My chances of getting into goldman sachs?

Let's start with the fact that I am a citizen of Russia but have a residence in Italy, which gives me the opportunity to travel freely. I had to go to a bad university (sapienza) and in a year I get my diploma in economics (I think the average will be GPA 3.7-3.8)
Since my admission, I have given much more preference and time to experience (reading a textbook once at my university is enough to pass the exam, apparently), since I was lucky that there were people who believed in me. My small portfolio grew from 20k to 70k. Also during this time I wrote two programs that, like crutches, helped me make decisions in the market (most of my trades were day-trades since I moved over 25k). Finance at the moment is my only hobby for which I am quite ready and often devote 10-15 hours a day. But I understand how many gaps there are in my knowledge. I don’t see a better way for myself to get to another level than to work at goldman sachs, however, applying to the Milan office for a job, and even without a summer camp, I’m not sure of success, since my education on paper loses to a nerd without experience from Bocconi. Therefore, the thought came to me, since I speak both Spanish and English fluently, should I take a ticket and fly to London (yes, there I will compete with students from Harvard and LSE and beyond, but purely mathematically there will be less competition for one place than in Milan, where there are almost none) or Madrid (where there will be fewer places than in London, but more than in Milan and there will be no competition from prestigious universities)?
Also, the second key question for me that I did not find on the Internet, suppose they take me to Goldman in London, but will the guys from Goldman be ready to wait until I create a working residence permit? (I didn't find an answer to this question, but I'm pretty sure that at least someone on this forum had or heard of a similar experience.Also asking the recruiter on the spot would not be a very wise decision.)

47 Comments
 

You are not coming from a target school. Re-consider your career think long and hard about your decision of attending a non-target in Italy. I recommend you stick your foot in the door in commercial banking roles, and do more research into the competitive nature of IB (Especially at Goldman).

 

thk for answer.But I'm not interested at all in working in average commercial Bank, I found it useless for my knowledge.

 

Milan and Madrid is extremely elitist (i.e. recruit only locals from target universities - Bocconi for Italiy and ESADE or ICADE for Spain). You're best shot is London, but again, because Sapienza is non-target, you won't be taken seriously. Consider going for the GMAT, MSF in a target or doing some internships in Big 4 (Valuation, Transaction Services, Audit, etc.).

As others pointed out, you're best shots is CB. IB cares, in order of priority: 1) School; 2) Raw intelligence. Unfortunately, you don't fit their 1). Focus on that - GMAT or MSF - and life will become easier.

 

Greetings,and thanks for answer, you look like a person who understands a lot in this area, what do you think which option would be more effective in my case?

A) Do you think is realistically possible to move from commercial baking into investment banking in a couple of years?

B) Just work this 2 years and then try for mba in some target like london school of ecnomics,and only then try to found a place in investment banking?

 

I don't see why A) and B) ought to be mutually exclusive.

Work 2 years in corporate banking and then try to lateral to any IB position internally (A). If it doesn't work out, you apply to an MBA (B).

 

With your attitude, school background, paired with this odd and misplaced view that you can somehow make more on your own (trading your own/ family's money?) than working at a boutique, and then throw in Russian citizenship, I would say that your chances, rounded to the nearest full percentage, are zero. But good luck friend

 

Velit delectus atque qui aut necessitatibus dolorem facilis. Sunt quos veniam quam repudiandae inventore qui.

Nulla qui unde officiis numquam nulla et et. Voluptas architecto nisi amet est. Aliquid repellendus qui explicabo quae eos ab.

Ut nam in ipsam optio neque laudantium. Ab fugiat rerum saepe expedita rerum. Natus nihil aliquam rerum. Sit rem vitae totam et. Et enim impedit rerum veniam nam dignissimos.

 
Most Helpful

Officiis aliquam quasi cumque. Reprehenderit debitis corrupti est molestiae.

Harum aut ratione laboriosam recusandae dolor voluptas et. Qui quis rerum velit laudantium.

Sunt ut officiis ut quisquam. Odio amet et et aut et et quia. Non sit impedit quis quasi.

Ratione perspiciatis ad dolor rerum ad tempora. Architecto et eum maiores quod voluptates.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”