High school student here. Should I have fun or try to get into a target?

I'm in high school. One dilemma I am really facing is that I see a lot of guys my age just having so much fun, and I'm really not. Don't get me wrong. I love finance, I love learning about it, and I love trading. Problem is though, no matter how much I'm fascinated by finance, I kind of resent the fact on every Friday night/weekend (including today) I'm either 1) alone or 2) hanging out with people who are frankly losers I hate but hang out because I've been grouped by them. But at the same time, I also want to get into a target. And that really- nowadays at least, given the competition- means immersing myself in finance and building a niche. So here's the difference between what I'm doing now (trying really hard to get into a target) and what I kind of want to do.

What I'm doing right now (aside from school):

  • Spending time trading
  • Reading books on investing/finance
  • Reading websites/blogs about investing/finance
  • Going to competitions for my school's Investment Club and FBLA
  • Doing a research internship with a finance professor

And all this, this building a spike for college, it takes up a lot of time. And while I love finance, I can't help but feel I'm missing out on having fun. I feel like if I stop trying so much, I could actually have a lot of fun in high school. See, unlike a lot of people I'm not stressed about classes since to me, they're frankly very easy. But I take on so much stress about my portfolio, about getting into a good college, etc.

So sometimes, I just want to stop caring so much and just do this (I'd still be getting good grades):

  • Play sports (something I want to do but not something my parents introduced me to as a kid)
  • Have fun and hang out with people
  • Date girls

And I think I want to get into a target, but I also want to have fun, and I feel if I start doing the stuff on the latter list, I'll be having a lot of fun, but I won't have time to do stuff that helps me get into a target (because playing sports is a major time commitment).

Advice?

10 Comments
 

Time is a crunch, but it's not just time that's an issue. When I look past the initial idea of just 'I'm going to be social and date", I think, 'okay, to have the kind of friends I want to have, I'll have to do something cool unrelated to finance. To get girls, I'll have to work out, dress nice, etc, etc.' So I kind of see it not just as 'I'll squeeze in a date Friday night", but with all the prep beforehand. Really wanna do it, but feel kinda like it's time consuming.

 

It depends on what kind of high school he goes to. Also, getting a target is much more difficult than just having good grades and test scores and having leadership positions in a few clubs. Unless OP is a legacy, it's gonna take a lot of work and dedication to get into a target.

Not saying he can't date or anything.

 

really disagree. Getting into a target (depending on the target ) isn't crazy hard. Sure HYPS will be difficult cuz you get pushed out by legacy, but getting into other targets is pretty straight forward and just requires effort. From the people I met in high school, the ones who got into the best univs worked smarter and not harder and did not overload on difficult classes.

 
Most Helpful

Porro consequatur minus eum dolores quia pariatur ipsa enim. Natus et pariatur et. Aliquid velit dignissimos libero molestias quibusdam et quos. Dolor tempore minima qui et nihil magnam unde.

In qui est ullam doloribus asperiores. Quas dolorem voluptate recusandae quidem eveniet quidem. Ut voluptatem tempore consequuntur. Deleniti rerum et soluta ut distinctio.

Aut repellat nihil ipsum amet commodi. Id qui at et consectetur accusantium error doloribus. Amet qui deleniti excepturi. Sunt et quia et libero.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”