"I give OCS a thumbs up. I think they did agood job," Weisberg says.
"OCS is useful just by being aclearinghouse--you don't have to bother a lotabout minor details," Chatterjee says.
At the beginning of the recruiting period,students send applications to OCS, which gives theinformation to the companies in which each studentis interested.
Students say this procedure saves them time andhassle.
"For a lot of other places that I know, thestudents themselves have to get in touch withcompanies. Here you just send everything in toOCS, and they take care of it," Chatterjee says.
And the career forum sponsored by OCS inOctober helps students get in touch with firms,graduating seniors say.
"The one thing [OCS] does very well is try toget companies to reach you. It opens up a lot ofopportunities. You can explore types of companiesto get the right match," Caplan says.
Graduating seniors also benefit from the factthat so many investment banks come to recruit atHarvard.
According to Murray, 77 investment banksrecruit at Harvard every year.
"I think people at Harvard have an advantage inthe sense that it's Harvard," Caplan says. "Firmslike to recruit here. Very highly regarded firmslike Goldman Sachs like to have Harvard people ontheir payroll."
"In investment banking and in consulting,Harvard is pretty much unbeatable as a place wherefirms come," Woo says.
According to graduating seniors, firms areattracted to Harvard because they believe they cancount on high-ability applicants.
"I think the Harvard name really, really takesyou so far. Employers know Harvard has alreadyscreened out people," Gordon says.
"A lot of banks like to concentrate theirefforts on Harvard," Chan says. "I think theythink they can count on the Harvard pool beinggood."
Firms may also keep coming back to the Collegebecause past Harvard hires have performed well.
"Harvard analysts are considered to be some ofthe best," Chan says. "The positive experiencefrom past analysts definitely helps us a lot."
The sheer number of firms who recruit atHarvard and the large number of graduates who gointo investment banking influences even morestudents to enter the field, some seniors say.
According to Woo, entering the field ofinvestment banking is "kind of encouraged" atHarvard.
"I don't think I would've been introduced to itas much had I not gone here," he says.
"It's definitely a Harvard thing. You tend tofind out more about the industry than you would atother places," Chatterjee says.