Should I change my academic path ( french student ) ?

Hi everyone. I’m currently in my first year of an economics bachelor’s degree, and I would like to work in investment banking later on, and eventually in private equity. I study at the University of Montpellier, which doesn’t really have a strong reputation in this field. In high school, I was a good student (average grade above 16/20), but I didn’t want to attend a preparatory program, so I chose the university route instead. However, finance is a very elitist sector. Just by looking on LinkedIn, you can see that in major firms, profiles almost exclusively come from the top 5 business schools, or from Dauphine or the Sorbonne. Outside of those backgrounds, it feels like there is almost no chance.


 

So, I feel like I have two options: finish my bachelor’s degree and try to get into a very selective master’s program, or switch paths now. Ideally, I would like to study abroad, in an English-speaking country, since I want to work abroad anyway. But the costs are very high, so I’m thinking that maybe the best solution would be to do only my master’s abroad after completing my bachelor’s. In short, I’m very unsure and feeling a bit lost. Thanks for your help.


 

5 Comments
 

i think you can but i don’t really like the prepa path, you suffer for 2 years to take a competitive exam at the end, but if you’re not coming from one of the top prépas, you might end up with schools that aren’t that great. You might as well do a bachelor’s degree and then apply through a parallel admission process.


 

 

It's just that failing prepa still seems to place ok for Dauphine/Assas/Sorbonne.

As it is now you'd have to somehow get into an M1 in those schools after Montpellier, and I don't think that's any easier than trying for prepa.

 

Use the AST admission to get into one of the top schools (Emlyon & Edhec arn"t that hard to get into, especialy when you have a great GPA like yours) if you want to work in France/UK, its cheaper and easier than porsuing a top master in other European countries or in the US 

 

Repudiandae iure atque fuga voluptate aut non perspiciatis. Corrupti rem neque enim tenetur ut corrupti. Ut porro et debitis. Dolorem rerum voluptatem nisi quis blanditiis iusto inventore. At atque rerum iste est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
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...”