Exchange Student ➡️ Investment Banking Intern

Thinking of doing an exchange to Boston College from Australia , and trying to get an internship and network in Boston and New York which is 4 hours away by train (I don’t care I’m hungry) I’ve already researched visa restrictions, and I’ve read I can with a J1 Visa and ACADEMIC Training signed off by my host school, overall main goal is to be in NYC and on wallstreet. Have a good GPA, been told I’m articulate and I have studied wallstreet etiquette.

Main answers I’m looking for out of this
- success rate
- ideas
-overall input
- things I should consider

36 Comments
 

depends on your grade and stats but probobly low. Lot of international/ j1 kids here and banks will turn them away after this whole H1B thing. 

 

That’s true for most international students, but not for Australians. I don’t need an H-1B I qualify for the E-3 visa, which is Australia-only. There’s no lottery, no ~30% success rate, and no “multiple tries” problem. If the role qualifies as a specialty occupation and I meet the requirements, it’s approved on the merits.

 

1. no chance in hell you’re going to be committing 4hrs by train from your university to do an internship 


2. If you’re saying you’re wanting to “work on Wall Street” - what firms are you exactly expecting will be willing to take you on as an intern?

3. Why would they choose you over an American? Could be wrong but aren’t you too young to get an E3 visa? If you don’t have a U.S degree you need professional work experience  

 

If ur going to Boston College to try to go into banking, why don't you try utilizing Boston College networking avenues and work in Boston IB. It'll be easier for you to get looks and easier for you to network without commuting 4 hours each way to NYC. Won't say it's probable but with the amount of grind you seem willing to put in I would say it's def possible. IB selects for dudes who are willing to just put their head down and grind.

 

Thanks for this useful reply un like the other guy - what’s the Boston recruitment cycle like because in the us it’s looking like you guys start applying in your 2nd year - holy shit

 

Don’t bother going to NYC every weekend, most networking is done online nowadays (also what exactly is your plan once you get to NYC, just walk into a bank and talk to people???). BC is considered a semi-target for NYC IB, and I’m not sure how many alumni will be willing to help out given you’re an exchange student. Worth a try, but keep your expectations low, and still prioritize opportunities at home. I think you have a very low chance (10%) of landing a BB/EB offer, but at least you’ll have fun studying abroad.

 

Id suggest just meeting people with LinkedIn and Zoom, and attending OCR events. Plenty of target schools are rural, and their students don’t go down to NYC every weekend. Those 4 hours are better spent emailing people and preparing for technicals

 
Most Helpful

Honestly, this plan doesn't take many things into consideration, and it's much harder than you think to achieve the goals you've set.

1) We recruit for internships in our sophomore year of college almost two years before we'd even start the actual internship, which means you'd need to be doing an exchange program relative to our cycle and time of recruiting. I'm unsure where you're at at this point in your education, but it's something important to know. 
2) Recently, visa hires, H1B or not, have become a lot more difficult with everything going on, so it is extremely difficult for people on different types of visas but still studying in the US to recruit for places here. 
3) What exactly is your plan on just going to NYC every weekend? It's exhausting and costly; you'd need to have trains/buses every week, hotels, food expenses, etc. just to go down there when you could achieve the same by networking online.
4) BC is a target, but your chances are higher recruiting in Boston.
5) Couldn't tell you what your success rate is, but getting into IB your chances are already pretty low; throw in all the factors you've just added, and it becomes incredibly low.

Maybe focus on getting into IB in Australia and find a way to get to the US from there? My two cents

t
 

Might switch my focus to consulting
My goal really is just impactful meritocratic work in a city (like New York) where hustle is rewarded, consulting seems like an easier recruitment process then ib, still in my first year and I honestly just want to be prepared

 

Again, IB or not, even consulting would be difficult, and I'd suggest sticking to your local market if you aren't going to be doing your full length of studying in the US it's just really, really difficult and too short of a time period.

NYC is not as meritocratic as you might think the idea of it is

t
 

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