Accepted to NYU, UVA, Nova, BC, and UMICH. Can't afford any, offered full ride to Fordham. Am I fucked for IB?
I will be attending Fordham's Gabelli School of business. Me and my family did not receive great financial aid at all from these schools , and I have to go to Fordham because they gave me a full ride.
I realize this is not a target, and I was accepted other great schools with better placement, but I am forced to go here. Now my question here is am I fucked for Investment Banking? I am confident I can maintain at-least a 3.7+ and the proximity to NYC has to help, correct? I feel like Fordham is becoming a better school and will ramp up over the next couple of years.
Transferring will most likely not be an option. I am just pissed that just because my family is poor, that I am massively penalized for my career path because I could not attend the best school I possibly could. Or maybe I am wrong? Maybe Fordham isn't as bad as some might think?
Dude. I've said this once, and I'll keep saying it on every post like this. It's not impossible. I know kids from H/Y/P who have BB IB internships. I know non-diversity sophomores at state schools that have sophomore BB IB internships. Either way, it can be done.
I know, but I feel like people on WSO just dickride top schools so hard. They act like anyone not at these schools will end up at McDonalds.I am aware that top banks recruit mostly from the top schools and is extremely competitive, but still. It is so discouraging and frustrating. I am sure you know what I am talking about.
IB is attainable from Fordham. If you already know you want to do IB, you can prepare early and you'll be fine.
Thanks for the response. What do you recommend that I do to prepare early?
Network as much as possible prior to sophomore year. Build relationships with alums and non-alums leading up to recruiting season so you have people willing to go to bat for you. I attend a school ranked roughly the same as Fordham and networking has been key in my placing into banking. Happy to discuss how I approached cold emails, networking, selling yourself well, etc. -- feel free to PM me
Have you considered student loans? Admittance to those undergraduate programs is impressive. Regardless of your decision, congratulations. You'll be fine assuming you network aggressively and have sound technical skills.
I would second this comment regarding student loans.
Just my opinion and others will have differing viewpoints, but I would rack up some quantum of student debt (everyone has a different max $ amount they would take on) to attend Stern or McIntire (would perhaps throw Ross in there) over Fordham business. This is just based on my experience as an analyst in IB (and now on the buyside). Attending one of those schools will increase the odds of you getting to IB - it however does not guarantee you will get IB. That being said, I believe it is worth the risk to attend one of those two despite the student loans.
If attending another school is 100% completely out of the question, hustle at Fordham and network as early as possible. Attending Fordham will not preclude you from getting into IB.
Not to trying to be petty here, but Ross has the #4 BBA program. Any particular reason for being bullish on McIntire and not Ross?
I know a few different people that went to my high school then Fordham and have broken into IB. Definitely possible.
You should seriously assess this whole debt issue based on your personal, financial situation. Don't take advice from people on here telling you taking out $150k in loans is okay when they most likely come from a trust fund background (usually saying something like that indicates so).
Edit- I got curious, and went ahead to look up the all in-costs for these schools. NYU runs $70k a year, UVa/UMich $62k a year. I was completely under balling it with $150k.
Totally agree.
Loans at reasonable rates are certainly worth the cost when the institution is top-notch and the career trajectories are into high finance.
Yep, I again 100% agree.
I also recognize the flip side and see how it is easy for someone unattached from the situation to say "go ahead and attend XYZ school and amass $150k of student loans." That is a large sum of money and should not be taken lightly. I'm assuming "did not receive great financial aid at all" equates to zero financial aid, but I'd be interested in how much aid is being offered if it is greater than zero.
Agree as well. It took some heavy thought on my end when making the decision.
A “reasonable” loan amount would preclude NYU for sure. Can’t imagine taking out 100% of the cost of attendance for NYU. The total amount could approach mid-6 figures.
OP, can you get in state residency at UVA or Michigan after a year or two? Given the lower cost of tuition and living in general this may give you a viable option.
fordham has its place on wall street, and the alumni will really try to help you out. good luck making the decision either way
Relax dude ur not fucked. You can absolutely place into BB IB from Fordham. PM me.
Chill, Fordham is a great school. I'm a rising senior at a small liberal arts school close to NYC and while it hasn't been easy, I have networked a lot and secured multiple interviews at BBs. The key is to hustle and network your ass off. I have a 3.6 GPA as well.
