Help with my path to I-Banking?

Hey guys, so I'm a junior in high school and I've always loved finance. The stock market has always amazed me, and I'm always trying to read about finance in the news and whatnot. My dad even owns a small company in the city and sometimes our Financial Advisor will let me sit in as he works with my dad on the budget and stuff. My question is, what should I do to get into Investment Banking? I'm only 17, but I know this is what I want to do. I'm pretty intelligent, ~3.7 GPA with AP/IB courses, 1900 SAT score and I've always been considered top 10% of the school. The only problem is, my parents are not extremely wealthy. My dad is previous military and just took over the family company, I have 3 other siblings and everything, so they will not be paying for college. I dont even have a car at the moment because my parents just cant afford it. So should I shell out a ton of student loans for a top feeder school (if I could even get in) or just try to go to some state university that would offer me scholarships and then transfer after a year or two of saving and getting good grades? I know that if I just took out loans and graduated from a feeder school and got into a good I-Banking job, I could pay off the debt in time, but is it worth it? Would it hurt my chances if I didn't spend all 4 years of my undergrad at a top school such as NYU-Stern? I just don't want to take a certain path if another way would work just the same and end up saving me money/stress

2 Comments
 

Blanditiis doloribus commodi qui quae perspiciatis deleniti aspernatur voluptas. Non cum impedit dolor molestiae id consequatur. Corrupti quisquam labore assumenda velit ipsum. Nam nam non cupiditate ut enim et.

Sunt dignissimos quia veritatis consectetur totam. Et harum nihil laudantium impedit. Dicta qui eum sunt quo quos reiciendis. Facere eum dolores cum enim et eius.

Facilis deserunt eius dolores rem. Id dolor illo sequi provident fugit quibusdam doloremque. Cupiditate omnis ut aperiam repellendus minima. Cupiditate animi maiores quidem optio. Voluptatem soluta vel soluta.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”