Up and coming student aspiring to be a Monkey

Hey guys,

I'd like to get some input in regards to breaking into finance internationally. Currently in my last year of High School and heading towards University of Toronto coming September. Unfortunately, my marks weren't strong enough for any Commerce program (i.e., Queens, Shulich, Ivey, or Rotman) - therefore I'm taking the Economics route under Social Science (BA) in the hopes of transferring to Rotman after first year. That being said, I know bulge brackets down south only hire Ivey league prospects (Harvard, Yale, Stanford etc.) and the pay in Canada(Bay St.) isn't as lucrative in comparison to Wall St. So, a question of thought - will an exchange program help me in correspondence to networking opportunities abroad? more respectively in an emerging market, perhaps National University of Singapore or University of Tokyo since they're exchange partners with University of Toronto. My reason of interest overseas is in most cases just like every aspiring banker - salary and compensation, which Canada fails to emphasis due to heavy regulations and high taxes. So, coming from a student in the search of El Dorado - what advice would you give for someone in respect to networking, extracurricular activities and school involvement. I finished High School a semester early and I'm currently doing Co-op at BMO(Bank of Montreal) as a bank teller, I like it and it's definitely an industry I'm looking forward to (in IBD though not Retail banking LOL) - though my responsibilities are minimal, I still try to immense myself with as much information as I can and learn the aspects of the business.