What do you guys think about Northeastern University?

I am currently attending Northeastern University in their International Business program with a concentration in Finance (just finished freshman year). I am hoping to get into investment banking upon graduation and I was wondering how hard/what kind of chance I had of getting into investment banking from Northeastern?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!

 

If you have an exceptional academic record + extra curriculars, try to transfer up if possible.

If you can't transfer, then start networking your ass off, look for internships (unpaid or paid) in finance. Private Wealth Managers are a great place to start. Check out your alumni network. Search LinkedIn for people who went to your school and then into banking, ask them for help. Just don't be annoying, look up cold-emailing on WSO and follow the guidelines of a gold star (certified user). I have no doubt there are Northeastern grads on WS. Also, finding a job in Boston will likely be easier than NYC.

After this next year is when you want to make the move if you have the stats to transfer. Make sure you get an internship after soph year though, it will help you a shitload. Also get active on campus if you aren't already.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

and find the right forum

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

sorry, but if its not Little Three or Ivy League, or the top state schools (UMich AA, Texas-Austin, UCLA, UNC-CH or UCB), or Southern Ivies (think Emory, Rice, Vandy, Duke), even if you do study finance, you're in a very tough spot. I know from experience.

 
RodneyBro20:

sorry, but if its not Little Three or Ivy League, or the top state schools (UMich AA, Texas-Austin, UCLA, UNC-CH or UCB), or Southern Ivies (think Emory, Rice, Vandy, Duke), even if you do study finance, you're in a very tough spot. I know from experience.

Shout out to little three! But OP Northeastern has been on the rise recently and there are definitely people that have done it. So know that it's possible, but with a lot of networking and solid EC's like D M said. Try transferring at the end of this year. If it doesn't work, then network and try to put yourself in a good position. Northeastern is a decent school either way.

 
Best Response

Grow a pair and accept that you’re at a semi target for certain banks. Leverage the co-op program to position yourself for a penultimate senior year traditional FO internship at a BB by doing this:

  1. GPA>3.5; leadership positions in finance groups (FIC, SVF. BAP, Huntington Consulting, IDEA, etc.). Do the standard BS and create a sexy-as-hell resume ASAP. Network ASAP as it becomes nigh impossible to interview, work (if you need to), do ECs, and maintain GPA come co-op time.

       a.   Regarding internal NU resume editors: Utilize the co-op dept's resume service but cautiously assess their recommendations (e.g. resume chick suggestion: "you're going to want to use our resume structure" or "place activities under education; <abbr title="Chartered Financial Analyst&#10;"><abbr title="Chartered Financial Analyst">CFA</abbr></abbr> should be placed under other activities." Me “brilliant!” but internally I’d be thinking “No, I’ll want to structure it for the viewing pleasure of IBankers, not for you”). Take a similar approach when using templates/guides like M&amp;I – <abbr title="Chartered Financial Analyst&#10;"><abbr title="Chartered Financial Analyst">CFA</abbr></abbr> made a material difference for me and I didn’t tuck it under other interests.
    
         b. Re: networking – do it early for best ROI (ha) as it concerns acquiring co-ops. 
    
  2. Systematically build a network of relationships with current co-ops in roles you desire (to circumvent the co-op dept + corporate HR screening), with faculty (for referalls), with alums (you’ll find several surprises here – make this a priority), with cold-calling (and other “regular” tactics), and by ****building a brand name at the co-op office***** so that you’re not co-op placement #142/304 for the fall term. This last point is crucial.

