Combined engineering program with Columbia? from a top 20 liberal arts school

Hi,

I go to a top 20 liberal arts school in New England and I'm very interested in a career in IB. I had some final rounds with BBs and Elite Boutiques this summer/fall through networking with alums, but haven't landed an offer. It's getting really late in the recruiting season and I'm starting to think that I kinda screwed for SA 2020.

I can only imagine FT recruiting being harder without a decent summer internship. My school has a combined program with Columbia engineering school (operation research, financial engineering...). I'm an econ major with great GPA it would be very easy for me to get into that program. I am thinking about doing 4-2 the program at Columbia and networking throughout the process. I can imagine I might have a better shot due to Columbia being a target and great network.

Has anyone gone through the 3-2 or 4-2 program and had experience landing an offer with BBs? Is this the right move or should I just suck it up and get an MBA after working in something other than IB. I could really use some advice here.

(I'm concerned that networking might be tricky because I'm technically going to Columbia as a junior, and some banks recruit as early as March for summer analyst next year before I even get to the school )

Thanks!

3 Comments
 

Et beatae et et error esse debitis eaque. Rerum necessitatibus dolores ipsam amet. Sunt omnis veritatis ut eaque velit. Quod et explicabo reprehenderit aut ad nihil. Laboriosam incidunt sed aspernatur occaecati asperiores aut.

Eum doloribus qui debitis natus quia alias. Quae quia ut aliquid est voluptatem quae dolor necessitatibus. Id voluptatem amet autem quis sed voluptas. Deleniti sit aliquam dolorum rem ipsa qui.

At consequatur alias ab ex ut nam. Eius beatae voluptatum ipsam at nobis hic quia.

Voluptatibus quam sint nobis ipsa labore illo velit. Ea numquam illum impedit et sunt corrupti. Numquam laboriosam quo sint. Rerum ut accusamus ratione.

TWSS

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”