Wishful thinking or possible reality? What are my chances at working on Wall Street?

New Jersey? Rutgers isn’t a bad school at all, check it out. They have a club called LIBOR (little investment bankers of Rutgers) and a program called RTWS (road to Wall Street). In regards to getting into a better school, you need to do something about that GPA. Junior year, you need to kill it or take high level (honors and AP) classes to compensate. Also, don’t forget about things like the SAT, they can make a big difference so if you perform incredibly well on that you can make up for a subpar GPA. Finally, you’re trying to get into the business school, so your passion just has to be business related. You can start your own business or nonprofit because this is relevant and it shows leadership and initiative. Admissions officers don’t just want kids that want to work on Wall Street, they want a diverse group of passionate students. Never say you want to do it for the money in an essay or something like that, you need to show them that you’re passionate about business overall and the social impacts it can have. Finally, essays are a big part of the process. I know you’re not writing any till next summer, but it’s never too early to start thinking about it. An exceptional essay can get a subpar student across the line at elite universities, while a horrible essay can get an outstanding student rejected at average schools.

I hope this helped you a little bit, and remember not to worry about it too much. You have time. A lot of people don’t even know they want to do investment banking until college and they still pull it off. Youre already a little ahead of the game for having these aspirations, so don’t sweat it too much. Live your life!