Best Path to HF from Undergrad

I'm currently a freshman at Wharton. I want to go directly to long/short HF after I graduate, but I understand how rare it is for people to land offers straight out of undergrad. Assuming, I have the grades and technical skills needed, can anyone suggest a best path? Even if I do land good internships going forward, will it be enough? Is it better to just work hard and try for a top PE/IB then go from there?

8 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Just look up the people who went to SPC from your school and see what they did. 

.tb_button {padding:1px;cursor:pointer;border-right: 1px solid #8b8b8b;border-left: 1px solid #FFF;border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;}.tb_button.hover {borer:2px outset #def; background-color: #f8f8f8 !important;}.ws_toolbar {z-index:100000} .ws_toolbar .ws_tb_btn {cursor:pointer;border:1px solid #555;padding:3px} .tb_highlight{background-color:yellow} .tb_hide {visibility:hidden} .ws_toolbar img {padding:2px;margin:0px}
 

Tbh, I feel like distressed isn’t the move. I’m a senior at Wharton/Harvard, and I could’ve went to SPC if I wanted to; I chose MF PE instead. To the OP, L/S out of college is hard, at least the L/S funds you probably have in mind. In most cases you can’t get to a top tiger cub from undergrad, even if your friends praise you for getting into WTIG :). Shortest path to L/S is probably MF PE for 2 years then go to HF. Keep working, and besides, you’ll have so many more HFs to choose from after MF PE than from undergrad...too bad you will never take a class with J Siegel

 

Thanks for the insight. I'm sophomore at Wharton and am hoping to get into MF PE with the goal of L/S down the road. Would I be able to PM you?

 

Exercitationem sit neque minima velit. Expedita consectetur dolorem et velit totam. Qui accusantium nemo tenetur doloribus blanditiis.

Qui quas ad odit sit sequi dolor. Ea repudiandae rerum officia est suscipit eius possimus. Maxime earum quam impedit incidunt alias repellat quisquam reiciendis. Eligendi debitis perferendis voluptatem et minus quasi. In molestias voluptatum dolore fugiat voluptas aut ad. Impedit commodi magni eveniet.

Atque nostrum autem est. Autem ad suscipit vel veritatis aut. Est nemo dolor aliquam reprehenderit et. Voluptatem quia aut et et cum odio consequuntur. Et porro iste autem quos consequatur dicta modi dolor.

Ducimus ut officiis recusandae atque nobis quas ratione pariatur. Illum ut labore impedit vel fugit iste ut. Est rerum qui officia nam. Vero iste quo illum quis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $355
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (77) $193
  • Analysts (235) $177
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (277) $95
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”