[Current HS Senior] Will be attending a non-target school this fall. Need advice.

edit: sorry for the really long post. I would really, really, really, really appreciate any advice, though.

Hi, I am currently a senior in high school, and I will be attending a non-target state school with pretty much a full ride. I am on the East Coast of the USA. My goal is to get a job on Wall Street.

I am going to use the first paragraph below to talk about my experience/credibility and the paragraphs after that to ask some questions. However, I am very new to finance, so any comments/advice (even ones that are seemingly unrelated) is appreciated. Note that some of what I have stated below may seem vague. If you would like to ask any specific question(s), you can send me a private message.

In high school, I took several math courses including AP Calculus BC (equivalent to Calculus I & II), AP Statistics (intro-level statistics class; no calculus), Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Complex Analysis, Real Analysis, and Discrete Math. Also, I'm not sure if it SATs matter after high school, but I received an 800/800 on the SAT Math section, and an 800/800 on the SAT Math II Subject Test. I have been interning at a research lab, and I have co-authored a research paper on stochastic processes. The paper is pretty much all applied math. I am pretty good with MATLAB and R since those are the programming languages that I have been using at the research lab for >1 year. I have also taken many AP exams, which will grant me college credit.

So, first, I am conflicted about what to major in. I e-mailed the math advisor for my university, and given my math courses, I would be allowed to take upper-division and possibly graduate-level math courses beginning in my freshman year of college. I could probably graduate in two years as a math major. I am a little bit reluctant to major in finance, because if I don't make it where I want to be, I have little to fall back on. Additionally, the finance major at my college has very few math requirements, so it would be difficult for me to graduate early. Alternatively, I was thinking about majoring in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science, both of which are fields that interest me. These would also allow me to have a fallback plan. It would be fairly easy for me to double major in math and some sort of engineering or computer science since I have many math prerequisites. I would definitely be involved in extracurriculars related to finance, but I'm not sure if that compensates for not majoring in finance? It would also be kinda difficult to double major in finance and something as back-up since there isn't much of a coursework overlap with like Finance and Electrical Engineering.

I could also try to transfer to a target school after my freshman year or something. Unfortunately, I was rejected/waitlisted from the reach schools that I applied to as a freshman applicant, but I would be willing to try again. Would this be a good idea?

How can I get internships from a non-target school? Through some quick Google searches, I found that it's pretty hard for a high schooler to get anything, but what about after my freshman year? My school won't have on-campus recruiting, so it might be difficult, I think.

I'll edit this post if I come up with any more questions, etc.

All comments are appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Hey, thanks for your reply!

I was waitlisted (pretty much a nice rejection) from Cornell as a freshman applicant; however, I applied to their College of Engineering. Through some research, I think to get into the finance field, I would need to transfer into their AEM program, correct? That is in CALS, which is different from Engineering.

Also, surprisingly, I just found out that the transfer acceptance rate is significantly higher than the freshman admission rate. So it will definitely be easier for me to transfer. I will definitely apply there after a year.

Would it be fine if I studied Electrical Engineering and Math for the time being? What do you think?

 
Best Response

First off, getting an internship as a freshman is difficult and rare irrespective of where you go to college. If you stick with the non-target, try to get an internship with a local wealth advisory firm or something comparable for freshman year (summer and/or off-cycle during the semester) for starts so that you have something on your resume to propel up the chain sophomore year then into junior year recruiting. I personally went to a non-target with little on-campus recruiting and I made it on the street, you will just have to do a ton of networking. It can't hurt to apply for a transfer to a better school after your first year, I kind of wish that I made that decision early-on myself. Focus on crushing your first 2 semesters at the non-target while simultaneously networking/applying for semester and summer internships and see what opportunities arise come end of second (or third if you are on trimester) semester. Assess the situation again around then to see if a transfer is something you desire. Feel free to PM with any more in-depth questions you may have.

Array
 

Aut tenetur qui dolorem qui accusantium. Est reprehenderit temporibus consequatur voluptatem expedita voluptas et aut.

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
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”