Pls read. Academically dismissed bc of mental health freshman year. Do I still have a chance
I was academically dismissed freshman year from a top 10 business school. I am a Finance major. Since, I've been doing a business analyst internship, done Wall Street Prep's modeling/accounting/Excel course, Bloomberg Market Concepts, sending about 30-40 cold emails a month, and networking with ~15 people a month in IB, PE, and consulting. I also am taking classes at a local community college to get credits for gen-eds, and to hone my skills in accounting and Excel. I can do DCFs, LBOs, M&A, comparable valuation, etc. My presentation skills are pretty good, I've worked in client-facing industry (SaaS company analyst), I'm good at research and due diligence, and I interview pretty well. I've gotten a few interviews for summer 2023, but no offers because of current economy/not a junior, but they said I interviewed well. Next school year, fall 2023, I will be back at the top 10 business school. I've always done well in school/sports, things I set my mind to. 4.21 high school GPA at a tough school, 34 ACT. I just didn't go to class at all. Fortunately, my mental health improved, I've been working on it by improving lifestyle (diet, exercise, therapy, medication, etc.). Summer 2023 internships are closing and I don't have any offers. I am still applying to anything I can, and I can continue working as a business analyst, but right now that's my only option. Summer 2024 Internships are open and closing by Marchish. Do I have a chance at summer 2024 internship? Summer 2025? After graduation? Or will they see my academic dismissal and throw my application out? I want IB bad and I do not want to quit, because I believe that the only way to get it is to keep pushing. But I know that a lot of people work as hard as they can and still don't get in, I get that it is extremely selective. I do not want to waste my time chasing a pipe dream and screw my future over. If you were me, what would you do?
EDIT: Also, what else do you guys think I can do while I am away from college. Are forage virtual work experience things worth it? I've done half of the JP morgan one, I've gotten mixed reviews on if its worth doing and putting on resume. Is there anything else I can do?
Once you go back to your 4 year school, I doubt they would care. I failed out of school the first time I went and I’m at an EB now. You’re fine.
Thanks for your reply. Did you go to a target school? and what did your GPA look like? Congrats on coming back from failing too.
I was also expelled from my first school + graduated with a sub 3.0 GPA from a non-target, also was able to get MM IB. You'll have to grind really hard on the networking front but anything is possible, especially if you'll be at a top 10.
You're not going to get a summer internship when attending a community college. Don't waste your time sending networking emails right now.
What year will you be when you go back to school? Hopefully a sophomore (even if you have to slow your credits down) that way you can start fresh with recruiting for SA 2025. They won't see your academic dismissal and it really won't be an issue - this stuff happens all the time, it's not like you were dismissed for a conduct violation. If you have residual GPA issues that would be the only flag, but hopefully your CC stint has helped a bit.
Glad you're doing better man. IB is a good goal, but don't go crazy about it when you get back to school - you sound super anxious about it just from this post. There's other career tracks and many other paths to IB if you don't land it right away.
Your comment was very helpful, eased some of my worries. The only reason I'm going for internships still is because summer 24 is already open, and I'll need a good internship in finance then as I have no finance work experience. I'll be a sophomore in class standing when i return, but I'll have to take some freshman classes as well bc I failed them. I was able to get some of the Fs taken off bc of mental health but not all, so idk how much that will affect my gpa. I'm confident I can get a 3.9 or above in the rest of my college career tho.
I didn't really know that this stuff happens a lot, I grew up and still am around mostly high-performing people, all my hometown friends are doing great at their colleges (engineering/comp sci/harder stuff than business academically). And my friends at the college I will return to are the same, just not in business. unfortunately i wasn't able to make a ton of friends in the business school as i didnt go to class/clubs freshman year. Do you know if you have to include the year away from the school and at community college on ur resume?
And thanks, I've thought about that because everyone says IB is very difficult, but I have a genuine interest in IB (especially M&A and DCM, healthcare/consumer too). I have a genuine interest in competition and success too. I figure might as well go for the big prize, if I fail I'll be fine doing something else, I just want to make sure I do everything in my power to get it.
Not true, you can definitely get internships at a community college.
Maybe at a small boutique place with a ton of effort but not anywhere of note. it's mostly just a waste of time to email BB/EB people when you're going back to a target school
IB is a place with little regard for mental health. They will push you to the bone and you will drown if you can't handle it. Maybe other careers like consulting or corporate finance would be more ideal for you to get the sleep you need.
