What to do in high school senior year + summer before freshman year?

Anonymous Monkey

Hi everyone,

High school senior here. I was just admitted to UChicago, where I'll be majoring in CS+Econ+Stats next fall. I was wondering what I should do right as a high school senior to secure a freshman year internship and ensure that I have a clear cut plan for college. One of my passions in high school was programming—specifically algorithmic programming—and my parents are also encouraging me to go the tech route, but my goals have always lay in MBB consulting and investment banking. If I were to get a freshman year tech internship because I failed in IB recruiting, would that preclude me from IB internships later on and limit me to tech/quant, or would it actually make me a stronger and more versatile candidate to banks? I feel like the choice between tech/quant and IB/consulting is one that I must make before college begins, but I don't know how to decide. I was also wondering if now is a good time to begin prepping for interviews (algorithm problems for tech, cases and brain teasers for consulting/IB). Please share any suggestions you guys have.

Thank you!

I’m also high school senior admitted to college few days ago (not Chicago btw), and I currently have a thought that there is no big difference between IB/consulting candidates and tech/quant candidates. If you have enough CS/math background, you would do well on both paths. So whether you do internship on tech field or IB before freshman year, both won’t go wrong for your future career. In fact, I personally believe that an in-depth knowledge and insight on tech/quant field must be helpful even in IB recruiting and interviews. So my advice is (although im in same age and situtation with you), aim for IB and tech internship simultaneously, and decide which would be helpful for you afterward. Hope you enjoy your senior year!!