Summer opportunities/suggestions for rising 12th grader
Hello everyone,
This is my first post on this forum. I apologize if my syntax is unprofessional or unrefined.
I am interested in pursuing a career in Investment Banking (IB), but I am unsure about the pathway to success in this field. I have many questions and have searched for answers but still need some guidance. I genuinely seek advice and hope my questions don't come across as lazy.
- What kind of content, courses, books, or skills should one focus on during high school to prepare for a finance-oriented college education?
- What majors should one consider for a career in Investment Banking?
3. Should I be seeking out any junior internship programs at boutiques?
Thanks!
Stop stressing and go enjoy life. Touch grass.
But isnt this something that you say after you have worked so hard to get that internship? Countless of hours spent to get that high GPA, hours spent to write the essay and study for the SAT to get into UP/ivy and hours spent to network, cold call, beat the competition (math PhD prospects with parents who donate 100k to uni's) learn technicals...etc
No it’s not. Once you land the job the grind has just begun. If you want to go down this path you have to understand that this is one of the last periods of your life, for the next 20+ (probably longer) years, that you will have so much free time without the need to fill it with anything productive.
Study hard, get good grades, play sports, pursue your interests to their fullest extent. Please do not obsess over networking or modeling as a high school student, save that for college. Literally just get into a college first.
It seems like you’re behind already based on this post. By your 12th grade summer you should have established strong relationships with 4-5 vps+ and 7-10 analysts and associates across the street who can vouch for you in the recruiting process at BBs and EBs. Many of these people will be more senior by the time you recruit so take advantage of it now and get in on the ground floor. Make sure your modeling skills are up to par too because once you get a college you won’t get time to crank LBO model tests. You should be sitting for the SIE and 79 by winter break, ideally take it alongside your SATs so you’re in test prep mode while you’re taking both exams, will make you more efficient. If you haven’t started studying for them yet I’d get on it. I would also recommend dropping $5000+ for the popular Wall Street internship placement programs you find on the internet. I promise the popular ones all work, have virtually 100% placement rate to top MF PE and banks, and will guarantee you hundreds of thousands of dollars of economic return later on. Don’t cheap out on this though, make sure you get one of the expensive ones because you pay for what you get and they help you cultivate valuable skills for the street.
haha you're right
Personally when i joined kindergarten I started reaching out to new analysts and interns to build relationships. A lot of these guys are MDs now so I have a lot of heavy hitters going to bat for me
Step 1: Apply to college
Step 2: Get into a target school
Step 3: Come back to this forum with questions
That’s the only thing you should be worried about if you’re a high schooler remotely interested in this career path.
Bro please just go have fun in college lmao. If you're already thinking abt this you'll be far ahead of the curve
Imagine this kid ends up sitting next to u at ur bank 😂
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Everyone is saying chill, which they're right because a majority of us didn't go on this forum till halfway through freshman year at the earliest. However, I get where you're coming from. Honestly, go ahead and read Monkey Business and House of Morgan to understand what this job entails and the history of the industry if you really want. Otherwise, learn interpersonal skills and socialize because the people I know who don't get offers aren't because of technicals, they just straight up can't have a normal conversation. Try your best to get into a target, if not, go semi-target because non-target is actually going to make your college experience so much harder. Even then, try to transfer after freshman year. Major doesn't matter. School and GPA are more important. If you're dying to learn finance, take an accounting class in high school or WSP or something. Literally a waste of time imo at like 17 years old. Unless your family has connections don't waste your time trying to get an internship, go caddy over the summer or work for a yacht club, it'll take you further.
Hi! I am a senior in HS and I just got accepted by NYU. Is NYU a target/semi target school for investment banking and other financial institutions? Thanks!
Target
Agree with others - caddy or yacht club. One of my medical friends did this in high school and saved up quite a lot (splurged it mostly on partying / drinking before he turned 21 but I remember he made close to $10K doing it for those two summers). If you can somehow get an internship through a family friend, do it but don't expect to do much besides shadow a finance professional (another person I know in my HS did this and ended up going to boutique banking for 1-2 years before jumping to entrepreneurship after college, realized they didn't like high finance before their late 20s). I'm familiar with the person they worked with that summer and I doubt they got much exposure besides learning a few basic accounting concepts that could be taught in a freshman college course.
Depends if you went to a target middle school or not, otherwise you need to start looking for other non-prestigious jobs buddy (Think McDonalds/KFC/SWE). You're late to the game.
Congrats on SWE bud.
read books. Not like BIWS courses. Just read financial history, books about investing philosophy, etc.
Imma disagree with the other commenters.
I went to a non-target and I think having prior experience really helped me get internships after freshman year. If you are going to a target I wouldn't stress and enjoy your summer.
Also doesn't have to be that much work. I did like 10-20 hours with a small small company learned a lot and helped me figure out what I sorta wanted to do. Don't be scared to work for free it's just 10 hours
I'm concerned about my chances of getting into a target school with my current GPA (3.94). My extracurricular activities are limited, and I’m only now starting to take AP Economics in my senior year, with plans to take accounting in the fall. UVA seems out of reach for me, but I’m considering a community college transfer route. However, I’m uncertain about the viability of transferring to a target school this way. Would I be missing out on crucial networking opportunities during my freshman and sophomore years? Or would it be better to attend a less prestigious non-target school directly?
Idk kid. U seen on top of things so I wouldn't stress to much, everything will work it's self out wether cc or not.
One piece of advice I'd add is if you're thinking of cc route go find some people who went CC->target->Wall Street and talk to them. Speaking to someone who took a route you're considering will help you see if it's viable.
Idk kid. U seen on top of things so I wouldn't stress to much, everything will work it's self out wether cc or not.
One piece of advice I'd add is if you're thinking of cc route go find some people who went CC->target->Wall Street and talk to them. Speaking to someone who took a route you're considering will help you see if it's viable.
Networking will be nonexistent until you transfer. Idk how community college transfers work, but if it’s after 2 years then you would already have missed the deadline for getting into IB
Honestly don't go to the cc. 3.94 is great. If you can do well on the SAT you can definitely get into UvA and even better schools.
Dude I wouldn’t stress about this yet, just try your best to get a good gpa and get into a T25 school because your plans may change and you may not even want to do IB, but getting into a good school would help you get a broad perspective on things
Current college rising senior. My best advice is to go to a target school. The rest will be so much easier. Especially if you are already set on IB, don’t make yourself work harder down the line. Being a semi/non target puts you behind the target kids by way more than they like to admit or even realize.
Hi! I am a senior in HS and I just got accepted by NYU. Is NYU a target/semi target school for investment banking and other financial institutions? Thanks!
NYU Stern is, imo. What other schools are options for you? Columbia Penn Duke are def IB targets. NYU Stern is too. UT Austin, down south.
Go to a target school. Read the guides before the start of freshman year in college (hardo but sadly becoming more necessary nowadays). Study finance or the closest alternative (usually economics). Do a finance internship over the summer before freshman year (preferably relevant to your intended career, but not necessary). You can get this by either cold emailing firms with an email template plus resume (look to email anywhere from 50-200 firms). Or by networking with your family, friends, teachers, or anyone else you know within your life. The most connected people are often the people you least expect so I recommend reaching out to as many people as you can. Show that you're eager and willing to put in the work, and many adults will happily lend an ear. And please, try to keep these relationships alive and strong before, during, and after college. Your network from back home will likely be much stronger than the shallow relationships you "create" from emailing hundreds of analysts in sophomore year fall. So make sure you don't neglect them.
Good luck in your endeavors.
Puberty
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