         a. Get used to hearing “no” to this, but if you don’t already have Ms. Chilvers as your co-op coordinator, get her. I think Ms. Huack (sp?) may be similarly well-connected, but Chilvers is the golden ticket to ALL of the <abbr title="front office&#10;"><abbr title="front office">FO</abbr></abbr> co-ops people want. Your current adviser will probably fight you on it, policy will say it’s not doable, emotions may seem like a consideration (but are irrelevant; Chilvers is the best), but you want her.  She’s your new “transfer to a target.” Now, dealing with her is difficult. She’s seemingly disorganized, uncaring, combative, neurotic, and never open to meet. She has 100+ wannabe ibankers to place. key word: place. You’re a number she needs to find a job for, then she gets paid. You NEED to develop a working relationship w/ her (or her peers  - Huack being comparable, the rest I don’t know). She’ll forget your name until you can prove you’ll be an asset to grow the prestige of the NU Coop dept’s relationship base (i.e. you’ll be one of the few who interns at Goldman <abbr title="investment banking division&#10;"><abbr title="investment banking division">IBD</abbr></abbr> or co-op at <abbr title="Credit Suisse&#10;"><abbr title="Credit Suisse">CS</abbr></abbr> and will be able to broaden the NU brand name on the street). Do this by:
                        &gt;State your planned co-op trajectory is to position yourself for a *specific* career    path. Be specific as to what: <abbr title="equity research&#10;"><abbr title="equity research">ER</abbr></abbr>, <abbr title="investment banking division&#10;"><abbr title="investment banking division">IBD</abbr></abbr>, Sales, Trade, strategy consulting - do NOT say “IBD” unless you actually know the ins-and-outs of the business function. Name drop and tell her your plan – in detail – for a 2nd, or 3rd co-op or for a sr. year internship in a front office position. She will be combative, will defer you if something comes up, but she the golden ticket to the best co-ops and has the best connections – better than <abbr title="on campus recruiting&#10;"><abbr title="on campus recruiting">OCR</abbr></abbr> for typical students at targets. Better, just lots more work.
                       &gt;Treat all interactions w/ co-op finance dept. staff as though they were interviewers. Know your fundamentals, know the market, etc. You need to prove you’ll provide ROI to them by enhancing their relationship base and thus the school’s prestige and ranking – i.e. you’ll make them $. Don’t miss a fucking appointment – not once.
    
  3. FOR FIRST CO-OP: Co-op at a brand name for first co-op (e.g. Goldman, Wellington, GE, a big 4) - likely in a back-office role. You may wish to do a typical PWM internship if you’re only a freshmen. Point is: NU is semi-non target. You’ll be doing shit work but it’ll be General Mills shit work, not store brand. This is the case for targets too as PWM isn’t exactly fun.

  4. FOR SECOND (PREFERABLY FINAL) CO-OP: once you’re done, you’ll immediately start FT classes. Assuming that you’ve accomplished and consistently implemented the above, now is the time to acquire the premiere front-office and decent mid office co-ops (CS HOLT, UBS IB, GS [I recall trading and IBD], boutique IBD and ER, a bunch of trading positions, BAML public IBD, Hercules venture capital, and a few others – these are crucial for the final step of my long, meandering post, plus pay is ~$30-40/hr + lots of O/T for most, so get them)

            a.  Continue the networking but target the specific jobs you want and target their current and  former co-ops and interns. Internal hiring thru co-op often passes thru the NU office (they send a restricted quota of apps per position) then to the hiring manager – HR is often a non-issue, unlike for internships. Hit the kids who work there because managers will have THEM screen the resumes for good hires (i.e. their friends) and people to blacklist (e.g. was asked to ID bad hires – they don’t work at that bank and didn’t receive an interview due to my suggest, another reason to *network*). 
    
           b.   Make location a non-issue. If it’s <abbr title="Goldman Sachs&#10;"><abbr title="Goldman Sachs">GS</abbr></abbr> in London, do it. <abbr title="New York City&#10;"><abbr title="New York City">NYC</abbr></abbr> is not a pre-requisite to what you want.
    
           c.   Do these seemingly trite things: Attend all company presentations (at FIC, SVF, Consulting club, BAP, etc.) and be sure to have your name “listed” as in attendance – employers often inquire about that (as they do to see if you contacted prior co-ops)
                                 &gt;&gt;   You’ll be friends w/ the officers at these clubs (hopefully) – utilize that + conduct prior research on the relevant presenters (both firm, industry, and the speakers’ work) and *aggressively* make sure that you interact with them. Often they’re recruiters, MDs, and other people whose impression of you prior to the resume screening process can make a huge difference if they enjoy you. Get their cards, etc. Wear a suit and wear it correctly (no flat toed shoes and other mickey mouse BS).
    
           d.   Bury the interview. Kick it’s ass. Get it out of the way ASAP – top co-ops are filled by/during  feb and you don’t want to be playing the co-op+networking+school+work+leadership ECs balancing act. 
    
  5. FOREGO a third co-op and, via your second co-op at a BB in ER or IBD or Front Office Whatever Division and SECURE A TRADITIONAL SUMMAR ANALYST POSITION prior to senior year. Seen this done for CS ER+IBD, GS IBD and GIR, McKinsey (though it's in Dubai, I believe), Citi IBD, Oppenheimer IBD, a bunch of guys at MFS, Statestreet, etc. in ER/FIR-type roles, and obviously in various boutiques. This does a few things:

           a.   You get the coveted “IBD summer analyst” role you’re obsessed with
    
           b.   Your sub-par academic  brand name (assuming GPA and ECs are equal) will be overlooked due to a year’s experience working for brand names in at least one legitimate, front-office position. You’ll have offset the non-target issue to a certain degree
    
