Bentley University for IB?
Hi! I'm a freshman at Bentley University and I'm extremely interested in a career in IB. I'm fairly certain I can get a 3.8+ GPA if I major in finance. I'm pretty sure the finance program is solid (the school has a trading room among other resources), but I don't think there is much FO recruiting going on here. Do you think I still have a shot at getting a summer analyst internship/breaking into IB (not necessarily even BB) if I network super hard? Or, what is the sentiment about Bentley with regard to IB in general?
From a fellow Bentley students perspective, you can go anywhere but have to network at least 10x harder than you initially think
A first year analyst in my group this summer was from Bentley. Super sharp guy. I heard him on the phone with Bentley kids a couple of times but it seemed like the amount of help he could provide was pretty limited because it was so late in the recruiting season. So yeah, I think it is totally possible. You just need to find the people who are willing to support you and make sure you're early enough to the cycle.
I'm sure there are alum from Bentley in banking since it's such a finance-focused school, so it'll be possible if you leverage that network. That being said, it's probably not common to get FO from Bentley, nor will there be strong OCR pipelines. Strong 3.8+ GPA, strong internships, and strong involvement in student groups is bare minimum: you'll need to network hard. For junior summer you'll want to start networking by sophomore fall
I'm sure ther are alum from Bentley in banking since it's such a finance-focused school, so it'll be possible if you leverage that network. That being said, it's probably not common to get FO from Bentley, nor will there be strong OCR pipelines. Strong 3.8+ GPA, strong internships, and strong involvement in student groups is bare minimum: you'll need to network hard. For junior summer you'll want to start networking by sophomore fall
After re-reading this, you may seriously want to consider transfering to a semi-target or above school if FO BB IBD is your goal.
It is highly unlikely that I will be able to transfer unfortunately. Do you think I've still got a shot at non-BB? Or if I stay at Bentley should I just not pursue IB?
Definitely possible, don't expect it to be easy. Pretty sure there are alumni at all but one or two BB IBD. EB may be a different story though. Top MM's are feasible with decent networking as well. Minimal OCR.
There are a ton of small boutique shops around Boston that hire summers. Some are paid others are not. Probably worth a try for your Freshman/Sophmore summers. Examples are places like Covington Associates, Bowen Advisors, Consilium etc. Would check to see if any Bentley alum currently work there, set up a chat this winter, take the commuter rail in and spend a day in the city to try and land an internship. Boston also has some BB groups and a decent MM tech presence.
There are tons of alums that got into IB from Bentley in every type of bank (BB, EB, MM, boutiques). You have a solid chance if you can build a genuine connection with someone who can get your foot in the door. You have plenty of time to network, but don't do it until you have a solid game plan (i.e don't be sloppy). That is the caveat of going to a school without a top-target alumni base; you want to start networking as soon as possible but you want to make sure that those few alums are willing to go to bat for you, which means you'll need to be prepared.
You got this. Keep your head up when things don't go your way, it happens to the best of us. Maintain that 3.8+ and find some time to live it up (heard the green space gets rowdy after a major NE sports win).
Feel free to PM me if you want to run anything by
Recent Bentley grad here, and I second what most people are saying. OP should definitely try to get a job in the Trading Room as well; it opens doors to some great networking opportunities and looks impressive on the resume.
Feel free to shoot me a PM if you want to chat.
Hey, mind if i pm?
Don't be afraid to give it a shot!What's the difference between a perfectly great school vs. some stuffy "target" establishment
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