Hey Everyone,
I am about to be a senior in high school. I have a 3.4 unweighted GPA, a 3.96 weighted GPA, and a 32 on the ACT (gonna try to bring that ACT up). My math score on the ACT was a 34 (99th percentile). What are some good colleges I could get into for IB?
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Go where you will be happy and have fun. You can break into IB from nearly any school you want
- SA at top MM from major non-target
What do you mean by major non-target? Does that include schools like UConn or Rutgers?
I don't go to either but yes those would be considered non-targets
Came from Rutgers can confirm it’s possible. Looking at ~10ish people every year who place at a solid firm in IB. Really just gotta network your ass off. But if you can graduate debt free and break into IB, financially you really can’t beat it
Don't listen to this person, they have no clue what they are talking about. Transfer to a target school after 1 year (apply freshman spring). All you got to do is bust your ass your first year to transfer to a target. A mutual friend who transferred to UMich did this and landed a top BB. Don't listen to these trolls from non-target schools who say, "you can break into banking from any school, I did it!" That's the same shit as Bill Gates telling people you don't need to go to college to be successful. It's true, but generally bad advice.
Facts. I went to a big state school and now I’m working for a BB
Go to Williams, Middlebury or Claremont McKenna
0 chance he gets into any of those with a 3.4 lol
If you get into CMC, skip IB and just straight to KKR.
If you're about to be a senior just pull your ACT and GPA up if you can and recruit at the targets. Basically all the Iveys, UVA, Stern, Ross, Uchicago, UT Austin etc. Either way you'll be fine. I'm no expert on US colleges so what you can do is go to different banks' LinkedIns and see where most of their analysts are from. Most of them will be from above and other Targets but you'll see some other schools that place well. BC, Colgate, Vandy all punch above their weight.
By BC do you mean Boston College?
Yup. BC is Boston college. Honestly, any school is Boston is good. BU, BC, NEU, Tufts Babson, - not targets but all place well. Harvard, MIT obviously are on another level
Edit: Why the MS?? Boston has renowned schools. Just cause some of them aren't T10 doesn't mean they aren't good
Unless he’s a Native American transgender paraplegic there’s no way he gets into the Ivys with anything below a 4.0
Hahah you never know. But no unfortunately he probably won’t. Unless he has a crazy senior year and somehow invents a cure for a cancer. But still plenty of great schools out there for IB.
Washington and Lee University places incredibly well into banking and has a really fun social scene. Your stats are right about average for it too.
You keep sucking off W&L lmao - good school yeah but many better options for IB
IMO best work hard play hard school out there
Ill check it out! Love the username btw
GPA and ACT are on the low end for W&L, but I don't know anything about the caliber of your high school, your class rank, and extracurriculars so it's certainly still worth looking into further.
The top LACs with more bro-y culture has very good placement on the street due to alumni support. Personally seen a lot of Bowdoin, Williams, and Claremont grads in IB and AM.
Choose a university where you think you would enjoy / have the most fun. Take into account the important things, such as staying close to family or home.
Colleges are massive institutions, I have no doubt that you'll find a great group of friends to fit in with, no matter where you go. As for finance recruiting, you can break in from anywhere (target to non-target, as you've clearly seen from personal experiences on WSO) - as long as you keep your head up and grind. This is coming from experience, as well.
Best of luck and would love to hear where you end up.
I'm from a complete non-target (Rutgers/UMiami tier) and I had 3 offers.
Choose the best school you can get into, but trust me that you can break in from anywhere as long as you put your head down and do the work.
I’d take a shot at Berkeley
Respectfully, it would be EXTREMELY tough for a 3.4 unweighted GPA to make it into Berkeley. Would avoid wasting time on UC app essays unless there are other UCs in mind to apply to
Emory, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Wesleyan, Colgate, Ohio State, Arizona, Harvard, UCSB are all targets for you
Fully understand you might be trolling given the range of schools you listed. I broke in from UCSB and have to warn it is still a non-target. You can break in only if you start from day one. Plenty of schools take the same type of student and will be easier to recruit from. Love UCSB but it's important to understand where it's at right now.
For some reason everyone here is recommending crazy reaches for almost everyone. Most Target schools are going to be tough here.
I would say with your stats, applying to IU Kelley and trying as hard as possible to get into IBW would be best if you are deadset on banking.
I second this. IBW places very well and you can expect to see about 80 kids from IU landing spots at top firms every year.
I would also like to add that even if you don’t get into IBW you could still break into IB, but it’s much more difficult.
Do IU Kelley and University of Maryland place well in IB in NYC? Ive seen a lot of linkedins and many of them show bankers working in DC or Chicago. Thanks for the response!
