Am I Doomed

Hi,

After the online learning fiasco that was my freshman year, I've taken a gap year off to reprioritize things + take a breather. Over this period of time, I've become acquainted with the world of finance and I've become interested in pursuing a career in investment banking. In doing so, I've started to build financial models/understand the linkage between financial statements

I do; however, realize that the prestige/competition at these investment banks has resulted in the recruiting process (often) starting for many second year of college. While this may come off as an excuse to many of you, I did very poorly during my first year of college due to online learning/classes. A myriad of different factors stemming from the pandemic resulted in an environment that was incompatible with online classes. Furthermore, I wasn't involved with any of the finance related clubs. 

While I do currently attend a target school in the west coast on a scholarship+NMSC, I realize this isn't enough to compensate for my poor grades/lack of finance-related activity. Is it too late for me to turn things around for the IB recruitment process?

TLDR:

Spent my freshman year messing around and now have piss-poor grades with no finance-related activities. Too late to turn things around for IB recruitment process?

1 Comments
 

Eum possimus fugiat quibusdam exercitationem cum fugiat. Nobis aut officia nemo qui dolorum. Nam quae fugit aut. Magni velit architecto dolorem sit et. Non eos tenetur iure reiciendis natus officiis.

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...”