I’m extremely anxious and worried , it killing me .

I’m a sophomore in college and I didn’t come from a background where I could have some mentoring in finance or any business related field for that matter . However I go to a really good business school (top 8) and I see kids always doing good shit like getting internships at big companies while being a sophomore . While when I try to look up for anything , nothing comes up . I don’t specifically want to be in IB, I’m actually more interested in real estate and majoring in both finance and real estate and Even though I was planning to go to IB, I think that lifestyle would not allow me to get into real estate on the side . Anyways I want to know if this fear is normal . My school had a really good employment rate but I don’t know I feel like I don’t belong here even thought I went through a rigorous process to get admitted into the school ( we have a direct and standard admit which is 10x harder and I was in later one ). I would really love to see if anyone went through the same thing and where they at know . Thank you and sorry for long post

5 Comments
 

You are describing imposter syndrome, which absolutely everyone experiences. You deserve to be where you are, otherwise you wouldn't be there. I know it's easy to convince yourself that somebody made a mistake and they're going to "figure you out" soon, but over time you'll notice if you just focus on the task at hand, you're just going to keep succeeding. 

 
Most Helpful

What do you mean in this sentence? "While when I try to look up for anything, nothing comes up ."

Every school has kids with an advantage and you just need to grind a bit to build your network. Maybe start small with recent grads or upperclassmen with interesting internships? Eventually you'll build up the confidence to talk shop with higher level people. Start an excel workbook to track, be deliberate about 2-3 convos a week or something, join clubs, and go to every school career function. Sounds like you just need to get started on some of this stuff.

Make sure you read a ton of threads on this site on networking/recruiting and then HAMMER your alumni network. Your school's alumni is what you put in the work to get access to and now is the time to be proactive. Don't be that kid that didn't take action to build a network and end up reduced to your career portal when looking for FT work. No one is coming to save you and the sooner you realize that the better... you go to a great school and that is a huge head start over clowns like me that went to a total non-target and knew nothing about the career game as a sophomore. You have 2 years to kill it. Good luck. 

 

Fuck those other people.. prob had infinitely better resources than you did, and not much you can do about that. If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t even know what IB/PE/AM recruiting was like until junior year summer, which meant I was completely screwed 

What you can focus on us yourself, networking, and making sure check all your schools OCR stuff. If you’re at a top school like you say you are, then it’ll naturally work itself out (assuming you are in fact, bright and motivated)

 

Enim rem a ipsa adipisci quibusdam praesentium. Aut voluptatum quidem ut quia est magnam. Voluptatum quibusdam in vero dolorum.

Dolores et placeat sint. Aut voluptatem delectus qui velit est praesentium voluptate. Nam enim magni aut quas.

Nihil ab dolore reprehenderit error iste eius. Doloremque vel autem ut magni qui sint animi. Dolores cumque assumenda ut incidunt repudiandae.

Perspiciatis quis deserunt consequuntur architecto error tempora quia quidem. Sapiente officiis non modi sed neque eaque. Atque minus beatae dolor ex velit molestiae qui. Dignissimos maxime qui earum accusantium vel. Qui perspiciatis rerum optio et.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”