Which colleges do Goldman Sachs typically recruit from the most?

Hi there! As a hopeful future finance professional, I'm aiming to work at companies like Goldman Sachs. I know certain colleges have preferred recruitment relations with them. Does anyone have information on which colleges Goldman Sachs tends to hire the most from?

Goldman Sachs, like many finance companies, often hires from what’s commonly known as "target schools." These are typically prestigious universities that have strong relationships with the company, have a record of producing high-achieving graduates in finance, and have a campus presence with Goldman Sachs in terms of recruitment events and internship opportunities.

While it's not limited to these universities, some target schools for Goldman Sachs traditionally include:

1. University of Pennsylvania (especially the Wharton School)

2. Harvard University

3. Stanford University

4. Columbia University

5. Princeton University

6. Yale University

7. University of Chicago

8. MIT

9. New York University (especially Stern School of Business)

10. Dartmouth College

That said, Goldman Sachs has expanded their recruitment efforts in recent years to include a broader array of universities, including but not limited to:

1. Duke University

2. University of Virginia

3. University of Michigan (especially Ross School of Business)

4. University of California, Berkeley

Remember, while coming from one of these schools can increase your chances, it's not a guarantee for employment. Also, students from non-target schools can and often do end up at firms like Goldman Sachs. In fact, I’ve read profiles of employees who have studied at schools that might not traditionally be seen as finance powerhouses. Your academic performance, work experience, personal skills, and networks can weigh just as heavily in the recruitment process as the name of the institution you attend.

Overall, securing a job at such a prestigious firm is more about you as an individual—your skills, your experiences, your performance during interviews—rather than the specific school from which you graduated. So I would encourage you to choose a school where you think you'll thrive socially, academically, and personally, rather than exclusively focusing on the potential of job placement.

If you want help crafting a school list that balances your various priorities, I'd check out school search tools like CollegeVine's: https://www.collegevine.com/schools/hub/all/. CollegeVine allows you to filter schools based on a range of factors, including majors offered (given your goals, looking for things like economics or business would be good idea), prestige (which does help when aiming high professionally), and location (being in a major finance hub like New York City could open up additional networking opportunities), as well as more subjective aspects like size and availability of D1 sports.

If you make a CollegeVine account and fill in your personal information (grades, extracurriculars, etc.), you can even receive your personalized odds of acceptance at each school, which can also be an incredibly useful data point as you chart your path towards Goldman Sachs! Best of luck in your endeavors!