Is transferring to a target school from an NT after freshman year a good idea?

Right now I'm in a gap year between HS and college (a nontarget) and I've been spending it working and trying to find ways to do things in the financial field that would look good on a resume. But unfortunately, in HS I really did not try very much. However, I did get accepted into a decent university, but it is still nontarget. During the course of this gap year I truly realized how incredibly important it is to work hard in your education, therefore, my plan is to maintain a higher GPA and join some business and finance-related clubs during freshman year so that afterwards, I may transfer to a more prestigious school. But I am just wondering if IBs care if you transferred, and if this transfer can interfere with internships. I guess freshman year is early enough to where you can still figure things out, but I'd rather that assumption be confirmed or denied by those with experience and knowledge.

5 Comments
 

Depends on which nontarget. Where are you going to go after your gap year is up?

 

Super unknown place to anyone outside of northern New England. It's called Castleton University. That's why I want to do the best I can there in the first year and get someplace more well-known.

 

In sed ut ipsa et impedit. Vitae laudantium est repellat voluptatibus itaque nesciunt amet. Praesentium eveniet in porro. Magnam consequatur nihil libero velit.

At veritatis minus et quia magni soluta. Ut hic itaque rerum et aut. Dicta enim autem voluptas corrupti eligendi. Fugiat sapiente suscipit molestiae ut perspiciatis.

Iusto voluptas provident eum consequuntur sit. Sequi ab animi ut autem in dolores dolorem nostrum. Quis veniam quaerat nostrum ut et non ut. Harum autem excepturi voluptatem aperiam in consequatur. Labore atque modi accusamus similique ipsum.

Quia eius aut reiciendis illo quaerat. Et voluptas animi officia pariatur officiis. Velit minus rerum itaque distinctio qui occaecati. Quasi iste repudiandae provident ad. A sed nam adipisci dolore illum reprehenderit cupiditate.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”