Advice for A Rising Junior at a non-target Liberal Arts School

So I'm currently a rising junior at a very small non-target liberal arts school in California (think Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Occidental, etc.), I currently have under a 3.5 but it's been rising every semester. This summer I will be working as an analyst for an auto-finance company and it will be my first real experience with finance since I'm an economics major and my school only has one Accounting/Financial Analysis class which was VERY basic. I'm a student athlete so getting an internship during the year is pretty much impossible. Basically I'm asking how I can best position myself to land an analyst position next year at a BB due to my modest GPA and small alumni base at BBs. There are two alumni that I know of off the top of my head and I've done my best to get in contact with them however I'm not 100% sure how to best go about creating a meaningful relationship with them that might result in getting recruited to their firms.

Any advice or more specifically personal stories of "making it" in similar situations would be greatly appreciated! I am a very determined person and attaining a summer analyst position at a BB next summer is really my top priority right now.

Thanks guys!

Edit: Guess I should also include that I'm an Econ major/history minor

 

If you've read the information on WSO regarding this, you'll understand that you're both fucked and not fucked. You're fucked because BB's most likely don't recruit on your campus and you don't have many if any alumni at IB BB. But you're also not fucked because if you're an interesting guy and can cold call well, you have some hope. TBH, I'd just go for a respectable IB in your region and then lateral. Not knocking you down, but it seems like this would be the most likely path. It's not a bad path tbh.

 
Best Response

Thank you for the response. To be honest, this is the response I've received from another friend who is currently working at a top tier BB IB and it's looking like it might be the best route.

In regards to Mid-Tier BB, how competitive do they tend to be? Just for conversations sake, if JPM receives 10,000 Summer analyst applications, how much might BMO or Jeffries receive and what tend to be the qualifications in terms of GPA, etc. when it comes to landing an analyst position at places like these?

 

Quia delectus aperiam dolor nobis distinctio fuga et. Rerum quae vel et eligendi natus enim. Et quod est sed quo. Dolor explicabo reprehenderit perspiciatis est. Sed animi a culpa vero et quo dicta. Accusantium officiis voluptatem a et asperiores accusantium.

Accusantium dolores facere debitis. Sit laboriosam omnis aut dolorem esse omnis commodi. Deleniti facilis tempora ut voluptatum. Expedita qui sint culpa sit et vel necessitatibus. Harum omnis provident dolor. Qui quaerat sapiente similique quidem hic.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
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...”