Is it easier to transfer to a target or to network my @ss off at a non-target?

I'm an incoming freshman at a non-target in the northwest (UW Seattle), which has virtually zero OCR or any meaningful internships in the area. At this point, it's finance or death for me; I want to eventually do IBD or S&T.

Would it be easier to break into the industry by either:

A) Transferring to a target on the East Coast
(my HS GPA is not great (3.55, IB classes); SAT 2200)

or

B) Devote most of my energy towards networking (cold calls, alumni, any way possible)?

What does it take to transfer to a school like Stern, Haas, or maybe Wharton? How much will my HS grades weigh me down? How much would extra-curricular activities help me to get in?

And, realistically, how hard is it to network my way to internships in NYC all the way from Seattle?

Thank you! Any help is much appreciated.

 

depending on the school and program there may be specific course requirements that you have to meet. for instance wharton requires a stat class if you apply after one year of school and two stat classes if youre applying after two years (or something like that). i would check the websites for the schools youre looking at and have good chances of getting into (obviously your judgement call on the latter) and make sure you meet the basic course requirements for the program.

also just standard shit - get involved on campus (quality over quantity), get as close to a 4.0 as possible, yada yada yada etc

 

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