Internship Question - Non-target

Hi everyone, I just joined this community because of lots of useful information out here. I go to DePaul University in Chicago and I would like to know what are my chances of getting analyst internship given that DePaul is a "non-target" school. I am a senior (finance major) so it's too late for me to transfer anywhere else (e.g. Northwestern). My GPA is 3.7 right now but I can raise it to 3.9. I do like finance and enjoy my finance classes - I chose my major not just for the sole purpose of "making big bucks." Also, what are my chances of getting into a decent grad school such as Chicago Booth or Kellogg School of Management? I was also considering taking CFA exam but I know it's extremely hard and requires a lot of preparation. Thanks to all for reading this.

4 Comments
 

do you want to be in investment management long term? If not, forget CFA, simple. Your chance heavily depends on your drive.

You're a senior though so that's going to make it tough...grad school other people can answer.

learn as much as you can about the industry, start networking. start writing emails, come back after you've written 100 emails to 100 different people. Then start cold-calling - have a script

KNOW YOUR STORY. make it interesting. seriously, if you don't have a good story the person will immediately judge you as an idiot and chance -> gone. You lead the networking calls.

get the email script going, personalize it, get people to critique it on this forum.

from your initial post it doesn't seem like you can do it. prove me wrong.

 
Best Response

You could try cold calling firms for internships. That's what I did after I graduated. Although it was unpaid, I ended up getting an internship at a boutique firm. I didn't get hired but I did receive some work experience and built a small network / references. (I'm pretty sure I wasn't hired because I didn't fit their "culture" everyone was really nice but I just had nothing in common with them, or secretly my work sucked)

If you do cold call don't be afraid of rejections. Just brush it off and keep calling. I must have called over 70+ firms in NY before I got my first offer.

If you're looking for an internship in budge brackets, I don't have experience in that field so I can't give much advice. I heard going to grad school gives you better chances.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

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