IB path, do I stand a chance?
Hello all. I am going into my sophmore year at UMD Smith school of business as a finance major, and I'm basically I'm looking for some honest opinions about the feasibility of me ever breaking into the competitive world of investment banking. Please, be brutally honest.
My GPA from my first semester was a dismal 3.02, with a better 3.64 in my second semester. However, I am very confident in my ability to get at least a 3.7 every semester from here on out. The first semester gpa was mainly due to a lack of trying on my part, and I trust my ability now to keep my grades on lock. This summer I am doing jack squat: foolishly didn't apply for any internships or meaningful jobs. I am trying to use this summer to add to my skill set (learning programming/office macros/bloomberg terminal/etc) and becoming more familiar with the technical details of this field.
In my Sophmore year I plan on hopefully getting a leadership position in my fraternity, becoming a member of both the finance society and investing society within the business school, and possibly helping with budget allocation for conferences the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers hosts at the school.
In my Junior year I will hopefully have some sort of internship under my belt from the sophmore/junior summer, and will hopefully be taking on a leadership position with in the biz school clubs I am a part of. I am also going to try to be the treasurer of the fraternity. Finally, I will hopefully be a member of both the Wall Street Fellows program (a selective program within the business school focused on wall street careers) and the Smith Business School Honors College.
Basically, my focus is now on making myself into a candidate who would be accepted into a summer analyst position from a major bank for the summer between my junior and senior year. From everything I have read, this is the best way to begin ones path to becoming an investment banker. If I accomplish everything I have said I am going to accomplish in this post, what kind of chance do I stand of landing one of these internships?
Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this long post!
The only advantage you have right now is time; pretty much everything else in your story that you have up to this point is pretty bad (ie bad gpa, no experience non target).
That being said, your goals for the coming semesters are not good enough to have much of a chance at breaking in at a good middle market or BB firm. A 3.7 from a non-target is easily below average for junior internship recruiting (graduating with a 3.7 is better, but most have higher gpa after only 2 years). Obviously, your cumulative will be significantly lower than this because of your bad first year (somewhere around a 3.5-3.6). This is absolute bare minimum GPA requirement for most banks, and since you are from a non-target and will likely have an at best mediocre sophomore year internship, I would say you have a very low chance of breaking in (unless you knock it out of the park with something amazing for your sophomore year summer).
That being said, if you could commit to getting a really high GPA for your next 3 semesters (something more like a 3.9), I think your chances improve quite a bit. This is a competitive field, and setting a 3.7 as your goal from a non-target is entirely unimpressive (especially when you are fighting from behind).
PM
OP, he's right in that it's an uphill battle for you, but all isn't lost. Try your hardest to get your GPA up to a cumulative above a 3.5 from here on out, but don't think that just because you don't have a 3.99 you don't even have a shot. Your extra curricular plan looks really solid, and does a great job of expressing your actual interest in going into finance. Aside from getting your GPA up, you need to do two things:
Get relevant internships. It would've been beneficial for you to snag an internship for this current summer, because you -will- be at a disadvantage come Soph recruiting when you go up against kids who had internships their freshman/sophomore summer. Definitely make it a priority to land an internship for next summer.
Network. Network your ass off. I go to a Non-Target myself, and networking is one of my favorite things to do, ESPECIALLY when you talk to alumni on Wall Street, because odds are if you're at a Non-Target they don't get many UG from their alma mater coming to them, so from my experiences they're always more than happy to help you.
I did a quick Google search for "UMD Goldman Sachs" and was immediately returned with 10+ LinkedIn links for alumni there, so it is definitely possible to break in with your situation. That's also more links to GS than I have from my UG also, haha.
Bottom line, OP: You're not in a hopeless situation. Try your best to get as high a GPA as you can, but don't think it's the end all be all if you don't get a 4.0. A kid with a 4.0 but no extra curriculars (like you have lined up), and no relevant internships isn't going to beat a kid from a Non-Target with a 3.5, strong ECs, and good internships.
Remember - network!
Clearly not Asian...
I think you got 3.7 confused with a 3.9. it's ok though. we asians see in wide-vision, so i can see why you might confuse the two. i do on occasion too.
I graduated from UMD last year and doing a FT IB role this summer. PM for more insight in breaking into IBD from UMD...
I agree with StryfeDSP. GPA is important but it's not the sole factor. People hire people, not paper. Having extracurriculars are important. I was asked during an IB superday why my GPA was a little low and I explained that I was involved on campus and told the guy how. I also explained that I had two internships that I was working in between classes and got those from picking up the phone and cold calling the firms and telling them I'd work for free. The bank I interviewed with for superday offered me a position as first year analyst. I believe it was because my activities and the fact that I managed to get a couple of jobs in between classes just by picking up the phone and selling myself was more attractive than a really high GPA.
I would add that you should look at some boutique IB shops in the Washington DC area, assuming you're from there
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