Student Athlete Struggling at top 10 school
I'm currently a freshman athlete at a target school with great athletic tradition and solid sports teams. I'm currently on the varsity team of a sport that nobody really cares about (think track/swimming) at the college level and at a great school. However, after thr first few weeks of classes, Ive found myself struggling with class (mostly Calc). I've got a tutor and am working hard, but fear that I'm ruining my shot to become an IBanker or have a great finance job.
I know it's been discussed before, but does being a college athlete at a target school help a decent amount? Also, if via connections I can secure up some good finance internships, will this greatly improve my chances as well despite not having a near perfect GPA. I know I'm freaking out after just a couple weeks, just looking for advice.
Grades aren't so much of a factor when you take into consideration that you attend an Ivy, have stellar EC's, and have some internships. If we are talking about a GPA of less than 3.0 after this year, then you may want to reconsider playing a varsity sport.
Double down on that studying. You don't want to screw up your grades this early into the game considering these are just gen eds.
Hey man,
First off, freshman year is not without its difficulties for everyone; everyone has a hard time with something, be it academics, social life, or just adjusting to life on your own. With regard to having trouble in calc, I would advise you to not drop your sport (at least not yet), and instead consider a couple of alternatives. I don't know what the specifics with regard to grading are at your school, but check to see what the policy is on pass/failing a class- that way you can avoid a bad grade on your transcript and you can always circle back to take it for a quality grade if you need to (plus it should be much easier). Also, and again I don't know your school's policies, but consider taking a lighter class load when your sport is in season (personally I think this is a good idea for your first year of college in general, no matter who you are, but especially applicable to those crunched for time).
As for being an athlete, I would definitely say it helps; you'll find that athletes, in general, are quite overrepresented in finance (at least in my bank), and that not only does it help you get distinguished in a pile of otherwise similar looking resumes, it also helps you figure out where the internships are. One of my college buddies got his first internship in finance because an older guy on the team basically looked for someone to take his spot at the internship he was leaving. Now, a sport alone won't get you an IBD job, but it certainly goes a long way (much more than an incremental increase on your GPA).
Hope this helps, and best of luck in your classes. Enjoy college (everyone's going to tell you it goes by quick... and it does.) and feel free to PM or reply to this if you have any more questions.
Your worrying about maintaining a near perfect GPA at grade deflated school like Duke? I think you'll be fine, calc is wicked easy your probably just rusty with algebra/trig like most freshmen are. You only need a 3.5+, even from a no name state school and after that it comes down to networking, interviewing and luck. Stick with the sport if you like it as its a much better option for social life than joining a frat in my opinion.
sports, social life and school.
most people have no choice but to pick 2 out of 3. some can't even do well at 1. consider yourself lucky. i used to do a club sport, so it is nothing like your achievements, but even that took a lot of energy out of me. as i tried to balance a social life and school, school suffered during my freshman year. looking back, i should have re-prioritized. your job is to be a good student first. not a perfect student, but a good one at least.
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