Struggling

Hey, long time lurker and figured I would have better news by this time. Currently in a rough situation, college apps have gone pretty terribly for me having been waitlisted or rejected everywhere other than extremely low tier state schools (ASU, IU). Frankly when I first went to high school I naively thought that out of state schools were a waste of money and didn’t realize how much pedigree would matter in this industry. I am graduating in my third year and now realize how much I truly fucked up by not beefing up my admissions profile a lot more and not having my career goals lined up as a fucking high school freshman.

I’ve generally followed the advice on the forum of not being a finance hardo in HS but instead focused on developing a network, hitting the gym, chasing girls etc but now I’m just caught in a dilemma of realizing that I probably need to eat sleep and live finance if I even want a chance at this point. I haven’t been a bad student by any means but it was never my main focus, and coming from a family that didn’t go to college the pressure wasn’t really there to fill up my resume with flashy ECs and all of the other stuff admissions officers look for.

Here are my stats for reference:

GPA: 3.92UW/4.03W ACT: 31

Results Bucknell: Waitlisted Fordham: Waitlisted UVA: Rejected Hamilton: Rejected NYU: likely Rejection Wake Forest: likely Rejection IU: Accepted (no way I’m paying oos for that) ASU: Accepted UofA: Accepted

Just wondering if any fellow nontargets have found themselves in a similar situation or have any advice. I probably come off as a dumbass by saying ASU is the most economical choice for me and I am scared sick that it will be the death of any hopes of a career in IB. I know transferring is what will be necessary but sometimes it is just hard to keep my head up with this shit. Anything is greatly appreciated

2 Comments
 

hey man college apps were rough for me too but i ended up choosing a school i felt i would be happy at. at the time i didn’t even know i was gonna do ib but after grinding the past year and a bit i’m in the middle of recruitment szn now. coming from a non target with basically zero alum sucks but if u work hard and start grinding early in school you can definitely do it man, the best firms will give u a chance. keep ur head up u got this

 

Quod aspernatur dolorem autem cupiditate perspiciatis omnis. Ipsa voluptas quia possimus modi libero ad nulla quidem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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...”