Is Breaking into IB Possible From Non-Target (Penn State) With These Credentials?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently a rising junior at Penn State (University Park), majoring in Finance with a 3.9 GPA. I’m aiming to break into investment banking, ideally for a junior summer analyst position, and I’d appreciate some honest feedback on whether that’s realistically attainable given my background.

Experience: • Internship 1 (Freshman Summer): Civil Engineering internship (before I switched majors) • Internship 2 (Sophomore Summer): Financial & Operations Analyst Intern at a small startup (involved in FP&A, cost tracking, and process improvement)

I’m fully committed to this path and willing to network and grind hard. My main concerns are: 1. Coming from a non-target (although Penn State does place a few into IB each year) 2. Not having a name-brand internship yet 3. No current junior summer internship lined up (currently recruiting/networking hard)

Is it too late for IB? Do I need to look into MM/boutique firms or consider a lateraling strategy post-grad? Any advice, honest thoughts, or feedback would mean a lot.

Thanks in advance.