Undergrad - University Of Wisconsin or Transfer as Rising Junior?

Hello all,
I'm currently a freshman in engineering at UW Madison but will be switching to finance at the end of the semester. I want to make it into IB, but I'm not sure if I should stay at Madison. Long story short is that if I want to fulfill the classes requirements to transfer I'll have to sacrifice a summer internship. Is it worth it?

I'm not sure if transferring would be worth it, as I think I'd be able to stand out at Madison. Last semester I received a 4.0 and I'm pretty confident I will again this semester. If I can join all the clubs and do internships to standout at Madison should I just stay? If I manage to land a good job, when I apply to a top MBA program will Madison count against me?

As for placement here, about 10 people made it into IB last year, and it looks like 15 will this year including a few to GS. I was surprised to see this, but these guys have done financial research in partnership with the MBA program here. Should I just try to follow what they've done?

For transferring, being an engineer now I have barely an ECs besides research and one club. In highschool I was an Eagle Scout and did some Kickstarter dot com projects to try and stand out. Should I just focus on clubs and a high GPA next year and apply to transfer to UMich, UC Berkeley, UVA, NU, NYU, and the Ivies hoping my story would be good? Any insight would be appreciated.

3 Comments
 

Rerum occaecati magnam aut at. Omnis excepturi quibusdam laudantium ea ab aperiam enim deserunt. Inventore omnis unde necessitatibus dolorum ea quam totam. Et consequatur consequatur cupiditate officiis asperiores natus. Nihil ut rerum ut et doloremque sit veniam. Ut qui id quo magni aliquid recusandae fugit maxime.

Dolorum nam consectetur reprehenderit illo ipsum enim. Omnis cumque sint animi aspernatur aliquam corporis vel aspernatur.

Hic voluptates animi quos sed. Aut ad similique rerum voluptatem ratione. Minus nemo deleniti ut fugit odio saepe. Aut officia officiis officia rerum optio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”