+40 A Graduating Senior's WSO Reflection 4 3w
+26 From Non-Target to Stanford GSB 4 1mo
+15 I FUCKING MADE IT 4 1mo
+1,060 Never, ever, ever, give up. 128 8mo
+9 Success Stories After No Return Offer? 1 9mo
+221 THANK YOU WSO 12 10mo
+9 Well... I made it I guess 2 2y
+135 Q&A: From a Semi-Target Lower GPA to a Hedge Fund and Bulge Bracket 21 2y
+307 Never Give Up - A guide to success even if you're dumb 20 3y
+28 My Crazy Success Story! 17 3y
+102 What I Learned From Both Getting Dream Job And Then Dumped In One Day 38 3y
+89 I did it. 73 3y
+246 Some more truth about BB Ops and how I got out 69 3y
+9 Life Is An Adventure. 2 3y
+49 Guys, We Finally Made It 48 3y
+45 Thank you WSO 7 3y
+373 What investment banking is in simple words and my story 149 3y
+105 Goodbye JC100021, Hello Military_MBA_Banker 49 3y
+143 Sincere thank you to the WSO Community 60 3y
+50 Story of sub 2.5 gpa breaking into MC 27 3y
+207 Don't. Stop. Hustlin'. 49 3y
+249 Stay positive 48 3y
+237 Non-Target to Bain/BCG Intern 32 3y
+193 Football, Potential Felon, Non Target ---> S&T Offer 35 3y
+145 Got robbed yesterday at gunpoint. I'm leaving 15 years of my career and friends behind, and moving to Switzerland. 44 3y
+128 1st Big Boy Paycheck - Keep your heads up! 23 4y
+32 Losers Can Win 12 4y
+41 Thank you, WSO - IBD position at second-tier bank 24 4y
+3 BB drop out to MM to HF 4 4y
+138 MBB wannabe to FAANG Software Engineer 34 5y
+9 Accountant to PE Analyst 1 5y
+17 Thanks WSO: Mid-Career Non-Banking to Top Performer at Top BB 1 5y
+69 Extreme Non-Target to NYC HF 3 5y
+26 M&A industry analyst to starting a company in the industry 32 5y
+61 From Non-Target to Threesome 23 5y
+96 From Depression to Community College to Target School & Beyond 29 5y
+121 Non-Target, Sub 3.5 GPA. FT BB IBD 38 5y
+108 Finally cut it 29 6y
+397 Non-target --> FT Off-Cycle IBD Analyst 51 6y
+261 How I got into Banking 111 6y
+24 Complete non-target state school, non-finance undergraduate, landed a long term internship 6 6y
0 Thanks WSO - Landed a FO position 13 6y
+22 Got my #1 firm! 29 6y
+21 Non-Target with <3.0 GPA Lands MM Summer Analyst 35 6y
0 Thank you to all WSO members 7 6y
+12 Hottest SA- Xenia Tchoumitcheva 19 6y
+18 Non Target Advice 12 6y
+25 Broke in from the Big Four 28 6y
+93 Non Target, Breaking into Investment Banking 99 6y
+101 Bumps along the way, but finally moving in the right direction... 36 6y
+131 Finally an offer! A story of persistence 75 6y
0 Non Target to FT PE Advisory and Fundraising - Boutique 9 6y
+50 Full Time Offer, at last! Thanks WSO! 36 6y
+126 I DID IT!!! 63 6y
0 Equity Research from Middle Office 3 6y
+167 Quit the Rat Race and Attempting a Comeback, Here's my Advice 51 6y
+16 I made it.. You can make it too! 10 6y
+21 Thank you WSO - Secured my first SA offer 6 6y
+56 Part 2- Finally Got It - Top MM Offer- Thank You WSO 28 6y
0 Can't never did anything 3 6y
+21 Thanks to WSO for giving me the edge for this summer 17 6y
+149 The Non-Target Who Didn't Take No For An Answer 73 6y
0 Ask Me Anything -- Non Traditional Background 25 6y
+110 Non-Target Freshman to Hedge Fund Internship 53 6y
+43 Accepted an Offer! - How non-targets can "make it" 18 6y
+15 State School-->GS NYC Summer Analyst-->Medical School 7 6y
+59 Non-Targeted Southern School with No Connections, 2016 Capital Markets Analyst 13 6y
+45 Strange Success Story: from Philosophy Major to the Buy Side in 4 years 12 6y
+24 Non Target Freshman to Boutique, How I Did It 9 6y
+24 Confessions of a Former Pre-Med 1 6y
+190 The Road Less Traveled 21 6y
+76 Made it to a Bulge Bracket Bank 17 6y
+39 Hard Work Does Pay Off 6 6y
+9 What song(s) went through your head as you received notice of your offer? 1 6y
+204 If You Want to Learn How to Get a Job on the Street, Read my Story 40 6y
+21 From Marketing Intern to Front Office Role 1 6y
+128 My Story: Extreme non-target to top BB 22 6y
+27 How I studied for the Level 1 CFA in 10 days and passed on my first try, coming out of undergrad in finance 1 6y
+80 Non-target -> 3 Superday Rejections -> Dream FT AM Offer 13 6y
+18 A long story to motivate others 8 6y
0 One year effort from Eastern EU to top MBA 2 6y
+30 Non Target & No Internships to Target with Multiple Offers 7 6y
0 From no job this summer to an internship at Hedge Fund now need help??? 0 6y
+49 How I landed my PE position in China, non-target, low gpa, no exp 34 7y
+72 No BB FT Offer to Buyside Research Associate 13 7y
+97 How to Pass the Series 7 Exam 106 7y
+24 The WSO Scholarship Has Been Awarded! 0 7y
+454 How I turned tragedy into triumph 57 7y
+215 Fake Frank Quattrone (IB PE) Q&A 112 8y
+21 In person 'cold networking' happened to me today 5 8y
+132 Can a Non Target land a IB SA? With hard work and persistence it definitely is 45 8y
+14 Extremely grateful for WSO 12 9y
+30 Finally a Gas Trader 9 9y
+46 EB 26 9y
+30 My Story: Enlisted military to PE from undergrad 10 9y
+103 Q&A - IB Coverage / M&A From Non-Target School to Tier 1 Bulge Bracket and M&A Boutique 44 10y
+8 5 worst career advices that I have received in my life 3 10y
+43 Sort of a Success Story 6 10y
+17 From Homeless and Parentless to Harvard 17 11y
+8 Wharton's most popular and youngest-tenured professor says the most successful people are Givers 14 12y

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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...”

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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...”