Why is it so hard to network out of Princeton in IB?
I have been struggling so much with not only connecting with alumni for quick networking calls but even finding Princeton alumni in many banking firms. Quite literally for example, Moelis has 1 Princeton alumn and they are in the legal department. All other elite boutiques would have maybe 3-5 alumni at places like Evercore/Lazard and all except one would be MDs / Senior MDs. Rothschild = 2 Princeton alumni total. I guess I am just not understanding why there are barely any people to even reach out to not to mention be able to have a networking interaction. Is networking still very important to get those interviews at elite boutiques coming from Princeton since everyone keeps saying its a super target anyways?
At BB banks there are definitely more alumni, but still, for example, B of A has a total of 4 Princeton alumni. Does it just seem like the numbers are painfully low despite the impression I got of Princeton being a super target? I do not mean to complain or anything but I am curious does anyone else ever feel this way? Are there any tips for networking when there just quite literally basically almost no people at these firms?
From what I've seen, the reason Princeton isn't as represented in IB is simply because the students don't pursue it as much. People are much more interested in Quant trading and Princeton as a whole is more STEMy than Harvard/Yale/Wharton. Also It's the only one out of those 4 that doesn't have a business school so you run into churn issues where there are very few princeton alumns outside of the analyst level because there are no princeton associates joining firms. With all that being said, it's obviously still a very respected school and I'd expand your outreach to nonprinceton people
thank you, I guess that could be the reason. I think even campus college resources are kind of against students doing banking. They dont seem to have relationships with banking recruiters at least all of the counselors that I have asked.
I’m so sorry you’re having a hard time! Drop your resume in the Princeton OCR box and they’ll schedule your on-campus superday
Is this you OP?
;You got me. Nice one
You don't have to limit yourself to solely connecting to people who went to the same school as you. You could look for other connections you have with people. Maybe you're on a sports team and you could connect with others at banks who played college sports. Or maybe you transferred and could connect with others who did the same.
Additionally, firms will come to campus and you'll get to network / interview from that. I go to an Ivy and I've gotten EB interviews just from resume drops through career services.
I think it's just the majors offered and students Princeton attracts - Econ is basically a quant degree there, so people pursue S&T or STEM more frequently.
Just open your networking up to people who went to all Ivies, the Columbia and Cornell guys will be happy to chat with you. You don't need to network as much as the kid from a random private school either.
You go to Princeton.. These firms are dying to hire ivy leaguers. If you can't land an SA, then you are inept. It may be your oratory skills and you could come off as socially awkward during networking calls/sessions. Even then, they would rather hire you over the state schooler 99/100 times. I went to a semi-target that's well respected on the street but gets nowhere near the same recruiting opportunities as princeton and I am in disbelief that you are having this hard of a time.
Firms are not dying to hire "ivy leaguers" unless it's WYD. There are way better schools with way better candidate pools in the US alone like McDonough, Mendoza, Ross, McIntre, etc. If we expand it to the UK, Oxbridge/LSE/Imperial/UCL are leagues ahead of ivy league kids.
Lol kids at Uva, Umich and Notre Dame got fuccing rejected from ivies. The Avg Econ major at H/Y/P/D would be in top percentile at any of those business programs
Semi-Target state schooler here, I agree fully. Had Princeton kids present in three of my PE Super Days this year, and all but one of them got offers. I've been impressed by every single one. Nobody is entitled to work at an IB by virtue of being an Ivy Leaguer, but the process is unbelievably easy for them.
This has to be a joke right.
Bro literally NOBODY has ever called Princeton a supertarget. The usual supertargets are Wharton, Yale, Dartmouth, Oxbridge and LSE.
Princeton is around Penn State Nittany Fund/NYU (non Stern)/IU IBW/Boston College tier.
Went to one of those UK schools, and not one of Oxbridge/LSE. Imperial/UCL are great schools, but certainly not equivalent to the other 3 mentioned.
bruh you are in S&T .....
He has many names. Some know him as JustinTobine, but some say he's really just BottomBucketHardo in disguise
Fuck Princeton
Go Big Green
Go big green
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3-5 alumni at an EB is a ton. All of us semi/non-targets will reach out to the 1 or 2 people at a firm and cross our fingers they respond and we have a nice chat.
1. You go to Princeton and are willing to network and 2. you appear to be female. I would say keep dong what you are doing, optimize your networking efforts for the alumni you do have, and don't sweat recruiting too much since you will place fine.
I know how you feel. Networking with others is quite difficult during corona times which is perfectly understandable. May I ask what are your interests in IB? Finding out what you're passionate about is a step in the right direction and it will help you a lot. It is a journey of self discovery. The key word is persistence.
This is one of the most out of touch posts I have seen on this website. There are people on this forum who came from no-name community college that grind their butt off to get into banking. But casting that aside, I went to a target and a majority of my interviews weren’t from alumni. Networking and calling people isn’t solely alumni based. It just factually isn’t difficult to recruit from Princeton, you simply are completely oblivious to how many qualified people are competing for the jobs you are going for. Can it be helpful if a school has more alumni at a location you are trying to work at? Certainly. But again as mentioned, even being at a target, most my interviews I scored weren’t through alumni, but rather cold emails or connections I made through previous internships. Further, I am all for diversity programs and believe there are many barriers minorities need to fight through to get into finance, but to argue it is difficult as a woman from Princeton to find an IB job shows a severe lack of awareness and your post demonstrates a level of entitlement that likely is immediately picked up on by an interviewer. Or my guess is that candidly you are assuming that you should be able to just call a single person at a firm and have a role, when at least at my firm isn’t not uncommon for prospects to have 10+ calls within the firm before they get considered.
It’s because Princeton students are more cerebral - which lends them to more math roles like engineering, strats, quant, prop trading. Banking is more for hungry hard workers who can navigate through politics and relationships appropriately and have the basic math skills needed to understand discounted cash flow analysis and how 10 dollars depreciation flow through the 3 statements.
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At what point does that mean you go to a target school?
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Just my 2 cents...but Princeton kids generally don't go into IB, from what I've seen - mostly self-selection. I see a lot of them at quants and other buy-side shops out of undergrad, which is probably due to the most STEM-centric mindset of the school, especially compared to traditional liberal art schools like Harvard and Yale.
That being said, any other alum who went to an Ivy League school would be happy to talk to you, so expand your reach. I personally always reply to any Ivy outside of my alma mater.
The point of target is that you don’t have to network much
Bruh, you went to PRINCETON. Like only tied for the 1st most prestigious school in the world. You would need to be socially inept to not be able to get your dream job out of there.
Rankings are inaccurate and are a indicator of the sizes of bribes each school coughs up.
Prindeton is solidly tier 4 or even 5. Way below "nec plus ultras" like Oxbridge, Wharton and Yale, below top state flagships like UMich or UVA and slightly below mid-tier private bschools like Stern, McDonough and Mendoza.
Dude what the hell are you smoking
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