Applying To Schools Next Year in dreams of investment banking
I am applying to schools next year in hopes of breaking into investment banking. My gpa isn’t the greatest around a 3.0 on a 4 scale and my sat is around a 1350 still working on it, my extracurriculars i feel are my strong suit. I have founded a ai automation startup helping small businesses in my area 1-5 clients, crated an investment club at my school with 10 plus members, played varsity ice hockey and lacrosse for 2 years (2 years of jv for both), created a web app that allows you to input trades and investments you have made and track your pnl and progress with 1-50 users, been in deca for this upcoming year but can’t submit any completions due to needing to send out applications before i compete, been in clubs like best buddies, sadd, film club and finally worked as a lifeguard the past 3 years. I just wanted some guidance on if what i’m thinking is responsible, i’ve been researching and like schools like Penn state, SMU, Ohio state, Fordham, Indiana university, wisconsin, purdue, baruch, miami ohio,. These are all direct admit to the business schools btw, if someone could point me in the right direction and if i even have a chance at those schools and if im missing any that can set me up for big investment banking that i have a chance of getting direct admit at.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, your profile demonstrates strong extracurricular involvement and entrepreneurial spirit, which can help offset a lower GPA and SAT score to some extent. Here's a breakdown of your situation and advice:
1. Your Current School List
2. Additional Schools to Consider
Target Schools with Strong IB Placement:
Transfer-Friendly Schools for IB: If you're open to transferring later, schools like NYU (Stern), UVA (McIntire), and Michigan (Ross) are excellent for IB but may require a stronger academic profile.
3. Strengthening Your Profile
4. Do You Have a Chance?
5. Final Tips
Your entrepreneurial and leadership experiences are impressive and can set you apart. Focus on improving your SAT score, crafting strong applications, and networking to maximize your chances.
Sources: Having serious thoughts about B-school for the first time - can anyone offer any advice?, The Comprehensive List of Transfer Friendly Schools For Investment Banking, Non-Target to MM IB: My Advice, Ask mbaMission about Business School Admissions
Sorry to say but that SAT/GPA is your biggest hurdle. You can think about life in filters, the first big one is the school you go to. If you make it to a target, life becomes easier and so does landing a spot in banking (not always, but statistically it's true). The next filter is the firm that you work for which will open more or less doors (EVR vs. HSBC blah blah), also not always true but you get what I mean. And so on and so forth for the other filters of life. But a top school will not look at a white kid with a 1350 and accept you for the things you listed, most of the time. If you can't even make it past that filter, this is a pipe dream.
Echoing above, need to get grades and score up before you even think about IB at all. With your current profile, you won’t get into any school that creates solid career opportunities for you - and you getting into IB etc is nothing more than a pointless hypothetical scenario
Your best path out of those is to get into Indiana for arts + sciences but even then you need to get your GPA up, then transfer into Kelly and then also try to get into the IBW there.
You can’t transfer into Kelley after taking arts and sciences courses freshman year.
Sorry I meant pre-business, which I think has a much lower barrier to entry compared to Kelly direct admit.
It's very scary to realize how much high school performance affect the rest of your life. People say 10th graders who think about IB at that time are autistic, but like if you're not thinking about medium term goals like that and you dont find a reason to work hard and get good grades you can really make your life a lot harder if you want to go into fields like high finance. i dont think people realize how lucky they are to have worked hard in high school, which leads to getting into targets,IB, etc... it really chances your life
Anyways kid, push yourself hard to get 4.0s for your remaining semesters. I think fordham would be a good option for you for finance bc of the NYC proximity and decent alumni network across firms in the city. You absolutely must get a 4.0 your first semester. do not fuck around. if you get the 4.0 it will open a lot of doors and you might even be able to transfer up to a semi target school before investment banking recruitment comes around (UNC, Wake, UGA, BC). After your freshman year in college your high school GPA is irrelevant, so you kinda get a fresh start once you get to college, except for getting into investment clubs and all that at school - will depend on your HS GPA, but you can get around that by networking/knowing the right people, etc
Time to lock in man. I think you can do it
Thank you for this i was also thinking of maybe going to community college or just applying to a school and really locking in and transferring but it’s a non negotiable that i need to transfer after my freshmen year i have heard because of all the recruitment that happens softmore year
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