I agree, I've definitely thought about that a lot. However my mental health issues weren't really due to the transition to college/workload etc. I've always been able to handle it, although the way I handled it (procrastinating, cramming, doing hw between classes) was unhealthy. Basically I've been giving myself stress, not really stressed about the actual work or time or intensity of the work. I've been using this year to learn to organize and structure my life better, blow off steam in healthy ways, manage my time and projects better. I've improved a lot. I also have a couple more years to really hammer this stuff into my brain and body before I am doing IB full time. I know IB is much harder than hs or college though, so knowing all of this, do u still think what you said?
I've thought about doing consulting bc of better work hours, but I think that I'll excel more in IB from what I've heard from talking to analysts, summer analysts, and associates. Long term goal is to get into PE, most people say IB is a better pathway. Corporate finance is probably what i'll end up doing if IB doesnt work out. What are your thoughts?
Academically Dismissed Bc Of Mental Health Freshman Year. Do I Still Have A Chance - "Alex, I'd like to take because HIPAA or any other admission of certain PII prior to a written offer and you can fuck off lest you want to lose a lawsuit, that's why, for $600."
Tried my best to understand what u mean, r u saying I don't have to disclose information about dismissal bc of HIPAA?
Winner winner, chicken dinner. Unless you choose to freely admit to it, they have no perogative to demand that kind of information before you sign any formal offer and therefore commit to any kind of contract. Even then it's a minefield for them to need to cross unless you grant them full access willingly.
Hi OP, I have direct personal experience that's pretty close to what you're going through. I think it may be more helpful for me to share some of the personal detals over the phone. I'll reach out to you via PM and feel free to give me a call to discuss.
The Exec Summ: there is hope, you can salvage the situation, it will take a while and consistent effort, eventually this trouble will all be in the past
Sounds good. I really appreciate this, it's hard to figure all this out alone ahaha especially since idk anyone in a similar situation
Be realistic with where you are at. Focus on getting your GPA (at the uni) to a point where you are in the running for IB or a good MBA school (with 2 years experience). You should take summer classes full time and not focus on extra curricular. ONLY GPA. IB doesn’t care about your particular situation. Even if you are an outstanding person, you need to be realistic with yourself. See where you are at and get that GPA. Stop scattering your time with distractions. GPA only. No social life. GPA only. Last year join a couple case competitions once you get amazing grades. Summer classes for you, no internships. Get the grades!
Umm I agree with the GPA emphasis for sure, but case competitions really have zero relevance in IB, and if anything kind of make people question if you want consulting.
OP should focus on GPA absolutely, but they do need to be involved in school and have internships to land IB. Someone with no behavioral interview skills or extracurriculars/internships to talk about is not gonna land IB, even if he manages a 4.0
Do barely relevant internships really matter when you could talk about projects at school and dealing with others? My suggestion is take summer classes for first two years, get an internship in summer going into 3rd year. And graduate in 3 years. That’s the ideal pattern. Get into IB by 21.
Once I'm back, grinding a 4.0 is my goal. That way it'll balance out from freshman year. But I do need outside experience, no shot I land analyst without finance experience, even if its not directly in IB. And I want to get involved in more clubs, they are super helpful especially at my school. I agree that GPA needs to be as high as possible though.
I think you're totally fine. Would suggest taking an 'extra' year by graduating in 2026. There isn't really anything wrong with taking ~5 years and the banks aren't going anywhere. It gives you close to 12 months to prep for the next cycle of summer analyst recruiting. If you can do well and improve your GPA when you return to your business school, you'll be in a solid position to recruit when it comes around next year.
For now try to get an off season internship at any bank or fund even if it's a remote internship with a regional shop. You will hear a lot of no's but with persistence you'll find something eventually through networking. Pitch yourself as a sophomore looking for experience so it's low stress and they don't have to plan for potentially taking you on full time. I’ve seen a lot of guys from my school work at tiny shops remotely and it’s a great way to get that first foot in the door and validates to other banks that you know what you want and why. Best of luck man and props for picking yourself up in CC. Smartest guy I know made it to a great bank and now MF PE from my non target / his local CC.
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