at an impressive 82%, followed closely by Marshall and Yale.”

Overall Bulge Bracket Placements

MBA Program	Total	% of overall banking placements
Columbia Business School	56	56.6%
NYU (Stern)	51	66.2%
Chicago (Booth)	34	55.7%
Pennsylvania (Wharton)	28	47.5%
Cornell (Johnson)	27	60.0%
Duke (Fuqua)	25	92.6%
Virginia (Darden)	21	67.7%
Michigan (Ross)	18	81.8%
Yale School of Management	17	77.3%
MIT (Sloan)	13	72.2%
Dartmouth (Tuck)	13	56.5%
UCLA (Anderson)	11	73.3%
Northwestern (Kellogg)	11	37.9%
UC-Berkeley (Haas)	10	71.4%
Texas at Austin (McCombs)	10	47.6%
Harvard Business School	8	57.1%
London Business School	8	53.3%
Southern California (Marshall)	7	77.8%
UNC (Kenan-Flagler)	5	33.3%
INSEAD	4	80.0%
Stanford Graduate School of Business	2	100.0%

Looking at the overall bulge bracket placements, it may surprise some that Chicago Booth has such a strong showing. The takeaway? “If you’re aiming to work for a major bank post-MBA, don’t discount Chicago Booth, which is a close #3, and comes out ahead of Wharton in total Bulge Bracket placements,” says White. “And before you object by saying that Booth’s placements are all in Chicago, NYC is the top destination for Booth investment banking grads.”

Top 5 – Elite Boutique Placement as % of Overall Banking Placements

	MBA program	Total	% of overall banking placements
#1	Pennsylvania (Wharton)	26	44.1%
#2	Northwestern (Kellogg)	12	41.4%
#3	Texas at Austin (McCombs)	8	38.1%
#4	Columbia Business School	35	35.4%
#5	UNC (Kenan-Flagler)	5	33.3%

“The Midwest continues its strong showing: Kellogg pulls ahead of Columbia in Elite Boutique hires as a percentage of the program’s overall banking placements,” adds White. “As with Chicago Booth, Kellogg sends the majority of its investment banking graduates to NYC, and the most common Elite Boutique firm across Kellogg’s 2020 class was Evercore.”

(See following page for more tables by school)

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.