Do finance clubs basically decide your outcome? Feeling late to the party.

As someone who just went through recruiting at a Semi-Target average club culture (Not as toxic as UMich but not as chill as UVA) I think it depends on what your target is. For the majority of SA positions: Internships > Clubs but for top BB/EB positions: Clubs > Internships. 

This is the lamest thing I have ever heard. I know what the club is but what the hell is a finance club? I would never hire someone who was part of one and if I ever found out someone who worked for me was part of one, their career would end fast. Thankfully I haven’t had to lower my standards away from Northeastern LACs and Ivies. 

No 

–VP of the top finance club at an ivy

Yes and no, depends heavily on the school and its processes (ie. Kelley (C tier non-target) vs Kelley IBW (semi-target to target)

I got my job from a non target, no prep club background because someone from the club was kind enough to help me understand the process.

Life in general will feel unfair, but during those times, what will matter is who is willing to help.

At a target school here, definitely less important than people make it out to me. Was in one of the top clubs freshman year, was helpful to learn about the process, but personally got my job by just cold emailing and networking hard

In my experience, clubs (esp at targets) are one big circle jerk. They def help, not needed tho if you put ur head down and grind. 

Internships > Clubs 

Ignore title - currently an associate at one of the better MM banks. I came from a non-target background and wasn’t even in one of the clubs. Every resume I look at has one of those clubs, it means absolutely nothing to me. Your ability to nail and truly understand technicals and having solid prior internships where you actually did something and can convey that clearly matters more than these clubs where you may or may not actually do anything. Oh and not coming across as an absolute bot is also really important.

We just wrapped our hiring process for our interns, don’t think anyone ever commented on someone’s club experience as being a differentiator for getting an interview. The only thing it’s good for is the network the club may or may not have, otherwise it’s a complete waste of time to me.

Thought I'd share my target MBA IB recruiting perspective. For some context, I had a non-target but respectable undergrad, a few years in a corporate/business role, and then recruited at the on-campus firms here. I am a pretty conventional American IB candidate, nothing too unusual (i.e. war hero, former athlete, client kid, et cetera). I know the thread is mainly about undergrad, and MBA programs are far smaller/culturally quite different, but hopefully this still benefits someone. Landed an EB Summer Associate 2026 offer I'm very happy about.

I think the banking club here was incredibly valuable for me, and I certainly wouldn't frame it as a gatekeeper (it was free and open to join for anyone). In a nutshell, the point is to have a go-to resource for interview Qs, prep materials, or second-years who recruited IB last year (club does a great job keeping them involved; the majority actively want to help the next class). The school was in largely a logistical role coordinating with HR/recruiters - the club ultimately owned many banker relationships, and bankers constantly threw around our club's name acronym in coffee chats, etc.

So, in one sense, I agree that it DID drive access to resume reviews, introductions, and interview preparation. But like many things, this process was a matter of getting out what you put in. If you showed up to every club technical session, ran some mock interviews, followed the guidelines on attire and resume, etc. (remember, all free and open to join!) and had only a small amount of luck, you probably landed an offer this year. My international friends had a tougher time, with the visa changes this year, but many still placed.

How badly do you want to be an investment banker? I never went through this process in undergrad but my take is if you're serious about it, use every tool available, especially your school's banking club. Being surrounded by people learning the same things, alumni excited to network, etc. is invaluable. In my case, we had a super collegial environment where people shared their interview questions, banker contact info, studied together, etc. and we churned out several dozen bankers so far this year.

At places like University of Michigan where one top club controls the alumni pipeline it can feel like a gatekeeper, but it still doesn’t decide your outcome by itself. If you missed that track, you can close a lot of the gap by getting real reps and credible experience, then showing up to conversations prepared. Once you land the first solid role, nobody on Wall Street Oasis or on the desk cares what club name was on your resume.

At my non-target state school, if you weren’t in the club, you were basically fucked.

I agree with you. I did like 2 IB internships, one PE and one VC. Went to a semi target school NYU CAS. Had like a 3.8 GPA. The only thing I lacked was access to a club at NYU. Didn't land even a single r1 despite good credentials. For context, I networked as well. So the clubs do play one of the most important role in IB recruiting.

I think it varies from school to school, but it was very important in my school.

Depends on the school. I go to a super target and got BB and EB offer by networking with people from random social clubs I’m in/seniors I knew from freshman year—I’m not in any finance clubs. Know plenty of people in “top” clubs here that are struggling way more than me. On the other hand have friends at schools like UM/IU/etc that basically needed to be in a club to get an offer.

b

I’m an analyst at an EB and I got to do the first round screen for ~150 resumes from my school. First thing I did was CTRL+F for my investment club’s name.

recruited last year at a semi target without having any clubs or feeder orgs and ended up landing jpm nyc

it’s way harder, but you can pave your own path. i probably got lucky to a degree, but i had four back to back internships by the time i recruited and stock pitch and case comp wins. i had zero network, and just relied on cold emailing and non conventional outreach methods

it’s definitely doable but you have to “find alpha” per se

As someone that does a ton of interviews and hiring, I think these matter very little to not at all. 

Depends which banks. If EB don’t worry but if Jefferies / GS / Qatalyst u will need a club yes.

I think it also depends on if you're male non-DEI/non-nepo. If so, then it's more likely you'll need club alum to pull for you. At my target, haven't seen many in that demographic make it into a good role without orgs tbh. 

Recruited at the MBA level at a BB, and my school has 1 club that coordinates everything from prepping to recruiting. I think dues are ~$150ish for both years so no significant barrier to entry. 

In general, I'm surprised by the fact that students will splash >=~$200k plus on semi-target/target tuition to hopefully land an IB/MBB/PE role but not take the initiative to learn about the structural landscape as to how recruiting actually goes down. Taking the initiative is what will ultimately make us successful in IB/PE/etc. I don't want to pick on anyone. I'm just surprised given how intense competition is for these roles and how existential things feel with Claude AI breathing down junior-level's neck. Wishing you guys success on your recruiting. Don't stop hustling till you've been extended an offer.