IU is maybe the best nontarget to attend, granted it’s still not a target. Maryland recruits better into NYC than most B1G schools and should place okay in the few banks that have DC/Baltimore offices
Agreed with the general sentiment in the thread that college experience is more important than a name on a resume as long as your grades are sound. Too many people get bogged down in choosing based on the "target vs. nontarget" mindset and either grow to hate their school and transfer out or get a sense of entitlement from prestige - neither of which looks good from an interviewer's POV. Find a school that will challenge you and where you and your personality fit well. Also, don't forget about your happiness; if family or sports or social scene are important to you, be sure to take those into account and determine proximity to home/quality of athletics/access to bars, etc.
Using myself as a case study, I came from a big family in a city known for its food, sports, and social scene but decided to go to school not known for any of that far across the country in the hopes of getting a prestigious degree for my resume. I ended up getting the degree and a great job in IB, but I hated my college experience and in many ways regret that decision and the four years I spent unhappy in an unfamiliar place. Especially now that I'm better versed in the recruiting process, I realize that I could've gone to a lower tier school and likely ended up happier with the same result.
Wherever you end up, focus on keeping your grades up and having as much fun as you can. If IB is really something you're interested in, start networking and filling your resume with solid internship experience and extracurriculars early on. A name can only get you so far. Grades, experience, and activities will make you a far more attractive candidate than any school's reputation alone.
Yeah, im considering Rutgers (Not even a semi-target, I know) just for that. Its close to family, its close to NYC, it is a large school with tons of cool clubs, but it doesn't have the highest ranking. It also has an IB club and student managed fund which I would want to join if I got in.
go to UVA, target and hot ass girls
Do you think my stats are good enough for UVA? I would definitely love to go there.
doesn't hurt to apply. ur unweighted gpa might b lacking but ur ACT should be fine
A lot of these comments give pretty bad advice, yes you can technically get in from any school but your time will be much better and your success rate much higher if you apply for certain schools and/ or transfer after your first year. Hate to break it to you but you likely won't get into any ivies or targets with your stats unless you have a crazy story or are very underrepresented. Also, if the school lets you transfer into business school/ major easily do not put it as your intended major, your application is looked at more rigorously, apply as a bullshit major like Anthropology or something and you'll get in easier then just change it (but again look at each school's department breakdown, some don't let you transfer from Anthropology to Finance if the schools are separate; in that case you should apply as the least popular business major, not finance or economics).
Schools you could feasibly get into that punch above their weight are IU Kelly (and their investment banking workshop), Washington & Lee, Hamilton, BC, PSU, UNC. Try to get into one of these and then transfer after your freshman year to a better school that is transfer friendly like Cornell, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame. Do your research though because other good schools have near no transfer acceptance so some aren't worth your time.
I don't recommend going to Rutgers or another nontarget unless you have no other options. Also you're going to have to be on top of your shit freshman year to transfer and go for a 4.0, a 3.4 will not cut it for transferring / recruiting in IB from the schools I listed. Props to you though for knowing your shit while in high school and asking around, wish I would have. You will be much better off starting early.
Thank you so much for this amazing reply. I will definitely look into these schools. Do you know if it is easier to get into corporate banking or sales and trading compared to IB? I would be happy to spend a few years in a different finance role and then lateral in or take a few steps back to go into IB in the future.
Yeah corporate banking and S&T are easier but I wouldn't plan on settling that easy. Its difficult to lateral from the two prior into banking. Both of them are respectable roles and good careers if you want to do that, but understand its easiest to get the best possible job out of college then go from there.
Consider BYU, IU Kelley, UNC Chapel Hill, Tulane, Boston College, Notre Dame (slight reach). Try to raise your ACT to at least a 33 and apply under Early Decision and you should be fine. Good luck.
Do not consider BYU under any circumstances. UNC is also very difficult if you’re out of state. The delta between in-state and out-of-state admission standards is absurd.
Why so bear on BYU? I know they’re pretty unique culturally but they looked pretty strong based on the data placements sheet that has been on this site. Seems like a tight-knit alumni group that pulls for current students.
Do not consider BYU under any circumstances. UNC is also very difficult if you’re out of state. The delta between in-state and out-of-state admission standards is absurd.
Judging from last years stats, BC might be a reach for him as well (18.9% acceptance rate). These jesuit schools are starting to get a little selective (ND has a 18.4 acceptance rate)
Yes, BC would be a reach, but I could do early decision, which has an acceptance rate of nearly 40%. Most of the top LACs im looking at have lower acceptance rates, but much higher ED acceptance rates.
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