Ambitious CC Student trying to break into IB
Hello, I’m a Community-College freshman with a 3.8 GPA, it’s my first semester and I’m trying to break into Investment Banking, obviously I know its a huge task but it is possible and I’m willing to drag myself through the dirt for it. I’m currently building a DCF with my professor, and I also will be starting a staff accountant/mini consulting role at an accounting startup with my uncles bestfriend (he’s a CPA) who worked public accounting (Wipfli, and Tilly Baker) I plan on transferring to UIUC and joining IBA, but I just want to know am I cooked? With a DCF/LBO Financial Modeling, Business Club involvement, a 3.7+ GPA, and referral letters is it worth even trying to apply for summer internships while at CC, after this summer? And Do I have a solid shot into breaking into IB?
Would transfer ASAP, do not wait until junior year.
Also consider doing an extra sem after you get to uiuc if you want to buy urself an extra recruiting cycle + recruit with the uiuc gpa. Since SA recruiting kicks off sophomore fall you will have to recruit with the CC gpa even after transferring. If you're shooting for chicago/minnesota it might be less of an issue.
Finally, Is there a reason you are aiming for UIUC? Are you at least applying to other schools in the region like umich, ND, Northwestern, uchicago (ik, huge reach), and transfer friendly schools like cornell, emory, vandy, usc even if they are outside of the midwest? USC is a strong feeder into west coast ib and emory and vandy while lower semis overall have strong placements in the south (atl, dtx, clt) and decent placements in nyc. If it's a financial constraint then my apologies.
audit is fine for a freshman internship. you should be fine aiming for a summer internship in something deal adjacent like valuations, tas, corpdev, fi research, etc at a smaller shop. Boutique buyside & ib internships are tough to land as a non nepo/ diversity program student as a freshman, even at a semi target
** I've seen people break in w/ cc backgrounds (non nyc). Do not graduate early.
I thought so but I also don’t have enough credits and I don’t think I’d be able to get enough in time to be completely honest, as I am also probably transferring via IAI’s and getting an AA at my CC.
Im not particularly shooting for elite BB or huge elite boutiques, Im fine working middle/market, My goal to be honest would be low BB, or high-mid Middle Market then lateraling into Middle market PE and eventually into a corporate leadership position, im not so much of a fiend for prestige I’d just like to have a competitive career while also being able to set myself and my future up financially well.
Im aiming for UIUC because it’s just cost effective, cheap, and I want to major Finance + Accounting, Id end up attempting to seek an MBA at Kellogg or somewhere else. I also am considering out of state schools like Ross, and IU, Vandy, Purdue, etc.
I think I might be able to land some sort of internship, My uncle was a frat founder and majority of his rushee’s and alumni were finance majors who went off into IB, Corp Finance, etc.
I didn't go through this situation myself so can't provide any first hand perspective or advice.
The one thing you should really prioritize is transferring in as a sophomore. Please avoid getting ur associates. I think USC and cornell also does sophomore spring transfers (not 100% on that), but in that scenario you would most likely need to do an additional semester (ex. may 2030 grad date pushed back to dec 2030) so you could recruit in the fall as a soph (although ur technically a junior). You could also just lie about doing another semester and graduate on time.
A lot of career bankers even at EBs went to complete non targets, given they broke in like 10-20 yrs ago. No need to do an MBA unless u failed at breaking in or it's a promotion req at ur PE firm. And don't dickride the bb/umm thing too much. I've seen target kids end up at cantor and complete non target kids end up at centerview (as a first year lateral). I'm not trying to give you false hope but just saying it is extremely luck dependent and if ur going in with that mindset it will be hard to hide during interviews.
Join SEO when u get to college. I've seen like bx, hps internships given to sophomores at complete shit tier schools
I’m also diverse I forgot to mention that lmao
Depends what your targeting. BB - Stretch but possible, MM - Possible, LMM - Possible. Seems like you're doing the right thing I wouldn't overstress just have your techs down and get some relevant experience and just know your angle.
