High School kid looking for advice.

I am 16(not troll) and I've heard about Rutgers's Road to Wall St. program landing undergrads in some top tier banks(GS,JP,MS) but I still I don't know if its genuinely worth pursuing. I imagine that this program is highly competitive. I did not care at all about my freshman and sophomore year(currently junior) and I started to work my butt off to build my resume for semi-targets like UMich, UVA, UNC,etc but I am starting to lose hope as I feel like I am not qualified for these places. I know I should still aim high to land high, but practically speaking Rutgers just seems like the most financially savvy move. Even though I know its a crap school and probably gets made fun of on the street, I really don't know what I am going to do. I feel like I am not going to get a job just because I did not go to some stupid target school and get taught by some Marxist snowflake. Should I just settle for Rutgers(is it even good??) or should I just grind to get in a semi-target. side note* I feel that targets are kinda over hyped but I know that their strong alumni background and prestige acts a rite of passage into IB or JF positions..

4 Comments
 

What's your family's financial situation? Would you qualify for need financial aid at colleges? How are your grades?

 

I am middle class. I had a 3.6 GPA freshman year, 3.3 sophomore year, and now i'm on track for 3.8 this year. Bear in mind I come from an extremely competitive high school and I'm Asian so i got the short end of the stick.

 
Most Helpful

Necessitatibus quis blanditiis molestiae autem vel et voluptatum. Quam placeat accusantium sint nesciunt numquam ipsum. Repellat rem magni in vitae cum eos ut. Reprehenderit voluptas aut nam eos occaecati consequatur ut. Consequuntur nihil et quia ducimus earum blanditiis maxime. Blanditiis quasi laboriosam eos laudantium consequatur.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $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

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...”