Do banks care about college leadership?

I will be applying to junior year SA positions at banks this summer.

Over the past two years, I was able to raise ~$200,000 in donations (multiple smaller donations, not one donation from a single whale) for my school which will go toward additional resources for a department unrelated to IB.

Obviously I know in any normal case this would look fantastic on my resume, but from what I understand, banks only focus on relevant experience, and this doesn’t seem to be relevant.

I’m going to include it, but all else equal, will it make a meaningful difference?

Also, how would M7 MBAs view it?

9 Comments
 

I would say it’s probably helpful for banks but not imperative. It will help you stand out if you hit all the other bars (experience, GPA, etc) but it won’t lift you up if you haven’t hit those.

That said, leadership is very easy to bring up in behavioral interviews. It’s one of the most commonly asked questions and you can even redirect many other broad questions to it. I.e. three strengths, why should we hire you, tell me about your leadership, tell me about a time you worked on a team, tell me about a time you struggled but overcame a challenge – this list goes on and on. I would focus on this aspect as it will help you stand out a lot from other candidates whose responses to these questions will often be extremely vanilla and uniform

 

How the heck didyou raise so much? I tried raising money for my clubs and we could raise $2K max from local businesses.

Will update my computer soon and leave Incognito so I will disappear forever. How did I achieve Neanderthal by trolling? Some people are after me so need to close account for safety.
 

Absolutely. This makes you memorable in the best way, and, assuming your GPA isn't terrible, I'd throw you in the interview pile to ask about it.

Array
 

Asperiores nihil nihil earum minima. Ipsa nulla minima consectetur atque consectetur sed ducimus.

Et voluptatem nostrum labore id. At illum quisquam est beatae vero sed sed.

Facere quas nostrum autem reprehenderit nesciunt quia. Voluptas eum commodi dignissimos explicabo quasi ipsam. Recusandae sint consequatur sed.

Reprehenderit modi nesciunt accusamus eum sapiente pariatur corporis. Reprehenderit impedit dolorem suscipit aspernatur tempora sunt qui.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”