Is UIUC Target in Chicago?
Hi, I'm a sophomore at UIUC majoring in Statistics and Finance in Agribusiness. I currently have a corporate development internship in few weeks, and possibly have an part-time job at the regional boutique investment bank during my junior year.
Although I have, or will have, an OK work experience I've been worried about my recruiting because my gpa is in between 3.0 - 3.5 range.
So, I was wondering, is UIUC target from firms in Chicago, like HL, William Blair, Baird, or other boutiques?
Thank you for your comments in advance.
Get into the Investment Banking program at UIUC. I think they guarantee the members of that club join Investment Banks. The person that runs it is a MD at WB. If you cannot get into the program, get involved in clubs/organizations that have a heavy presence OCR.
Realistically, my chance at the academy does not stand high because it has a hard GPA cut off. Do you think networking all by myself will be realistically not possible?
I cannot speak on the entire business school itself, but I had a friend that was not eligible for the academy and made it into a well known MM firm in Chicago. His issue was not GPA, it was the fact that he was already too late into his UG to get into that academy.
I went to NIU and we did not have any IBanks doing OCR, so networking my best shot. Looks like you have solid experience, which will only continue to get better. Just keep working on your GPA and trying to get facetime with the right individuals from the right firms.
Hey are you talking about Rob Metzger? and what’s WB?
Yep - that’s the guy. WB = William Blair
someone that I worked with attended UIUC and started out in finance doing investment banking at JPM a while back.
So, would you say UIUC has a decent presence in Chicago? I'm not necessarily planning to work in NY because of the living cost.
Yeah, I would say it's a pretty decent school in the midwest. You'll have opportunities for summer analyst internships in downtown Chicago for those names that you mentioned. Just make sure that you stay active. Check out your career center and maybe network with alumni through your school.
UIUC is huge in Chicago. You should be fine.
Even if my GPA is in 3.3-3.5 range tho? By the recruiting season, the reasonable range that I can bring up is 3.5-3.6
Just a sophomore here, so take my word with a grain of salt. But recruiting season is now, most banks have already had super days and most applications are open. I think at this point you need to just really focus on networking and killing any interviews you get. Seems (from the posts above) that UIUC has a great presence in Chicago, so you shouldn't have a problem finding alumni to talk to.
I really appreciate your advice! It might be little bit confusing, but I will be doing extra semester, so that I will have another chance to go through Fall recruiting after my junior year. That's why I said that by the recruiting time, I can bring my gpa up to 3.5-3.6 range.
Any networking advice tho? I have never done this before ...
Again, I really appreciate your advice
Oh so you'll be a 2020 SA candidate, alright. I've accepted an offer for 2019 so I've done quite a bit of (what I'd like to consider successful) networking, but again, others here could probably give better advice. What I did was go on Linkedin and find every alum on Wall Street/in IB from my school, shoot them a connection request, and when they connected I'd send them a pretty standard email with an intro to myself and ask for a call. I'd then talk with them and, if I was in NY, meet them for coffee. Meeting in person is crucial, and way more memorable than phone, but always start with phone. I'd ask about their experiences breaking in, and their favorite/least favorite part of the job etc. But I'd also try to have a non-IB related conversation during the call whether about sports or hometown or really anything where you have something in common (which is easy if they're alums). No banker is going to remember you for your knowledge of IB but if you can find common ground and meet them for coffee, they'll find you much more likable and be much more likely to refer you to other bankers/push you for an interview. Feel free to PM if you want to hear more about what I did to land my offer
No.
So, should I consider us nontarget?
'Are we a target' is the wrong question.
As long as your school sends a few people to Wall Street every year, you have a good chance of landing interviews, provided you come with all of the resume attributes that the 'target school' (and I'm referring to the schools that every bank recruits at, on campus, every year) have. These are GPA approaching 4.0, strong SATs, strong coursework, and a demonstrated interest in working in finance.
Your question should be, how do I overcome my GPA? With a gpa in the 3.0 - 3.5 range, it will likely be tough, even at mid-market banks and boutiques. Leverage your corp dev role this summer and try to meet the bankers that are calling on your company (insert yourself into the NDA process on a transaction somehow and interact with analysts / associates, attend a meeting when the bankers come in to pitch deals, etc.). You may be able to network your way into an informational and get to the next round, but at the end of the day there are so many candidates (from your school and others) that will have higher GPAs. For better or worse, that's the filtering mechanism that most banks use.
Whenever this question of some schools being a "definitive target" show up; there is no "definitive" answer.
UIUC is a really good school. Particularly known for it's engineering program. The finance school kids place well; hell I know Econ guys from there who ended up with good offers in Chicago, and NY, just a matter of networking and working with the resources you are given.
There is a pretty big Alumni base working on the street; hit them up, many would be happy to chat with you.
While I go through networking, do you think my low GPA might be a big barrier?
Not as much of a barrier, as a question that you should expect to come up every time. I'd just have an answer ready (I may have partied a little too hard as a freshman...whatever the case may be) and hopefully you can show that your gpa is trending in the right direction (closer to 4 in your major courses, improvement each semester, etc.). Don't get me wrong, this isn't an insurmountable challenge, especially if you are viewed to be sharp and have an understanding of what analysts need to do. You're also young. You have plenty of time to get your gpa higher, and if all else fails, knock your internship this summer out of the park, get invited back the next year, and recruit for full time opportunities the summer before your senior year with an improved gpa and relevant work experience. The fact that you're doing corp dev this summer should be huge. Just make sure you're a rockstar this summer.
I have not seen them on the street
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