Why didn’t you apply to a school that gives out 100% need based financial aid?
Might be half a tier more competitive but like Notre dame duke etc that tier of schools.
Surprised BC wouldn’t give much aid.
Risk it all and get student loans. Its 100% worth it in the end if you get into IB
You still can get in from Fordham don't give up yet. Network and keep up the work
If you’re dead set on IB I would go ahead and take out the loans to go to a better school. Assuming you get into IB, the loans will become a nonissue once you start working (might just have to be a little more frugal than some of the analysts from more affluent backgrounds). Doctors and lawyers take on far more debt for less comp.
PM me, I would be happy to help. Have some advice
You’ll be fine with networking from fordam, plenty of people on the street
Fordham is literally placed in NYC. If you can’t figure out how to get a job in IB while being at school in NYC then you probably should reassess life altogether. There are people from Baruch in IB, and you are questioning your ability to get there from Fordham?
Also, do you know how much an IB analyst makes? This isn’t the Wolf of Wallstreet days and I can promise you you won’t like paying down those loans while also paying for your flexed apartment in FiDi and membership to Equinox.
Go to Fordham, CRUSH IT, network your dick off and don’t take on 150K of debt you didn’t need to incur.
then, you can laugh when you’re at the exact same place the kid next to you spent 600K+ to get to (private middle, HS, college)
At the end of the day, up to you, just my 2C.
OP I went to a school outside of the top 100 and got in. It took about 1.5 years after I graduated but as long as you have the right mindset and work hard it can happen regardless of where you go.
Are you based in nyc rn?
I'd love to hear this success story... New thread?
Maybe sometime. There's actually a LOT more to it than that including taking 5 years to finish school and bottom barrel GPA. It would be hard to tell without revealing who I am since its so unique with my background as well and I've posted on throwaways for MBA programs. We'll see.
Haven't gone through this personally, but a few things you might want to consider:
1) The money issue is too big to ignore. While it will definitely be more difficult to break into IB from a non-target (particularly at BB/EB), it is still possible with solid networking efforts and taking steps towards making yourself a future analyst (banking prep guides for technical and behavioral questions; being in tune with the markets and how finance works in general (think: reading business news)). If you're really going to take out $150K in debt at 6% over 10 years, that's going to run you $1,600 a month (post-tax), which will make your total comp a pittance after you cover that and living expenses.
2) It's nice that you want to do banking, but really ask yourself "why?" before committing to this process and effectively eliminating any optionality you have with respect to other careers.
3) You're going to COLLEGE, and it's more than just a platform via which you secure a job post-graduation. Go to the place where you feel like you'd fit in best and that complements your personality, but also where you feel you'll get formal and informal education that you can use for the rest of your life. I was Big 10 undergrad and the things you learn from interacting with so many different types of people is invaluable.
4) If you wind up hating FU, can't you transfer after two years? Granted this isn't easy per se, but as long as your grades are good (probably anything above the level where you'd earn high honors) you'll still have a good chance of breaking in.
You will be fine at Fordham. It would be one thing if you'd been accepted to H/Y/P and could graduate from one of those with a reasonable amount of debt, but the gulf between Fordham and the schools you listed (and I say this as a grad of one of them) just isn't that wide.
Make sure your resume states clearly that you were awarded a full scholarship, and when networking with Fordham grads, be cautious about conveying any resentment about the fact that you "had" to go there.
Finally, leverage the fact that you will be in NYC and the students at all those other schools, save Stern, will not. Make as many of your conversations as possible face-to-face, cough up the subway fare for networking events, industry conferences, etc.
Oh, and keep in mind that undergrad is unlikely to be your last stint in higher ed. If your grades and post-grad work experience are strong, you'll be well positioned for a top MBA, and at that point the playing field is level.
Sounds like you’re dead set on IB now, but you haven’t even entered college yet- values and interests can change a lot in 4 years. $200k+ in loans would be an obscene hole to put yourself in if you change your mind, and you definitely don’t want to put yourself in a position to have to take a job for the money.
Take the free education- you should be able to set yourself up just fine from Fordham if IB remains the goal. If you miss the boat out of undergrad- get good experience doing something else and get a fresh start with an MBA.
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