Despite being the target of progressive activism, a job on Wall Street remains a goal of many college graduates.

Even in the weak economy, and derision of the famous “greed is good” mantra of the famous movie, Fins Finance writer Julie Steinberg reports that Wall Street is still seen as the “it” place to start a business career.

On a recent Saturday night in Cancun, Mexico, Kyle Carnes partied with his friends on spring break, listened to a live band and watched fire twirlers spin flaming sticks.

He couldn’t quite relax, though. Every few minutes he checked his iPhone. Mr. Carnes was waiting to find out whether he had gotten a final interview for a summer internship program at a major European bank.

Winning the three-month internship would have put him a step closer to his dream: working on Wall Street.

The financial industry may be in retreat, with tighter regulation, smaller bonuses, layoffs and persistent questions over its ethics and culture. But for hundreds of students like Mr. Carnes, a 20-year-old junior at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., Wall Street is still seen as the ultimate launch pad to a successful career.

“Don’t get me wrong, we know it’s not the Gordon Gekko age anymore,” Mr. Carnes says. “It’s a tougher business and there’s a lot more scrutiny, but we also know that once you get accepted into the ranks of the banking elite, you can do any job you want afterward.”

Universum, an employing branding firm that every year asks 6,300 M.B.A. students which companies they have applied to or where they will apply, found that big banks have taken two or three spots in the top 10 since 2007. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has either been third or fourth on the list during that period. Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. have hovered in or just above the top 10 list.

One student is very excited about getting a final interview:

Mr. Carnes, the Tufts junior, heard from the European bank after he returned from his vacation. He landed the final interview.

“I still see Wall Street as the premiere job option after college,” he says. “At a top school, there’s a lot of talk about being the best. It seems like it’s a natural choice for many of my peers.”