Where to go from here??

Will be a freshman at wake forest. Any advice on how to treat my freshman year regarding networking, internships, gpa, and general life advice. Very interested in IB and just want to absorb as much advice as I can get before I head into college. No one in my family or friends circle have anything to do with IB, so this is my only resource so far. Please let me know what your takeaways, regrets, and advice for me would be for freshman year. I guess I'm just anxious because I really want an IB summer internship after junior year. Everyone is like "dude relax" but I'm just really worried if I have what it takes to break into such a difficult job given how many people get rejected.

11 Comments
 

Networking: Yeah you can start networking, but not a lot of people may not take you very seriously. Just listen ask good questions. This is where better internships down the line will come from. Use this time to decide what you want to do.

Internships: You will get crap internships, because you are a freshman. leverage these for trying to go further down the road and just do the best you can. anything accounting, or even valuation would be great place to look. Also smaller companies are going to be able to let you in . Big companies won't hire you.

GPA: Higher than a millennial on medical marijuana. jsut get good grades, study some materials outside of class.

General Life Advice: Drink some beer, make some money, do something that interest you that you can talk in depth about

Its going to be a grind no matter what, you just have to keep going.

 

Network a little, start to study the BIWS guides, indulge in Greek life at Wake and have fun.

 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t reallly a partner in high school. Barely drank even though I like it because of parental restrictions and I’m just not with that kinda crowd, if that makes sense. I can have a conversation with people at parties and I’m normal, it’s just not my scene to do on a weekly basis. That is my greatest fear because a lot of people told me that Greek life plays a really important role in deciding job placements, and I’m scared I won’t end up with any internship just because of this.

 

Go on LinkedIn and find the officers in finance clubs ar Wake Forest. They'll probably be happy to give you advice on how to navigate the process. Also u can try reaching out to WF alum this summer and have them vouch for you with freshman diversity programs at BBs

 
Most Helpful

As others have said, get the highest possible grades and get out there and meet people, including officers/leaders in some business clubs. Get the best internship you can (start looking early second semester), although it'll likely be less than great as you're a freshman. It doesn't hurt to do a little networking with alumni in IB - try to grab coffee with alums in Charlotte one day, or even fly up to NY for a day or two near the end of freshman year.

Once sophomore year starts, I'd increase your focus on reaching out to alumni.

 

join all the finance/investment management related clubs you can...try them out, and then stick with the ones you like the most (2-3 should be good)...this will give you something to talk about during networking next year. Also, if you are not playing a varsity sport, join 1-2 intramural sports teams..whatever you enjoy...and join the coed business fraternity at your school.

also, look into getting a job as an outward bound guide for summer inbetween freshman/sophmore year...this is a great experience...and will give you great stuff to talk about in the context of leadership and team building. I would suggest looking into this asap.

just google it...you're welcome
 

Cupiditate nostrum qui dolorum eligendi quia rerum et. Sit quia fuga facilis ut possimus animi. Sit et sed ipsum quis expedita. Quis velit necessitatibus et rerum exercitationem nemo. Beatae facilis corrupti ratione doloremque modi eveniet molestiae. Illo sunt molestias aperiam atque.

Molestiae facere et ut hic voluptas laudantium nihil aliquam. Et tenetur est suscipit pariatur. Aperiam suscipit eos dicta dolorum voluptate quia.

Quas quis sed architecto omnis. Occaecati sit optio id ab animi porro facere non. In error voluptatem totam quisquam.

Velit cum quo corporis in numquam. Distinctio ratione nihil nobis sequi aperiam iure. Veritatis ea et in minima asperiores tenetur.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 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

September 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

September 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

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”