Question about breaking in

Hi everyone,

I have been following this forum for a while now, almost two years, but this is the first time I have decided to post.

I am a freshman at a non-target Liberal arts college which offered me money, had a choice of picking Dartmouth, but no way of paying for it, so I had to go with this. I really want to work in IB, specifically M&A. Without going into specific details, as you don't care about them, had my share of working 100 hour weeks (not in finance), am willing to do whatever it takes, sacrifice everything (just like everyone and their mother).

Columbia has a 3-2 program (3 years at my school, 2 years at Columbia for 2 Bachelor's) in Financial Engineering. Although it would probably be useless to me in getting into IBD, I want to have the Columbia pedigree and access to Columbia's network. Should I do it? It's five years, but Columbia is Columbia, and it's an additional Junior year (internships)

What do you guys think? Some advice from people in the industry would really be useful.

I appreciate your time.

Thank you kindly in advance.

3 Comments
 

All other things being equal (grades, internships, networking), Columbia >>>>>>>>> local school

You can pay off your somewhat higher student loans with the better job

Case closed, thanks for playing, good luck

Get busy living
 

breaking in from a non-target ABSOLUTELY can be done. The things you have going for you:

-Obviously if you have been reading WSO and thinking about it for a while you have some drive -you have tons of time since you are a freshman -hopefully you have been working/etc

I come from a non-target and broke in by taking the time to Network, Network, Network

PM me for specific q's, happy to help

XX
 

Delectus vitae illum qui sed adipisci molestiae mollitia suscipit. Labore praesentium dignissimos accusantium adipisci. Voluptate nisi non et voluptates. Doloremque porro est ex quas. Rem beatae aut similique voluptatem mollitia.

Id eum asperiores illum. Odio et adipisci inventore. A ea voluptas quidem molestiae illum.

Get busy living

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (81) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”