To Transfer or Not to Transfer?
Hello all, I am a freshman at a non-target (t100) who just finished my first semester. I am considering trying to transfer to a target in order to improve my recruiting chances for investment banking. My ultimate goal is to reach a BB/EB bank. I was able to earn a 4.0 while joining and establishing a leadership position in the Investment Banking Club and was also accepted into the student investment fund. I have also landed a boutique ib internship for the Summer of 2025.
I'm wondering if I should just focus on maximizing my efforts at my current school or if I should shoot for a target. I am only really considering targets and not semi-targets because I don't want to start over fresh for an incremental boost in recruiting odds.
Would the stats above qualify me for schools like Georgetown, Cornell. Dartmouth, Umich Ross, etc.? For reference I had 3.85 in high school with solid ECs. Additionally, I'd love some insight into actually how much more difficult it is to land a role in ib from a non-target. From what I've seen here people have been successful by networking like hell, however others make it sound impossible. Any advice or perspective would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Lots to consider here. Do you like your current school? Do you have a good friend group there? Is your school near a city that has firms that hires anyone from your school? Is there any sort of alumni network at all?
If no to all of those questions, then sure, try to transfer to another school. I don't have the data on what criteria a student needs to get accepted as a transfer but go for it if you want to try. For the most part though, I think as long as it isn't a complete no-name, middle-of-nowhere school, you should be okay.
I did my undergrad at the University of Miami, definitely not a target school, but being near Miami, there were a good number of firms that hired a handful of Miami kids. I even graduated during peak Covid and was able to get a role at a small firm. A year later a lateraled to a bank and then 2 years later got into business school. So I think you will be fine too.
Thank you for your insight. There is a decent alumni network, I know about 5-6 (6k undergrad pop) upperclassmen who either landed a position for this upcoming summer or did one last summer and are returning FT. Albeit mostly boutique or MM firms but still 1-2 at BBs.
IMO I think how well you fit into your current school is a much better determinant of whether you should transfer instead of transferring for recruitment.
If your school has alums who have broken in then that’s all the proof you need that it can be done. Hammer those connections down and make sure you do everything in your power to be competitive so participate in clubs, take classes with professors who have industry experience, etc.
Yeah that makes sense. Thank you for your input. There is definitely a lack of alumni in BB/EB firms at my school, but from other posts on here it sounds like placement is possible through lots of networking outside of alumni.
Transfer. Also a very strong indicator of your overall interest and passion for IB – if you ever get asked, you can speak to the fact you were willing to forego a comfortable setup with your previous university in favour of better exposure to recruitment offered by the target university. I did something similar and I found it really helped to build credibility for my overall interest in banking when asked about it during interviews.
Seems like your at an super low semi vs a true non target kid if you like it stay and work hard you'll be good.
Transfer definitely. But transfer to a school that's insanely good. Ex. Columbia, UChicago, Duke, Northwestern, Cornell. These schools are somewhat transfer friendly (except Duke I think) and you have a reasonable shot of getting in. Of course apply to the Princeton and Wharton kind of options too but they just don't take very many transfers at all. If you get in, you shouldn't have too big of a problem setting up a foundation (joining clubs, beginning networking, all that) and getting a good job.
I wouldn't transfer to a school like UMich Ross or UVA b/c there's just so much competition there. Vanderbilt sure. But from what you have said, any school might be better. Getting into banking from a target school isn't easy by any measure either, especially if you want BB/EB. So from a non-target with barely any alumni, it's very annoying and tedious journey.
But if you're going to apply transfer you need a very good app. Consider UChicago ED (gives you highest chance) and have good EC's, LORs, amazing essays and "why transfers", solid GPA (3.9+) with lots of credits taken at current college.
Transfer 11/10 times; HYPSW are generally impossible, but the lower Ivies are generally doable (Penn, Cornell, Columbia, etc.) and Duke, Michigan Ross, etc. are also options. Where you go to school directly influences what firm you place at, which in turn carries over to buyside recruitment, MBA, and so on. I’ve seen the stratification firsthand, having had a similar background. Would do 1000 times over.
I’ve read that Michigan doesn’t let transfers directly in their business school, how would this affect recruiting?
Even if you aren’t in Ross, you’re still at Michigan; all around prestigious school. Plenty of non-Ross people go to BB and EB, and tons of alumni to reach out to. Just join the Ross clubs, keep your GPA up, get internships on your resume, and study your technicals. Shouldn’t be too bad.
Def transfer
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