Need some advice as an international undergraduate

I wasn’t exactly the most productive and participant person in my school life. I used to slack and not really get into anything except weightlifting but I still used to get good scores. Not incredible but good enough to get me into a target in Europe (Bocconi-BIEM) and UK (LSE BSc Econ). Due to financial restrictions coming from a middle income family in the middle of nowhere in India, I had to skip on LSE for my bachelors and accept my Bocconi offer along with a full ride scholarship. I will be joining the school next year September after my gap year.

My medium term (4-6 year) goal is breaking into IB/Consulting in Europe or the UK but what I lack are short term goals. I feel like since I am planning to study abroad, I need a goal and I can’t just wing it and see what happens. International students will always be at a disadvantage during hiring and internships so might as well plan early and get the headstart.

My blurry “ideal” future pathway is India-> Bocconi Bachelors->UK Target Masters-> IB/Consulting. All I need are short term goals. I have the motivation, the time (gap year) but I lack connections and resources. I don’t have a particularly shiny CV even for a highschool kid as my only extracurricular is being a personal trainer and an amateur powerlifter. I am trying to complete my Italian course (B2 as of now) so that I am competent (C2) for an internship by the time I reach my second year in Milan. Since most people here are experienced individuals in the industry, I want to ask all of you, what do you think I should have in terms of my short terms of my short term goal/goals. Obviously it is assumed that a GPA of anything less than excellent is null and void for my chances as a non-EU when it comes to breaking in, my bachelor GPA is and will always be the primary priority. But except my GPA, which is something that I cannot work for on my gap year, what should I do so that I don’t procrastinate my year away. I have done enough of it during high school. I need to make my family proud and be serious about my goddamn fucking career. Any and all advices regarding productive things I can do is extremely appreciated. To put it in an ideal way, any advices that my 2nd year self applying for an MBB/GS internship writing his CV would give to my current gap year self if he could talk to me. Thank you so much for reading this.

1 Comments
 

Laudantium aut velit repellendus modi. Cupiditate aut ut adipisci dolores nesciunt ipsa. Quibusdam aliquid totam neque aut harum fugiat tempora ut.

Fuga quasi molestiae ratione quae. Autem impedit corporis aut inventore recusandae maxime molestiae. Officia sunt temporibus corrupti asperiores labore dolorem. Et eum accusantium vel.

Ipsa fugit eos tempore est nihil aut. Ipsa unde dolore eligendi ad. Voluptatibus nostrum dignissimos est quos provident quaerat.

Quis facere natus omnis explicabo tempora sed quas. Ut enim officia explicabo et non perspiciatis asperiores. Hic tempore eos nulla. Dolor esse provident assumenda quisquam sed repellendus sit.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • 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 97.9%
  • 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 (15) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”