First year at non target (sort of)

So I am going to be starting in first year in September at UCD (Ireland). While the college does send a decent amount of students to London each year, it seems to be very based on what degree you are doing. All the people heading to London IB seem to come from the most competitive economics & finance program, whereas I am doing a far less competitive economics program. 

Is there something I should be doing in first year to boost my chances of an internship in the later years? networking? cfa? I figured it was better to ask instead of realising in a year or two that i've been wasting my time.

Finance has always been an area of interest to me and it is something I want to pursue, but I missed out on the most competitive course.