Transitioning from Life Science to Finance as a non-target freshman

I am currently a second-semester freshman at a non-target state school in the eastern US. In HS, I was homeschooled but still managed to get decently prepared for college, and I was able to work in a molecular biology lab at a local university, did science fairs, etc. I was accepted for Biotech at my school, but subsequently enrolled in a program where I could study science and business simultaneously and get an MBA in 5 years (I didn't do any business courses or ECs in HS, but have had a casual interest in business topics for a while). I applied, was accepted, and enrolled.

For a host of reasons, this program wasn't when it was cracked up to be, and I feel like I'm generating unnecessary stress and lack of focus by being in it - I ended up with a 3.55 GPA from the fall. I plan to switch into the business school and start pursuing Finance in the fall, but I'm facing the dual issue of making up for not having taken any true business courses yet, and getting some sort of finance-related internship over the summer. In terms of business experience so far, I am taking a seminar for this combined program providing a 50k-ft view of marketing, finance supply chain, and consulting topics. I have competed in a couple of case competitions, one of which my team won, and I joined a student-run paper portfolio club. But I realize it's crucial for me to catch up on the basis. Advice on how to knock these out before I fall further behind is appreciated.

Based on my long-term career goals I'm looking at IB or PE for after college, and thus I've read on here that a PWM internship is a good start for a freshman or one with no business experience. So I'm looking at firms in the area around my college, which is pretty rural. I'm open to relocating, but regardless, what advice would you provide on securing an internship, preferably paid but unpaid would be fine if in the area of my college, for this upcoming summer (including advice relating to beerbug issues)?

Thanks for your help!

1 Comments
 

Ad commodi et quam totam. Qui omnis quia odio.

Sed dolores nisi ullam asperiores corrupti modi quia. Qui ipsum quas quos consequatur. Magni id corrupti molestiae unde enim qui velit. At tempora qui soluta qui veritatis id.

Fugiat quae cupiditate ipsam rem et. Reprehenderit sit quae est ea. Quia atque porro sint ea.

Est dignissimos ducimus pariatur harum. Voluptatibus aliquid suscipit est pariatur vel. Et eos aliquam quia ab dolorum.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (45) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”