           c.   For <abbr title="full time&#10;"><abbr title="full time">FT</abbr></abbr> hiring, the co-ops usually work nicely but some like to see traditional <abbr title="summer analyst intern&#10;"><abbr title="summer analyst intern">SA</abbr></abbr> roles or don’t know what a “co-op” is and consider it lesser than a <abbr title="Goldman Sachs&#10;"><abbr title="Goldman Sachs">GS</abbr></abbr> <abbr title="summer analyst intern&#10;"><abbr title="summer analyst intern">SA</abbr></abbr> spot – co-ops, being 6 months long, often grant you *more* responsibility + exposure to the business than more transient 2 month <abbr title="summer analyst intern&#10;"><abbr title="summer analyst intern">SA</abbr></abbr> stints. That said: any language issues re: titles are smoothed.
    
           d.   <abbr title="front office&#10;"><abbr title="front office">FO</abbr></abbr> co-ops aren’t a dime a dozen. Yes, sometimes returning to the 2nd coop again for a 3rd or securing one of the ever-growing portfolio of attractive co-ops for a 3rd one makes sense – it didn’t for me. 
    
           e.   Enhances the diversity of your experience , skills, and network. 
    
  6. Secure a job from either the 2nd/3rd co-op or the SA internship or, if you’re unlucky, use your ~1.5 years of professional experience in FO roles at brand name firms making $60-80k per annum for each co-op prior to graduation to secure a positions. Either way, you should be set.

  7. Hit the gym, shave (wet shave, double-edged safety razor), make a sandwich, and play NBA Jam.

I hope this was incredibly helpful. Life changing, preferably. I sacrificed time on that could have been better wasted addying (apologies, buzz word) up on this, resulting in xanxing (consultant buzz word, sorry) on an incredibly important report. Apologies, though, for the incoherent, excessive wordiness but that's just inescapable given the resources available. It's not indicative of poor communication skills - I received >750 on my SAT verbal (or writing, I forget). As for the formatting, well..

*formatted after

 

No problem.

Any NU students or similar prospective financiers should note that the takeaway I colorfully (and incoherently) conveyed is that HYP isn't the only route to the same destination. NU's co-op (and other co-ops/internships outside of NU) can offset academic brand name discrimination when correctly leveraged and in concert with all the other generic guidelines (network, maintain high GPA, etc.) we all know. Everything's negotiable in business - even for state school nobodies (no offense intended). There being a lot of truth re: school name doesn't mean that other, potentially more lucrative, alternatives can't be explored.

I just wanted to to provide contrast to the incredibly valuable insights into "how fucked you are" by not being an ivey at HYP (ex low-tier ivers like Brown, Cornell, etc. ), kindly provided by the prestige-obsessed pre-summer analysts (as if a SA stint is an inevitability) populating much of WSO.

And speaking to some of WSO's wannabe investment wankers: IBD is a dull, monotonous, painful ordeal at entry-level. Its prestige is localized to NYC and to our sub-culture outside of which it offers you no unique social status besides the $. Tell a chick at the gym that you're an investment banker in JP LazardiStan's M&A group and she'll think that you're some weird Middle Eastern bank teller making $15/hour and working 9-5. Analysts in IBD and IT guys in BO have fungible relative importance in the eyes of the "99%" and if the IT guy is senior, the relative status tilts in his favor through the eyes of your MD. So the money and exit ops are nice, though questionable (see M&I's articles). Just more reasons to pick ER over IBD is all I'm saying...

 

I heard recently that 6 people were hired by GS and 6 by UBS. I will be attending Northeastern this fall and heard this statistic from a current student who has had 2 Co-ops with UBS. Morgan Stanley also is involved with the Co-op program and they hired 10-15 analyst per cycle during 2006-2008. Also if you do some snooping around on Linked in you'll find a number of people that have interned/currently working for UBS, CS, and MS. There are a couple of GS too. Middle market firms are strong recruiters at Northeastern like MFS, State Street, Wellington and a couple more. These are great companies to work for and to build up your resume to eventually reach the BB's. Now to reach the BB's you need to Network and keep your GPA as high as possible (the current student I was talking about had above 3.9). Source for MS stat: http://www.northeastern.edu/coop/employers/employer-stories/morgan-stan…

 

I'm happy I can be the first to answer this one. I cannot speak highly enough of NU or the co-op program, especially for finance majors.

My background: NU alum, concentrated in finance and accounting. 1st co-op large Asset Management firm doing back office grunt work 2nd co-op Canadian investment bank working in capital markets (technically investment banking but not real investment banking as some on here might describe) 3rd co-op elected to do a 10 week summer analyst stint at a bulge bracket bank in LevFin (real banking). Figured out banking sucked and prestige wasnt worth doing something I hated so now in buyside equity research at well known asset management firm.

