How do semi-target/non-target students sleep at night

Genuine question -- how do people who failed to get into a good school sleep at night knowing that they wasted the first 18 years of their lives, that they had every opportunity to succeed, but ultimately failed? I know I wouldn't be able to. After all, one's undergrad school sticks with them for the rest of their life.

21 Comments
 

His mother on the left, sister on the right, Onlyfans girlfriend at my feet.

 

Bruh i feel bad for you if you mean this. People on WSO need to learn that just because someone doesn't go to a "target" school doesn't mean they aren't intelligent or capable of doing all the jobs discussed on this forum. School choice is not one dimensional for a majority of people in this world.

 
Most Helpful

D+ troll.

I don’t really sleep at night, I wake up multiple times and have trouble falling asleep, no idea why. Having said that, as a non-target student, I don’t feel like a failure. I’ll probably end up with a great internship for the summer, a job afterwards. Just like those “target” students will.

The vast majority of people don’t get into HYP type schools, I wouldn’t say the vast majority of people are failures. Target school -> BB -> BX -> HBS MBA and back to MF PE is not the only path to success. Success is a hard thing to quantify, I have a different definition of success then you do and all the people out there who don’t know what a “target school” is or what an investment banker does have their own definition. You sleep peacefully at night being content with yourself, not with where you went to school.

 

I went to a school with hotter girls than you and graduated with 0 debt working the same job as you. Not a bad deal. 

 

this is simply not true. Nearly every top target provides financial aid to ensure students can attend. Yeah OP is being arrogant but stop blaming the finances. If you got into Harvard, they would make sure you could afford it

 

Non target here and no, I don’t sleep at night but that’s PE. If you had a decent job that paid you a fuck ton, you wouldn’t be sleeping either. Well I’ll go back to making bank and you can go back to jerking off to your worthless degree

 

You act like every kid at Harvard got in because of their own academic merit and not that daddy had connections, or he/she went to college prep school where there are admissions counselors walking around the halls, or he/she wasn’t recruited for a sport

 

IBNon-target-guy

Holy cringe.. it's a shame ppl like you exist...I don't expect you to understand this but ppl could care less what group your from. I think you'll come to realize that non-targets are some of the most genuine/hardworking people and best friends to have. When it comes to hitting the desk your school/GPA no longer matters and it's the non-targets that should worry you because they had to stand out amongst a much thinner recruitment pool.
I'm not trying to insult you, but it really does suck that ppl can be so egotistical in this business. I understand given the competitive nature of the industry, but please don't be so quick to judge and I promise your life will be much more fulfilling

you idiot I am at a non-target (my school's not known for business and hell, I didn't know about the school before it gave me a full-ride). I am just saying that I sleep very soundly that I was able to do just as well as someone who went to a target school while using way fewer resources.

I agree, I would much rather be friends with another non-target than someone who went to Harvard and thinks he's the real deal.

 

Interesting question. Honestly depends on the day. Some days I can’t get sleep thinking that I’m still recruiting when the target kids were done by summer. Other days I sleep soundly knowing that I don’t have a dime in student loans when the target kids have taken out a mortgage just for undergrad alone.

Array
 

Mollitia voluptatem maxime est odit accusantium temporibus. Corporis non qui et itaque molestiae fugit ea. Quaerat sed natus esse vitae. Qui et deserunt fugit ipsam saepe voluptatum dolorem. Commodi reprehenderit asperiores doloribus quis maxime. Provident repudiandae dolorum molestiae autem alias est alias.

Quae temporibus accusamus sit maiores quisquam ab quas eos. Qui ipsa vero deleniti. Quaerat quia et sed consequatur tenetur. Tempora ut autem at et mollitia molestias quia rerum.

 

Commodi quis quas sit excepturi excepturi libero voluptatibus. In commodi incidunt dolorem molestias suscipit totam odit. Et modi voluptatum tempore at. Deserunt et deleniti et et quibusdam amet itaque.

Et nihil aspernatur voluptatem nostrum. Minima ut velit sed minima vero architecto quo quod. Corporis omnis expedita et et eos nostrum. Voluptate rerum voluptas tempora possimus. Deserunt tempora omnis id enim ab quidem quo.

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%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 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 01 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 (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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”