What to do next and how to position myself as best as I can - Non Target

Hey WSO! I want to hear your thoughts on my situation and what I can do to position myself to be the best I can. I am dead set on some form of banking (Mainly focused on IB), interested in thoughts in IB, PE, and HF. I am new to all of this, and I am sure that hundreds of kids make similar posts, but I want to know your opinions on me specifically. Given I would like to note that I am not the going out and get plastered every day type - I am basically married to the library already. Coursework is light and school is not hard.

Background: 

- Non Target (Penn State UP)

- Current freshman first semester

- Finance major

- Projected 3.8 GPA (First semester - Estimating a 3.9 at recruiting time)

- 5 finance related clubs (Applying for the 6th in the next couple weeks, VP of one of them, Associate/Analyst/Member of the rest)

- Competing in 3 uni-wide related competitions (Semifinalist for the one, rest are on going)

- Brought in a ton of dual enrollment courses, can graduate a year early with heavy course load BUT might double major with Economics which would set that back to 4 years. (Should I stick with Econ, kick it for something else, or drop it?) 

- Applied to 15 different early insight programs, waiting to hear back

- 1 connection at Stifel (VP of IB, on track to become an MD within the next 5 years, focus in industrials)

- Interviewing for the Nittany Lion Fund in the Spring

- Joining either a business or social fraternity (Thoughts on either?)

- Plan to apply to the honors college

- Have a related freshman summer internship at this chemical company (Nationwide but based in my area) within their finance department

- Absolutely DIALED when it comes to networking and cold calling/emailing

My goal is to work at Evercore, obviously I see how many kids want that and think that they can, I know it's going to be astronomically difficult, but I am ready for the challenge. The difference is that I quite literally would do anything to achieve this. Arguably this is all a new world to me and I don't know anyone to help me navigate it, please be respectful and offer real advice.

Is there anything that I should be on the lookout for, something that I am not doing? Are there any resources I should be aware of? Any other programs? What are some ways to achieve this goal or end up in PE or HF? Should I strictly focus on networking? What is really going to get me a position like this? If I haven't mentioned a question here by all means give me as much info as possible - you all went through this already, I want to get on the right track as early as I can. PLEASE GIVE ME EVERYTHING AS REAL AS POSSIBLE - NO SUGARCOATING.

1 Comments
 

Ipsa ut voluptatem in voluptatem qui est esse. Iusto minus incidunt soluta placeat unde sunt esse.

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 98.9%
  • 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 (46) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”