How to get a head start
Hi guys,
I currently attend a prestigious Northeast boarding school (think Exeter, Andover, Choate, Deerfield, Lawrenceville, Westminster, etc) and will be attending Wharton for the class of 2030. I am a Latino, first-generation, middle-class student on financial aid, and was wondering what steps I should take to ensure I can secure an internship in either consulting or investment banking (I am leaning towards consulting at the moment). I have very strong connections from my boarding school and want to make the most out of them as possible. Also, I know a lot of you will say it's too soon for me to be worrying about this, but I really do want to make sure I have the best chances and opportunities possible. Anything is helpful. Thanks!
*repost
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s how you can get a head start and position yourself for success in consulting or investment banking:
1. Leverage Your Network Early
2. Excel Academically at Wharton
3. Get Involved in Relevant Clubs
4. Start Networking Now
5. Develop Key Skills
6. Secure High-Impact Internships
7. Start Case Practice and Technical Prep Early
8. Showcase Your Unique Background
9. Stay Consistent and Curious
10. Plan for Sophomore Recruiting
By starting early and staying proactive, you’ll position yourself as a strong candidate for both consulting and IB. Keep building your network, refining your skills, and staying focused on your goals. Good luck!
Sources: What should I do as an undergrad if I want to work for Mckinsey?, Q&A: 5 Things you can do to help convert your internship to an offer in Consulting, Q&A: 5 Things you can do to help convert your internship to an offer in Consulting, Q&A: Former MBB Consultant
relax.
wharton + diversity + prep school network. u are holding a royal flush.
the only way you mess this up is by burning out or being the weird high schooler trying to talk LBOs.
your roadmap:
gpa is king: once you start, keep it above 3.7. that is the only gatekeeper.
diversity programs: google "mckinsey freshman diversity" or "goldman insight series". apply to everything early. u are their dream candidate.
soft networking: use your school alumni database, but do not ask for internships yet. ask for "advice on navigating wharton". be the cool mentee, not the desperate kid.
enjoy your senior spring. you have 40 years to grind
Thank you so much. This was very thorough and informative. I don’t think keeping a 3.7 will be too difficult—people from my school who have attended Wharton and other schools alike say that the workload is a lot easier. Also thanks for the resources. I will make sure to look out for those in the future.
What I did is when I first started networking, I exclusively emailed alumni of my prep school and used those calls as "practice" before moving onto higher-stakes calls with my college's alumni. Funnily enough, my HS alumni response rate was higher than my college alumni response rate.
Anyways congrats on Westminster
I actually put Westminster on there just to see if anyone would say that lmao. I do not go there. Thanks for the advice though!
My two cents are: nurture your existing connections and be strategic (but soft) on building good ones at Wharton, so when you have to you can go back to those in the future + rely on alumni meetings and network as well. But like mentioned above on the thread, just be the nice kid and not the annoying one.
Also, I'd consider IB roles more than consulting ones, but that's just me (pays better and gives you more options in the future).
Okay thank you so much for the advice! Would you say ib is worth it more regardless even compared to mbb? I just think I would enjoy consulting work more but definitely am not straying away from banking.
Honestly, long term I think so.
In general, I feel like it gives you more options if you want to move to PE or something else.
But I guess you have a point, you have to enjoy what you do because you’ll spend endless hours at the office.
Banking is only better than MBB if you are dead set on PE/HF or Corp Dev. MBB is significantly better for corporate strategy exits/owning a P&L/joining a top startup. It also gives you the option of going the PE route, but it’s a bit harder. So I would say that banking only makes sense if you are super interested in investing.
It depends on what sectors or industries he would like to specialise eventually.
In my experience, IB pays better but you sacrifice a lot —that was honestly what made me ‘leave’— so it is long hours, requires a lot of technical financial skills (which can and would land you a job in the future of head of finance, CFO in startups if you want and it is quite common. Some of the companies we have invested in the past have ex-GS and MS CFOs and usually that gains them extra “points” as well), but depending on what you end up choosing grants you clear exits to PE/HF and alternatives, if that’s what you want.
MBB will give you more ‘access’ to c-suite in different projects, but depending on what department within IB you choose, that also happens. It is more strategic advisory work and it can actually be quite fun. More travelling though (it’s nice in the start but it becomes old and annoying quite fast tbh). People tend to be nicer as well, at least most consultants I worked alongside with were vs other bankers.
Happy to chat if OP wants to. My career was/is anything but linear and good connections played an important role to make it happen.
im a jr at W, sent u a dm happy to share school specific advice
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