What do I do - Looking to (eventually) work in IB.

I'm going to be a junior this fall (in a Canadian high school) and I want to know how to go about becoming an investment banker. I've read through a couple other forums and they've all recommended just having fun and getting into a target school. The problem is that having fun is what got me here: currently I am not nearly competitive enough to get into a target school. 
I have a couple of questions for you finance professionals:
    1. When did you decide you were going to start concentrating on your career/focusing on getting in a good school
    2. Is there anything I can do right now that will help me break into IB/PE/HF?
    3. For someone looking to eventually work in the US, is it better to go to a target school in Canada (and then go to the US) or a semi-target in the  US.
In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't be worrying. I still have time. But either way: any response helps.

 

Hi Prospect in IB-M&A, yes, I'm a bot, but I'm also good looking. Hopefully, these threads help you:

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I'm also Canadian. Few years older than you however. (Graduated in 2018). I did alright in high school - was not Harvard level but not like useless - 90-92% range. I ended up not getting into my first choice which is a massive target for IB in New York. So went with my backup (Keep in mind I fortunately got a scholarship) and decided to transfer from my backup to a more target school. The school isn't tier 1 target but we do have alot of alumni at BBs, EBs, etc. Nonetheless to answer your question.

1. At the end of the day if you're simply not competitive enough to get into a target school that's totally fine. In Canada the biggest targets would be UBC, Western IB, Rotman - in the US its obvious. So if you can't get into one of those - try to get involved on campus first year/perfect GPA and transfer to one and or transfer to a school that punches above its weight in IB like Colgate or BC. I started to focus IB mainly in freshman year and that made me realize I was in the wrong school and had to transfer. So don't worry if you don't get into a target right away 

2. Right now just do well in high-school, maybe get some summer internship if you can and stay active in clubs etc. If you are really eager you can always try and understand technical / get better at excel. But I'd just focus on what I said before. I played high-level baseball so I ended up not doing so much in that area but still.

3. Now this depends. Don't go to the US and pay 70k a year, simply not worth it. The targets in Canada were the ones I mentioned. So if you want to break into US banking go there - however it will be slightly harder ofc. For the US if you get a scholarship and don't have to take out student loans or could work and study at the same time sure go. But if you ended up at rotman/ UBC/ Western IB compared to a semi-target in the US I'd go to one of those three. Other than those three I'd go to the semi-target and transfer. But again please don't take out 200k worth of student loans just to land an IB job. Its not worth it. Just get your MBA and do an MBA associate program later in life if you want IB that badly. 

So overall, as a junior in highschool don't stress too much but be weary of the recruitment timelines. Another huge thing is internships in college. In canada internships before junior year aren't that common. In the US if you're not at like Harvard its pretty much mandatory. I was able to figure it all out and land a SA for 2022 at a MM that's growing really fast, so also don't just think its BB or die. Feel free to PM me!

 

I’ll talk more about the U.S. schools. DO NOT go to U.S. schools. You have to take out 250k in student loans and youre forgetting that banks might not want you because you dont have American citizenship and have to go through immigration. You will have a hard time breaking into IB in Canada if you went American school. So you might be stuck with 250k loans and a mediocre job back her in Canada. Pls for the love of god go to ivey/queens or transfer there.

 

Definitely way too early but if you want an answer then focus on getting the best grades possible and acing your standardized tests to get into the best school you can. If you’re really into finance, sure you can join clubs or volunteer or whatever but you are 6 years away from graduating…you might not even want to do banning by then

 

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