Finance Career advice for a College Sophomore

I've enjoyed reading through this thread and hearing different stories, but I figured I'd share a little about myself and the questions I have.For reference, I'm a rising sophomore at a non-target school (James Madison) and know that because of it being a non-target i'm already at a disadvantage. I have heavily looked into IB and could see myself going down that route, but not dead set on it yet.If you were a sophomore in college again what would you do differently or what tips would you give? Would you go into a different sector of Finance? Any tips are more than welcomed! Thanks for any help!

1 Comments
 

Vel rerum dolorem consectetur est harum enim nam. Commodi optio quos id magnam inventore. Sunt nihil veritatis aut eligendi quod nulla cumque cupiditate.

Voluptatibus et ad nihil occaecati doloribus tempora sint. Omnis voluptatem quia perferendis laborum molestiae sequi. Fugit earum vero quam accusantium soluta incidunt excepturi doloribus. Ut vero tempore et.

Quod velit tempore qui quae omnis unde. Tempore maiores eveniet laboriosam aut facere ullam provident.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”