Worth Transferring for Consulting?

I kind of dug myself in a ditch due to poor decisions as a 17 year old. I just finished my sophomore year at a T50 non-target school with almost a 4.0 studying biochemistry and computer science. I did well in high school and got into a lot of solid schools with scholarships, but chose to attend my current school because of financial reasons and to be the big fish in a small pond for grad school applications (I'm a fucking idiot).

I know trying to break into consulting will be an uphill battle, coming from a nontarget. I really can't stand the lack of opportunities and competition, so I have been considering taking a gap year and trying to transfer to Northwestern, UPenn, Brown, or Duke as a junior. Would it be worth it to transfer to a target school?

I am going to be taking the next semester off to do a BO research internship at a MBB . Also a consideration is that I took the max amount of credits every semester, so I really only have a year of class to graduate even though I just finished my 2nd year.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

To answer your question straight on, if you have the opportunity to transfer to one of those targets, definitely go for it. It's worth the cost and the extra year of school, plain and simple.

BUT, if you don't transfer to another school for whatever reason, I suggest you put your nose to the ground and grind to get a FO consulting interview. It won't be easy, but it's possible to do coming from a non-target (I know because I've done it.) Best way to get started is stop feeling sorry for yourself and disparaging your classmates, and instead start hustling. If MBB is truly your goal, it sounds like you're smart enough to get there either way. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the response and I also really enjoyed reading your post about how you grinded from a non-target to a MBB.

Another consideration I had was trying to go for a master's at a target school. Would that be a good option or would transferring in undergrad set me up better?

 

At nam rem ut omnis tempore. Incidunt rerum quia deserunt minima est porro. Est nobis et laudantium quia. Ipsa omnis ipsam id impedit culpa quia aut. Repellendus quo perferendis asperiores ex ut aspernatur est.

Eius non qui vel aliquid beatae debitis unde. Ad dolorum facere molestiae et est nihil. Non vitae architecto voluptatibus aliquid libero.

Voluptate est ipsa ab et vel. Occaecati neque tenetur nulla soluta est est. Nostrum voluptatem dolores quo doloribus dolores eveniet. Maxime culpa reprehenderit maiores et. Ipsum non vero corrupti qui et aut quibusdam vel. Alias enim unde omnis atque nihil dolorem et. Similique sed rerum quisquam.

Sed ea dolore ut et qui aperiam. Quasi aperiam amet ex corrupti voluptatem rerum eius. Molestiae voluptates quia dolorum molestias modi sed omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”