NU has strong connections in basically all areas of finance. Your first co-op will likely be doing a shitty back office role because you have no experience but with good grades and a good relationship with the co-op advisors you can move up the food chain. NU has co-ops at most bulge bracket banks with positions in trading, sales and research, capital markets, and IB as well as opportunities in corporate finance, vc and Asset Management. The top positions are competitive but you're only competing with NU so that gives you a leg up. Also, it is flexible so you can choose to do only 2 and a summer analyst role if you want.

I graduated with about a year and a half of experience and had no trouble getting a job while some of my friends at Ivies floundered around because they had little experience and couldn't decide what they wanted to do.

I am obviously biased but the program is so strong and getting stronger that I'd say unless you get into an ivy take NU above everything else and to be honest if I went to an ivy I may not have gotten the results I did. When I applied the business program was ranked something like 67th and now it's 19th and has the best co-op program hands down in the country.

Some strong statements here but I worked closely with the co-op advisors as head of the finance club and know the system inside and out. Feel free to PM me for anything else.

 

Thank you for your detailed feedback! I appreciate it. So did you find the co-op advisors helpful throughout your undergraduate career? Were there any particular co-op advisors who stuck out to you?

 

From my experience the co-op advisors were helpful. You get assigned one who you will work with, but there is opportunity to meet the others. I honestly didn't use the co-op program as much as the typical student, being BSIB it was a little different.

Never added anything because its all pretty well covered by the prior comment, but i'm happy to answer any specific questions about NU via PM.

Array
 

Don't worry about it right now. Have fun your freshman year and make good grades. Start reaching out to alumni, contacts, etc. in the industry just to talk about IB and start a relationship like sophomore year once you've actually taken a finance class.

 

I did half my undergrad at NU. If you want to get into big 4 accounting it is a great program. I also know people who went to Fidelity, Schwab, Morgan Stanley, State St, BNY Mellon, Eaton Vance, Liberty Mutual, BofA , etc but not in an equity research or IB role. You will not land at a bulge bracket or boutique IB from there unless you have some pretty insane family connections. You will almost definitely not land a front office finance job at an ultra elite firm, but middle office/back office might be possible if you are extraordinary.

Have you done your research on investment banking or do you just know that it pays a lot of money? If this is really your goal than xferring to an ivy will be a HUGE upside for you, and if you land at a bb or boutique IB than the salary differential your first year or two out of school will probably wipe out the difference in loans. Plus, you'll have a much better shot at a top tier MBA if that is a long term goal, and a better shot of transferring to HF/PE/AM from IB if that turns into your goal.

I'm swinging from a non-target undergrad and will say it can be done but it is a huge disadvantage. I regret not living up to my potential in my early years. If you are going into finance an ivy league education will make everything after that much easier. You'll still have to excel and impress but the door will always be cracked open to you. Coming from NU many doors will be barred shut. In addition you don't have to be the most impressive person at Cornell to land a solid job post undergrad. At NU, you're probably going to have to be one of the most impressive students to land a BB IB role.

That being said, Northeastern is by and large a pretty good school. If IB is just a pipe dream and your aspirations are more modest than enjoy your time there.

Also - go Huskies!

 

other alternative... rush through NE, then do a 1year M Fin. MIT, CMC, Princeton, etc. are all decent. Do your own research. Work experience, test scores and other requirements as well as exit ops all vary.

 

I hate the ungrounded NU bashing that goes on here. As I mentioned on your other post about NU there are a million front office co-op opportunities at bbs and boutiques including ER, IB (strong presence at Morgan Stanley), and cap markets.

Also, me and several others my year were able to get BB IB summer roles. I can't speak for the others but I didn't have any family connections and hustled my ass off to get it.

What you're doing by going to Cornell is paying a ton of money so you can work a little less hard to get an IB gig. Don't be lazy and also don't get convinced that banking is the end all be all like most people here will try to tell you.

 
stay thirsty my friends:

I hate the ungrounded NU bashing that goes on here. As I mentioned on your other post about NU there are a million front office co-op opportunities at bbs and boutiques including ER, IB (strong presence at Morgan Stanley), and cap markets.

Also, me and several others my year were able to get BB IB summer roles. I can't speak for the others but I didn't have any family connections and hustled my ass off to get it.

What you're doing by going to Cornell is paying a ton of money so you can work a little less hard to get an IB gig. Don't be lazy and also don't get convinced that banking is the end all be all like most people here will try to tell you.

I may stand corrected then. I'm speaking from a sample set 7+ years ago. Maybe recruiting is better now. Congrats on your role.

 

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