I’m currently a high school rising senior and recently committed to Bowdoin. What’s the likelihood that Bowdoin students are recruited by top finance/consulting firms? Furthermore, what advice (in terms of networking, internships, majors, etc.) do you have for me to maximize my chances at this starting now and throughout college?
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Hella posts abt NESCAC on here. In short - high if u network
NESCAC alumni network as a whole is stacked (A/W is pretty incredible and competes with anyone). Be proactive, learn what you need to, and reach out to alumni of all NESCAC schools - if you don't get anything, it is on you
Start learning lax
Lower-tier NESCAC student here who landed a position at a lower-tier EB this past recruiting cycle. The NESCAC connection is really strong, and it helped me a ton.
Start by reaching out to alumni from your school, then expand to other NESCAC alumni. Identify which banks recruit from Bowdoin and aim to talk to as many people as possible each week (5-10 is a good target). Begin this process early (now), before kids from Bowdoin and other NESCAC schools start reaching out. Early outreach will impress people, and they will stop responding as the recruiting season progresses. For banks that recruit from Bowdoin, contact everyone, regardless of position, as alumni come together to give interviews. For banks that don’t recruit from Bowdoin, try to talk to as many VPs and higher-ups as possible, as they have more influence over interview selections than analysts and associates.
NESCAC students often struggle with technicals due to our liberal arts background. Personally, I used a paid program to learn technicals (and many other things) since the club and upperclassmen resources that everyone on WSO talks about weren't sufficient. If you opt not to do a paid program, don't just memorize guides. You'll be tested beyond them. Watch videos, use ChatGPT (with caution), and Google technical questions/topics followed by "WSO" to find relevant threads. Don’t rely on the search function in this app. Focus on understanding things conceptually rather than modeling/excel skills; they won’t test you on modeling in interviews. Learn excel after getting an offer.
Be unique and embrace the liberal arts which is hard because banking happens super early. Avoid being stereotypical. Interviewers appreciate diverse experiences. For example, my healthcare job intrigued interviewers and tied well into my reasons for pursuing IB. Connect your unique experiences to why you want to work in IB, why you chose that group, and why that firm.
Meet with the career advisor who handles finance recruiting early in the fall for a one-on-one meeting. Let them know you're interested in banking. They may not be very helpful but can circulate your name if banks ask about candidates. Attend all bank info sessions at Bowdoin, as some banks track demonstrated interest.
Stay humble but confident throughout the process. Avoid constantly talking about recruiting or finance and the interviews you're getting.
Edit: missed you were a high school senior. Yea networking now is too early. Freshman spring and summer is a good place to start.
Take the time to enjoy your college experience. Have fun, adjust to the new environment, and consider if IB is actually something you want to do. Focus primarily on maintaining a high GPA.
If you're still interested in IB, consider a search fund internship in the spring of your freshman year. Check out Searchfunder.com (free if you comment) and cold email search funds.
For the summer going into sophomore year, you could intern at a regional boutique investment bank. Reach out to Bowdoin alumni who run regional banks or email other NESCAC people at shops.
Most importantly, please give back to underclassmen after you are successful.
Networking as a high school senior??? I’m a freshmen as a similar liberal arts. This seems like rly good advice. Do you have any advice for how to study for non acct/valuation technicals? I just saw on here how someone was asked about sale lease for example
The program I was in had a database with thousands of interview questions, and I never saw that one asked. Many questions from the common guides everyone studies didn't appear either in the database. You could drive yourself crazy trying to cover every niche topic, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a complete hardo. There's always going to be something obscure you didn't study. Ask upperclassmen about the questions they faced in interviews; many of them write them down.
I can't speak about what resources to study because I was in a program. The paid programs do a good job of consolidating the material, so you don't end up wasting time searching the internet and studying things you don't need to know. Your interviews will mostly focus on valuation and accounting. M&A and LBOs won't be tested as much. If you aren't in a program, you just have to search around the internet for stuff.
Networking in high school seems like a bit much. I go to one of the top NESCACs (W/A) and our career center's finance advisor won't meet with freshmen in the fall because they need to prioritize helping juniors piece something together. They also advocate for starting networking freshman summer, which I believe is more reasonable; I actually have some stuff on my resume and can reasonably articulate my interest.
You're 100% correct. See edit. I assumed they were in college already sorry.
Funny how when the other college freshman asked what they should be doing the answer was just touch grass and get laid…this guy knows what he’s talking about. Honestly wish I had this advice earlier
Bowdoin alum
just network. When I was in ib I would push hard for other Bowdoin kids and so would my vp at the time so network network network.
Do you take calls from other NESCAC students? I've been advised to try it out by some people on this forum but am not completely sure of the approach.
I tried to help a Bowdoin kid once. Coming from a large public sports school, it took me a bit to figure out where this place was. Good guy - ended up at a BB before our interviews and didn’t even play lax.
congrats on bowdoin nescac are highly regarded and id go as far and say they’re getting better. im p sure williams is like T5 for banking per capita and amherst/middlebury are T10 along with the ivies. only issue is alumni network size cuz the schools are small but they are amazing at EBs that normally take like 2-3 kids a year from 99% of schools. also technical stuff is hard but there are courses online. they’re also just as good if not better for consulting def target schools esp for Bain and McK. also less internal competition than schools like Columbia for IB/MBB. it might be hard to break into private equity tho bc some companies are really prestige oriented hiring primarily from HYPSW+. shoudlnt be much of an issue tho bc NESCAC students are even better at getting into top law business and med school (something amherst is known for for example).
dm me if got any questions too
You haven't started college yet
still know what im talking about
LACs (like Williams) have inflated placement because of the amount of kids who either have family in the industry (nepo hires) or play a sport and use those connections. The average nondiverse, non athlete, non nepo kid will have a much, much more difficult time recruiting compared to a traditional target.
Yep, went to A/W and good portion of IB hires (still high amount per capita) were either well connected or were classified as diversity. That's not to say that it's incredibly difficult, but be prepared to stand out in some other way (ECs, good internships, 3.7-3.8+ GPA, networking, etc.). The real value of the NESCAC alumni network will become apparent once you break in and you realize how many alum are at all different kinds of firms. NESCAC alumni are always willing to help each other out and it's always a common talking point. Like any industry, getting that first job will always be the hardest and can be relatively difficult if you are a part of that group the above poster is referring to.
W/A non-athlete/non-diverse student here. Although I haven't gone through recruiting yet, the athlete thing feels a bit overblown; I've found athlete alums to be just as responsive to my cold emails and willing to help out. While I can't peer into their brains and see if they act differently with people who are on their former teams, I don't think that being a non-athlete has set me back in any way thus far.
Get in touch with the kids who have interned in finance, and connect with finance society leaders. Kids who have recently gone through recruiting processes at your school are your best resource. Learn from their experiences and recommendations, and with hard work, you can place extremely well from Bowdoin / top LACs
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