Im targeting Low BB, and MM, I don’t see a point in LMM as I know I’d be able to compete at a high level. In terms of technicals I’m practically obsessing over technicals lol, I spend gym sessions listening to rareliquids DCF video’s and LBO video’s.
Thats wierd dude don't do that. Take a week or 2 in the summer and put a good 50-60hrs into studying the M&I 400 and then put like a few hours every month to keep it embedded. For now just take like a few weeks to actually learn the different product groups, industry groups and known banks, then start reaching out to people to just network once you have a baseline knowledge. Also don't get wound up in this BB > MM > LMM bullshit because thats now how anything works. I'd look at an analyst at a LMM/MM RX boutique with good dealflow more favorably than an Analyst in a low BB group w no dealflow anyday, plus BBs come with a ton of corporate beurocracy that isn't talked about enough. Quality of experience trumps all. This is a game of can you get people to rally behind (i.e like) you, not can you impress someone with your freshman year technical knowledge. Your diverse Join SEO & MLT they make a tangible difference from first hand experience.
SMU in Texas is transfer friendly. They have specific scholarships for CC transfer students
Not cooked at all. Most banks and PE shops in Chicago have at least one, if not several, UIUC alum. Worst case scenario go work in TAS for a year or two.
Thank you, I’ll definitely look into it
Hey man, shoot me a DM. I started off at the Chicago Community Colleges and now work in IB, always happy to chat.
Hey, I'm currently going through this situation just at a much later stage in my undergrad than you are here's my piece.
An audit internship is completely fine as a starting point, as long as you're willing to lateral into IB down the road. I'll tell you my story because I was in a pretty similar position, and I genuinely thought breaking into banking was impossible at one point.
I started college at a no-name local state school in Michigan that was about as non-target as you could possibly get (I had a 2.5 GPA for reference as well). I'm talking ZERO IB alumni, not even at LMM boutiques here in Michigan. When I was networking with bankers, most of them had never even heard of my school.
My first internship was in tax at a public accounting firm. Nothing glamorous and definitely not investment banking, but it was a start. I kept networking, cold emailing, and doing everything I could to get my foot in the door. Eventually, I landed an internship at an LMM investment banking boutique last summer as a sophomore. Now I'm working an off-cycle internship at another advisory firm on their business development team, hoping to turn that into a summer 27 analyst opportunity at my current firm.
My path academically hasn't exactly been traditional either. I actually left my state school and went back to community college in Fall 2025 (to repair my GPA and transfer to a better school in the Midwest). I took an additional semester and decided to reclassify to the Class of 2029 to give myself another shot at IB recruiting. I'm transferring to Umich for Econ (not Ross but still a major step-up) in Winter 2027, which is something I never would've imagined being possible when I first started college.
My point is that IB is absolutely not out of the question for you. It's really a matter of how badly you want it and how much work you're willing to put in.
There are going to be days when you feel completely defeated. Days when you've sent hundreds of cold emails, gotten rejected from every application, and start questioning whether any of this is worth it. I can't tell you how many times I thought I was going to end up working in FP&A for the rest of my life because I couldn't break into banking. I genuinely convinced myself at times that it just wasn't going to happen for someone with my background.
But you have to keep going. Take the audit internship, learn as much as you can, network with bankers, build your technical skills, and keep applying. Don't let the name of your school or your first internship dictate where you end up.
Some people have a much easier path into this industry because of where they go to school or who they know. For people like us, it takes a little more work to get there.
My biggest piece of advice is to NEVER, EVER GIVE UP. Seriously. If this is what you want to do, don't let anyone convince you that you can't. I was once in your exact position, thinking I had absolutely no shot, and I'm still pushing toward the same goal today. PM me if you ever need help or want to chat further!
Bump
If ur non target school ur gpa should be higher than average which is 3.7 in many cases
I know, its like 3.5/3.7+ GPA to get pasts screenings.
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