I'm new and I'm motivated.

where do you go to school?

looking at his profile

best of luck yury, you are going to need that motivation

raise your gpa a bit, keep working as much as possible, definitely do something this summer and sophomore summer as well, and work during the year if you can...

if banks don't recruit at your school call up the switchboard and ask for the summer recruiter and don't let them hang up on you until you get it, then tell the recruiter your story.

if you can't get numbers then talk to people on here or friends at other schools and get their numbers from them (through their career services or whatever), if you are persistent, put in the effort into practicing your interview skills, and take the time to learn the technical stuff, you will get the job you want

Thanks for all the great replies. I'm actually in the process of transferring. Yes my GPA is a bit low, and that's all thanks to marginalpoints, but yes, I deserved the grades. The schools I'm applying to from easiest to toughest (roughly): UMich, UChicago, NYU, CMU, Cornell, Yale, Penn, Harvard. I do have some "hooks" such as the first in my fmaily to be studying in America, plus the internships and so forth. I also just applied to join my schools ibanking club, which was started just december '06, and if I'm accepted I'll be the first and only freshman member which I tihnk would really help my case. I'm also definitely looking to network whenever. So if anyone needs an intern/coffee runner in NYC, Pittsburgh or any place near don't be shy to ask.

Hate to nitpick but Umich will be harder to get into than NYU, but you have a good attitude man and I hope you get into the industry, you remind of me when I was 19....which was two years ago...but anyways getting into banking from Pitt will be hard as hell, you may have a decent shot from PSU though, might wanna transfer there, you have a good shot at getting in. Good luck and don't hesitate to pm me if you need any more information.

isn't Pitt a better school than PSU? Why would PSU help him get into Banking? And 3.53 isn't adequate?

thanks sean i'll definitely send over my resume and some questions so you can nitpick at that as well heh. As for psu and pitt, pitt is actually ranked higher and their difference is very marginal. If I'm transferring then it's to somewhere far better, b/c I'd rather stay here than go to psu for a few reasons:my family resides here, my mother works at upmc so I get a discount at pitt and I also do not like PSU one bit lol. And as for my GPA, I had only 4 classes and got one B-, that killed me. This semester I have 5, the maximum amount of credits possible and am working my ass off for the coveted 4.0

Penn State's business school is better than Pitt's, I know some Banks recruit at Smeal, I don't even know the name of Pitt's B-School.

Are you brazilian Yury ? Or Portuegese ?

I'm actually Belarussian. Our b-school is called Katz. Has a better ring than Smeal, dont you think?

Does have a better ring to it than Smeal...but anyways, my opinion may be skewed towards PSU because I know lots of kids from PSU but not too many at Pitt. Also as a result of this, I've heard of a few kids from PSU getting into I-Banks but not so many from Pitt.

If you get into Michigan, Chicago or NYU, it won't be too hard getting into Banking from either of those 3 schools, they're all top notch.

Now all I have to do is actually convince those schools into taking me.

The secret is: great essays that showcase your ambition and drive, and a lot of extracurriculars. Plus emphasize your family background and struggles and all that good stuff (although you won't get too many points for that since you're white).

Of course, a 3.5+ helps a lot.

yeah I definitely have some essay's lined up. my main one will involve how i moved around 8 times, and a secondary about how i did 5 weeks worth of calculus in a few hours, literally. just did it today lol. as for the 3.5, i thought that's my killer, b/c in my hoenst opinion i felt as if i deserved something more like 3.8 but hey, there's this semester. Well, I'm off to get my miniscule 6 hours of sleep. I'll likely pm you tmrw seeking some wisdom.

You're transferring schools - that's the first step.

After that, interview prep, networking skills, and industry knowledge will get you a spot. You would also be a great candidiate for SEO & INROADS.

^ Can you please explain what SEO and INROADS are? PM me if you can.