What is a target school?

A target school is one where your academic credentials ( grades , SAT or ACT scores , and class rank) fall well within the school's average range for the most recently accepted class. There are no guarantees, but it's not unreasonable to expect to be accepted to several of your target schools.

What does it mean to be a target school?

If you have researched the college application process, you may have heard about the concept of a "target school." What is a target school or college? Simply put, it's a college that you are likely—but not guaranteed—to be admitted to based on your qualifications.

What is a target school vs likely school?

College Kickstart categories schools by Likely, Target, Reach, or Unlikely to help you to assess how well balanced your college list is. You can think of Targets as schools in your sweet spot, Likelies as great bets, Reaches as harder to get into, and Unlikelies as probably out of reach given your academic profile.

What percentage is a target school?

Target schools are schools that you are more likely to be admitted into and have an acceptance rate between 35 and 75%. If your standardized test scores and GPA meet the requirements and range scores these universities are looking for, then there is a greater likelihood that you will receive an admissions offer.

What is a target and non target school?

Examples of target schools include Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Non-target schools are those that do not have the same reputation for producing top finance professionals, but still offer a quality education.

The TRUE target schools for finance. (2023 DATA)

Why do companies have target schools?

To make the most of limited resources, many organizations identify a set of schools on which to concentrate their college recruiting efforts. Although they welcome (and seek) new graduate candidates from across the college/university spectrum, they concentrate their time and resources on a set of schools.

How to choose a target school?

Check out the average GPA and standardized test scores of admitted students for the school you're interested in–this information should be readily available online. If your GPA and test scores are within the middle 50% of admitted students, that school could be a great target for you.

What is the difference between target and safety school?

A safety school is a school where your grades and test scores exceed the school's range. A target school is a school where your grades and test scores fall right within the school's indicated range.

What acceptance rate should a target school have?

In your college list, target schools are the schools where college admissions requirements align closely with your own academic performance. To be more specific, target colleges are usually schools where you will have have a 25-75% chance of acceptance. Let's look again at our student with a 3.5 GPA and a 1200 SAT.

What is a hard target school?

For additional context, here are the percentage ranges on how CollegeVine defines Long Reach, Reach, Hard Target, Target, and Safety. Less than 12% — Long Reach. Less than 45% — Reach. Less than 60% — Hard Target. Less than 85% — Target.

How do you determine if a school is reach target or safety?

If your score is under the 25th percentile, we consider it a reach. If it's above the 75th percentile, we consider it a safety.

What are non target schools?

A non-target is a school where few firms (or not even one firm) recruits for back or middle office positions. Students coming from a non-target school have to put in considerable time and effort to earn a first round interview with a firm.

How many target schools should I apply to?

In general, most students apply to between 8 and 12 colleges. This is a good range to aim for, provided that the applications you submit represent a broad variety of colleges. Ideally, you want to apply to at least two safety, four target, and two reach schools.

Is Yale an IB target?

Yale School of Management

Yale SOM is another top-ranked business school that is well-known for its strong investment banking program. The school provides an excellent education, and its graduates go on to be highly sought-after by major banks worldwide.

Is UCLA a target school for IB?

Overall, UCLA places reasonably well into investment banking and earns a designation as a semi-target school. Our investment banking target school list is a complete rank of 60 schools and analyzed >60k LinkedIn profiles of professionals who worked in investment banking between 2008 and 2023.

Do investment banks only hire Ivy League?

Most of the investment banking target schools are Ivy League schools and top liberal arts colleges. However, you may be surprised to know senior bankers at investment banks tend to recruit candidates from the schools that they attended!

Is NYU a target school?

NYU ranks #2 by number of U.S. investment banking analysts placed, topped only by UPenn. NYU's student body has a strong focus on investment banking and its proximity to New York gives it incredible access to top firms. Overall, NYU ranks #5 on our investment banking target school list.

Is 70 percent a high acceptance rate?

In fall 2022, four-year, not-for-profit colleges accepted 73 percent of applications from first-year students, on average. The average acceptance rate was higher for public colleges (78 percent) compared to private colleges (70 percent).

Is 50% a good acceptance rate?

An acceptance rate of 50% or higher is considered a high acceptance rate. Students may also regard acceptance rates above the average as high rates. Institutions with high acceptance rates take in the majority of their applicants. They are also considered less selective in choosing applicants for admission.

What acceptance rate is considered selective?

Selectivity - We use selectivity as a reflection of a college's admission rate. We define a school as Very Selective if its admission rate is lower than 25%. We define Selective as an admission rate between 25-50%. We define a school as Less Selective if its admission rate is between 50-75%.

How do you tell if a school is a reach?

Reach schools are typically more prestigious institutions with acceptance rates at or under 30 or 20 percent. Common examples of reach schools are Ivy Leagues, like Harvard, the University of Chicago, Yale, and MIT. Reach schools admit very few students or have requirements you may not meet.

How many match schools should I have?

"Match" Colleges

A good rule of thumb is to have two to four probable colleges under consideration.

What acceptance rate is considered safety?

At this stage, it is very important to make sure your list includes a variety of colleges that fit into different categories based on the likelihood that you'll be admitted: Safety – 90%+ chance of admission. Near Safety – 70-90% chance of admission. Match – 40-60% chance of admission.

How many safety reach and target schools are there?

A prospective college list should contain about 25% Safety schools, 50% Target schools, and 25% Reach schools.