Liberal Arts Major at Target, what are my chances? Also, question about connections...

Hey guys,

So I apologize if I come off ignorant in this post, I am new to this industry and am still trying to learn about it.

I am a senior with a 3.7 GPA in Philosophy at a Target (Brown), or at least I think it's a target?

I don't have any relevant internships in finance. I am going to go to OCR this year and am trying to figure out my chances at getting an offer from a BB (or boutique, etc).

Now, the previous year I saw a lot friends from high school score offers from BB's through networks/connections (they go to random state schools or otherwise low ranking schools), and I'm more than a little surprised. I've known these kids for many years and they've always been hardcore slackers and pretty dim.

How is it possible that they are able to get these jobs while kids from targets struggle like dogs for them and still fail?

Am I just not understanding the culture of the industry? I've always had the impression getting jobs through nepotism, connections, etc was unethical and looked down upon...and yet it seems not only status quo in finance, but celebrated.

What am I missing here?