I’m talking about real small towns where there’s IB is. Places like rural Kansas/West Virginia/Alabama. Not talking about small suburbs near cities. Has anyone made it to high finance from the legit middle of nowhere flyover country USA?
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Rural southern state (~sub-10k in town) -> HYP -> have SA for 2021
It sucks, even compared to my HYP peers, who all went to fucking Dalton Deerfield PAA Hopkins Hotchkiss Trinity Regis HM PEA Choate etc. They all 1) have family (sometimes parents — I know 3 kids whose parents are Head of X at a BB) in IB 2) have shit tons of family friends at banks. They know everything by the time they're sophomores in high school.
Even at HYP, as a white guy from rural America, I get the short stick because 1/2 are from diversity (no problem with it) but for the most part the white guys who get it here are all megarich NYC NE prep boarding school kids. They set quotas for my school & it's not easy at all. Not sure it's easier than being the top student at a top state school, which was my other choice, in hindsight.
This is really interesting. Whenever people talk about targets and ivys, I occasionally see comments about how it's biased because you don't know how many ivy kids have spots reserved for them since middle school because of connections and skew the placement stats, but I didn't know it was that big of a phenomenon.
Also, it does suck as a white guy, because the point of diversity programs is to help people who don't have connections catch up to all the white guys with connections. But if you're a white guy without connections, you're double screwed, so it's rough.
Wrongthink. SJWS, ATTATCK!
Yes, I grew up in a town of 400 people, and dad was a farmer. When to school in the city, think University of Colorado, straight to a major hedge fund in NYC.
I’ve been exceptionally lucky to be where I am today. The biggest thing I struggle with is communication. I often talk like a trucker, which offends people or makes them believe I’m an idiot. Additionally, I’ll often say things like never instead of unlikely, which gets people going. I also no longer share stories or experiences about home because people just don't get it.
I enjoy your point on people from suburbs claiming they're from a small town. My favourite is I’m from a small town like you, Greenwich.
Thus my communication issue, this wasn't intended to be funny, but I'm glad you've enjoyed it.
I grew up on a ranch. My class at school had 7 kids in it. Very different life that no one who didn’t experience it could understand. Feel very lucky to be where I am today. There is definitely such a thing as path dependency and it felt like I was climbing up a waterfall to get where I am. Things most people don’t think about like basic mentorship and exposure to different career and life options. I didn’t even know how to read an address until I went to college.
Know some people who are like fucking geniuses (seniors) that are from like bumfuck Utah or Montana or some shit and are making so much god damn money in PE right now but they’re still super cool down to earth which is amazing. They got to this path from target schools tho. Even then, the few I’m thinking about did other things like IB, consulting, etc. before going into PE without knowing what IB PE or Consulting really were haha then realized they liked it
Jon Corzine
Well, not from rural part of the U.S. However, my parents are first generation immigrates from China. Dad on disability of $580 a month due a very bad traffic accident. Mom worked as caretaker for $15 hourly. Lived in a NYC apartment with 9 people in a 2 bed rooms and 1 bathroom apartment. Went to a ultra non-target school (~10 people made it to front office banking over the past 7-8 years), managed to get into a top BB IB team outside of NYC. Never heard of IB until first semester of senior year in college, end up graduating late to allow for SA recruiting. Currently, finishing up my 2nd year of analyst program. I guess you can always make it to IB coming from anywhere, just take time and persistence. I have heard worst upbringings on WSO podcast about some kid from Michigan that grew up homeless getting into a BB or EB SA program.
Grew up in a town a bit larger than 25k, but still in a flyover state and 100+ miles away from a major city. Parents are latin american immigrants who have 0 connection to finance. I was a huge harry potter nerd growing up and I decided to look into boarding schools so I could be like harry potter (yes, really). Stumbled upon the world of elite NE prep schools, and ended up attending and graduating from one. Even from that background, I didn't hear about finance until a couple months into my first year at college at a non-Ivy target. Just finished up my SA stint for the summer. Incredibly lucky and grateful to have had this many opportunities so far
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