Do i have a shot?

Not to sound harsh... but the only way you will be able to get into IBD is through alumni. Even then, your chances are pretty small unless you happen to be an incredibly good interviewer.

You should probably aim for regional boutiques because most BB/Elite Boutiques won't even look at under 3.5 GPAs at TARGET schools (unless u are a math/engineering/psychics major).... so a 3.1 at non-target is gonna get tossed at first sight.

Combine that with no real professional experience....

I'd say your best bet to get into IBD is to do big 4 accounting or corporate finance at a large company... then transfer over after a few years or go to B-school.

It's going to be really difficult. I suggest you pull up your GPA, apply for a masters program at some decent place. Score high on the GMAT. Then look into IBD.

Networking is key.

Big 4 / corp fi for few years, then give it a go after B- School.

A 3.5 at a target in almost any major will not get dinged JUST because of academics, especially since the average gpa at most ivys is around 3.2. And if you are above the average ivy league student in work ethic/intelligence that you should be fine.

yeah it's a funny thought- a B.A. in psychics and forecasting. that HF job will be sitting for you. lol.

Wouldn't you just day trade and skip school and say fuck working 100 hours a week doing bitch work? Wouldn't you be a professional athlete and make millions and score great bitches?

Those are very bad stats, nevertheless, its up to you how badly your willing to work for it. Most above average students at targets have to work very hard to get into IBD, so your going to have to work 20X that.

I wouldn't go out for the rest of the year or summer if you really want it. You should be sending out 100's of emails a week, cold calling like crazy, and don't forget reading everything under the sun about investment banking and modeling. Think about it, when your interviewing for IBD: if a majority of the kids have 3.8+ from targets, need to walk the interviewer through an LBO and DCF to get the job, your going to have to build the models and speak about synergies on a recent deal they worked on. Its not going to be easy, but if you want to get into IBD with those stats, it will require some extraordinary effort.

No chance. besides IBD has changed forever, go do something more worthwhile with your time, life.

do you have a shot? assuming this isn't a joke--realistically, no, you don't. focus on something that you actually have a chance at instead of chasing a pipe dream.

GGopher21:

Basketball Intramural champs

Depending on how you interview, you have a shot at some MMs and boutiques in the Midwest. Obviously, no shot at BB.

I have similar stats and successfully got a boutique SA position. It is not a pipe dream to look at some Midwestern places, but have a plan B.

network, bring your GPA up and you better have the nastiest interviewing skills. That should give you a shot at some decent MMs.

Yeah networking is a must, just your stats is an automatic ding. Your GPA and SAT scores won't even get passed the automatic filters most places use.

Gopher, don't listen to the negative comments that the above posters brought up. You have a great shot at landing a banking job -- I'm one of the lead recruiters at a BB office so I would know.

First of all, your major GPA is higher than your cumulative, which is a huge plus. So what if it's a 3.3? What's important is that you tried harder in your major classes, or your major was simply easier.

Second, Minnesota is a fine school for banking. If your mascot is any indication, Minnesota graduates are scrappy, hard-working, and have large front teeth.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the 720 on the math section of your SAT is truly impressive. However, what's even more rarefied is the 520 score on verbal you needed to receive in order to get a score of 1240. Although your verbal score places you below the national average of all SAT test-takers, in my experiences, the 520 would be top 5% in banking.

Work hard and I'm sure you can do it. You may not get Goldman, but Morgan Stanley is a good backup.

P.S. Work experience is over-rated.

Listen, if you do not go to a target school ( i didn't) you may not run an IB group or S&T desk by the time you're thirty three. In fact, you may never! BUT, you will get what you want. You may have to jump through rings of fire, while others are spoon fed. Use the advice on this site as a guide only. You will probably have to get in through the side door, or take the high road in. Ultimately, you will determine what you do. If you do it well, you will get what you want!

Your best bet is to start talking to alumni, and see what their thoughts are. While a message board full of college students has a lot of worthless information, you can get a sense that you are certainly on the lower echelon of candidates trying for IBD at some of the BB and other strong shops.

I would do some searches, and try to read some of the posts by the certified users (GameTheory, dosk, nystate, etc..), since a lot of them have contributed to similar posts. Not saying they are the end all be all, but their posts should give you a better understanding of the recruiting process, expectations, and an idea of where you stand. As you can see from most of the above comments, there are certainly a lot of winners here - your best bet to try and email someone in the industry who you can trust and go from there (alumni). Good luck...

Honestly, you have NO chance. Too late to bring GPA up to above a 3.5. Too late to transfer. Too late to stack up your shit.

Okay, lets put this thread to a rest. Here's the answer:

If you don't try, you have zero chance.

If you try, you have a small chance.

Small > Zero so you might as well try.