Some Questions
Hi everyone. I'm new to WSO but I've been lurking for a long time. I decided to make an account to get more actively involved and also because I had a few questions regarding IB. I didn't post this in the
"New User Introduction" section because I felt like I would get better advice in this section, but I apologize in advance if this is the wrong section for this topic.
First, a little background information about me. I am a rising sophomore at UNC (might be considered a semi-target by some I guess) and plan on applying to the Kenan-Flagler undergraduate business program this fall, and hopefully getting accepted in the spring. My GPA isn't too good because I slacked off freshman year, but I currently have a 3.35 cumulative and plan on bringing it up to a 3.5 after the upcoming semester. Also, I thought I wanted to do medicine, but realized that the pre-medical curriculum was harder than it looked, and also realized that I want to do IB instead. As far as internships go, I was a summer intern at a small commercial real estate investment/property management firm. They've also offered me a part-time position once school starts, since the office is pretty close to campus. Apart from internships, I'm shadowing a doctor at a top hospital and plan on doing research for him as well (not sure if this is relevant, but whatever).
Here are my questions:
1) The business school doesn't have separate majors like finance, accounting, etc. but instead only has a BSBA (Bachelor's of Business Administration) degree. There is an option, however, to pursue an emphasis in a certain field. Here's the list:
Consulting
corporate finance
Entrepreneurial Studies
Finance
International Business
Investments
Marketing Management
Operations
Real Estate
Sales
Of these, which would be the most relevant to IB?
2) Which of these options would be the best for IB?
- Only business major
- Business and computer science double major
- Business and mathematical decision sciences (basically statistics) double major
- Business major with computer science minor
- Business major with mathematical decision sciences minor
3) I've heard of some people getting a PWM/accounting internship the summer after freshman year. How much does it matter that my internship isn't very related to IB?
4) Does joining a fraternity help? If so, social or professional fraternity?
Sorry for the wall of text, but thanks in advance for the help!
1) Either "Corporate Finance" or "Finance" fit the bill best for IB. I couldn't give you a decisive answer without understand the curriculum better.
2) None of these options are necessarily better than the rest. Just make sure that whatever you pick, you're able to keep a high GPA. Computer Science classes are more difficult than Finance.... and other than a bit of programming in VBA you will not need much programming for IB. I would concentrate on getting in as many Accounting courses as you can.
3) PWM internships summer after freshman is a good in since it's practically impossible to get an IB internship at that point in time unless your daddy is Managing Director and even then you would have a hard time getting others to agree to it. You'd be entirely a cost and liability for the bank being that inexperienced etc. PWM to start, then use it to leverage to IB internships.
4) Anything where you get yourself into a leadership position helps. Social frat can help if it has a quality alumni base. Otherwise just join and party and hit up a professional frat as well.
Good luck.
Also hate to say it, but the work you have to do to get into/succeed in IB is difficult.... if you're being a bitch about med school and thinking IB is an easy out think again.
Boutiquer nailed everything. I will add something to #4:
Skip business frats unless your school has a particularly strong DSP chapter. Otherwise, join a social with strong alumni and preferably join an honors frat / social with actual requirements (ie, not the greasy local frat that got banned from campus, etc.).
*greasy local fraternity
Fuck yeah, I said that lol.
I say by all means join the "greasy local fraternity" (not sure what a "local" fraternity is) and enjoy the college years.
Join the fraternity, but keep the grades up. Very hard to mix. But the social awareness you will gain from a fraternity is incredibly valuable. You got to be able to get out and mix up with people well. The rest can be learned in classrooms.
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the help!
@boutiquer, thanks for the tips! I guess it's a bit of a disadvantage for me not having a PWM internship yet. Still, I'm going to aim for either a PWM or boutique internship for next summer, and hopefully that will put me in a better position to apply for an actual IB internship after junior year. Also, I'm not being a bitch about medical school. I guess I phrased that sentence wrong in the original post. Both IB and medicine are very hard fields, but I'm definitely willing to put in the effort for both. I may have had a sub-par GPA freshman year, but I'll be darned if I let that get the better of me. I will definitely bring my GPA up next semester, regardless of major. I have an interest in medicine, but I realized that I was trying to become a doctor mainly for the money, which is the wrong reason to go into the field. I felt like my money-mindedness would make me a lot better suited for finance and IB than medicine. I also enjoyed my economics and business-related classes far more than my horribly boring pre-medical chemistry classes.
@Kassad, My school doesn't have a DSP chapter at all. There is an AKPsi chapter, but I'm doubtful that it will be of any use.
@goingbustbanking, I'm not even sure if I'm going to join any frat at all honestly. I'm still going to go to a whole bunch of rush events and see how it goes. If I get a bid from a good house, then I guess it's worth a shot.
Does being a Freemason help?
Being in frat helps if you meet many bankers who were in frats during undergrad.
By local I meant non-national or frats that aren't very well-established. There are plenty at non-targets. You can also replace "greasy" with "dirty" and by that I mean shitty, run-down frat houses, poor funding, no alumni, and generally a lack of any reason to join them.
I'm assuming you went to a good school lol...
Bumping this thread, because I have a few more questions.
I know UNC isn't close to being a target school, but is it regarded better than other non-target state schools when it comes to BB firms in NYC?
Is getting an internship at a BB/prestigious boutique after sophomore year even realistic considering my credentials, or should I try to aim for a PWM internship instead?
How does working as an analyst at a top firm in Charlotte, NC (BoA, WF, etc.) stack up with working at a BB in NYC in terms of hours, salary, and job advancement?
Once again, thanks to everyone who's posted in this thread so far. I really appreciate the advice!
it is really rare to hear sophomores landing BB gigs unless youre from a target with 3.7+ gpa and a lot of networking.
but i wouldn't completely say your chances are 0, but don't get your hopes up.
So what should I realistically aim for as far as sophomore summer internships? Boutiques and PWM internships?
One more shameless bump
BB is a long shot, try but dont spend all your time expecting that.
Boutique is more realistic but you would still need to bust your ass trying to get one. BUT boutiques can be tricky since there are so many... you need to get a bunch of interviews and choose which one you think will give you the best experience. A lot of boutiques will be like ~5 man shops (also means less intern spots) and sometimes they will just have you pick up lunch instead of actual work.
PWM is all dirt work, but hey you have your foot in the door. Don't cross PWM off though because it is still a million times better than if you were to do hr/marketing/operations at a bank. If you're really ambitious you can make up relevant work or network within the firm so that next year you are more prepared.
Aim for boutique, PWM, or F500 internships after sophomore year.
And it looks like you have the right mindset with checking out rush, but PLEASE do not join a social fraternity just for the sake of networking. People will sense that right away and not only will you probably not get a bid, but if you actually do get one and join, no one will like you.
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