4.0 at Non-Target School VS Transferring
Hi Everyone,
I'm currently a rising sophomore at Northeastern University studying finance and journalism looking to get into private equity as soon as possible after I graduate. However, seeing as Northeastern is not a target school and has only recently come to a passable level of relevance, there are very few opportunities extended to us outside of our "world famous" co-op program.
I am highly considering transferring to a more competitive school (Oxford, Wash U, Claremont McKenna, Cornell, are a few that I am considering), I currently have a 4.0 and would most likely be able to maintain it if I were to stay.
Is it worth it for me to transfer? If so any suggestions? Is a strong GPA with good extracurriculars a good trade-off for reputation and a stronger network?
Thanks
Getting into a decent PE firm means you'd have to transfer to a top target—Wash U and Claremont won't cut it. Even at Cornell you're more than likely still not going to have PE opportunities out of undergrad. If you're thinking about doing banking to get into PE, you're going to miss recruitment—which happens during your sophomore spring—so transferring would have no effect.
If I were you and I wanted to maximize my chances of getting into PE asap, I'd either stay at Northeastern and network with your alumni in IB to try and get an internship after your junior year and then do the usual route into PE.
Would I miss recruitment if I transferred? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the process, but I can still apply for positions and network regardless of my enrollment status at a University, right?
Thanks
Students at target schools don't apply the same way you would normally. There's a separate portal that you submit to where your resume is guaranteed to be reviewed—typically by alumni at the firm you're applying to—and you can't access that unless you are officially enrolled at that school. Since you wouldn't find out whether you're accepted or not until early summer after your sophomore year, you would completely miss on-campus recruiting. You can network all you want with alumni from the school you're applying to, but since you don't actually go to their school yet, they will be unlikely to respond or take you seriously.
Your other option is transferring and delaying graduation for a semester, so that you can recruit for internships that take place the summer after you were supposed to graduate.
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