Hi fellow monkeys, I was wondering how well-known WSO is to a typical target college student (either from an undergraduate business school or not) inspiring to be an investment banker. Are the WSO resources/guides still as advantageous to people who know about the site or is it expected that most target college students in either an undergraduate business school or not would have read through these and know as much information when applying?
If applicable, does anyone know if finance undergraduate students in Ross are familiar with WSO and use the guides to prepare for interviews?
Thanks.
It's widely regarded as the most prestigious financial services forum on the whole internet.
WSO is one of the most prestigious and well-known avenues for investment banking success. At any target, it is not expected, but required that you know all the guides from back to front, cover to cover.
For true success, the well-trodden path is to get a WSO internship in your freshman year.
It's as well known to the financial industry as College Confidential is to Ivy League-aspirant high school kids. That is to say that the nuggets of true wisdom on this forum are vastly undone by the plurality of users in high school/college who don't know what they're talking about, are "prestige-whores," and are just generally stupid people with idiotic ideas and stigmas.
Why the fuck does it matter?
I was wondering because I want to know if I have an advantage over other target school kids by knowing about the amazing resources on this website.
Sorry to be the one to tell you this.
The advantage is probably still here, no matter how many are familiar with WSO, should you decide to use it. Even though the number of uninformative threads is too damn high, I have found useful information from here, and some of the rants/long posts are very enlightening and helpful. Not to mention the WSO study/prep packs.
I think everyone in my B school who majors in finance (which is like half or most of them) knows WSO, and I'm from a non-target.
not well known at my non-target, even within finance UG's. the small proportion of us who want to get into IB/S&T/related jobs know of the site though
@ Target schools it's more well known.
@ Non Target schools it's not well known practically at all.
I only give jobs to candidates who have both a WSO internship and a passion for finance on their resumes.
bonus points if they list modelling under their personal interests
I laughed more than I should. +1
Actually I don't even remember how I stumbled upon this site but it was definitely something related to algo trading. Anyways usually when you type in Finance or wall street WSO isn't really one of the top links but when you search something like wall street interview or wall street interview prep. WSO definitely is in the top searches.
It would be pretty cool to know what % of members really work in finance vs % are currently pursuing education or training.
I suspect there are a lot of inactive or lurker members.
Split of posts numbers between people working and students would be more useful.
I think you should also take into account how google tailors your searches to you. It would make sense if WSO pops up near the top, if you use the site a lot.
I mentioned WSO in a few interviews. The feedback was mixed but on one occasion the interviewer was a reader and we chatted about recent content. While that did not guarantee me a job, it definitely eased the intensity of the situation. I think the value of WSO in that context was that it allowed the interviewer a tangible insight into how I had pursued IB as opposed to taking my word for it
probably your ama
Your supposed existence
What? Please elaborate. If someone brought up WSO in an interview I don't even know how I would react. Unless you were a blogger and used it as a way to "keep up with current events/the market" from a non-target or something, I could see this going very poorly.
The question that elicited WSO as an answer was more than likely "what interests you about finance/IB" and I explained what circuit of news outlets/forums that I frequent on a daily basis. The interviewer probed into my answer; I responded with a topic that had caught my attention and was pertinent to the position I was applying for. In a hundred iterations of the scenario, the interview could go much worse, I agree; however, I felt comfortable enough to speak to why I visit this site and what insights I can derive from it.
In today's environment, its largely impossible to have any "true" advantage over top students at target schools. Many of them have wealthy parents who are well-connected. Its even become common now for them to have internships before they even get into college.
Sadly true... I knew a few kids at CU that had internships with MS, GS, WF before Sophomore year because of parent/parents are friends that were higher ups in the field. Most of those kids partied 95 % of time, zero help from career services, no career fairs, etc. It's unfair but they can't help it. People like me have to work, network, and study even harder than those kids....
Yes, but the real advantage most, non-well connected target kids have is that they've been busting their ass since high school working hard and learning to balance out different interests and pursuits in life. Of the dozen and a half kids I know personally - along with another couple dozen I don't really know well at all - from my target who scored top IBD/consulting offers, I'd say probably two or three had any meaningful connections. The rest just knew how to buckle down and pull a good GPA while having fun and having some outside interests to talk about. I'm not sure where WSO gets this stereotype of target kids being either lazy bags of entitled shits or being socially challenged robots, but there's a reason top banks go to targets other than just alumni pull.
I think what most people said here is accurate. We are pretty well known at most business schools and most investment banks, especially with our growth the last few years.
In terms of lurkers vs registered members, it's hard to know how many work on the St vs are trying to break in or are just passing by...
We do have stats on WSO Certified Users (confirmed professionals) and other registered users and post count...roughly ~20-30% of all comments are coming from actual professionals / Certified Users, depending on the month :-)
Around this time of year as recruiting season is back, we tend to have more college students posting and asking questions.
I am honored for my question to be on the front page of WSO!
After reading the responses, I guess a better question to ask is: Does one stand out if he/she has used the resources/guides (which are definitely some of the most important and helpful aspects of the site)?
I believe that while a lot of target college students may know about the site, I don't think very many of them utilize the resources/guides.
As per my previous comment, the WSO guides are literally required reading, as everyone else has read them. You will not be at an advantage after having read them, but you will be at a disadvantage if you have not.
I go to UConn, and not many people know about WSO. UConn, although it's not bad, doesn't really have a top ranking business school, so I can't say I'm surprised.
Sit aut est dignissimos odit consequatur cum dolorum dolorum. Sunt et quia ipsam vero expedita iusto numquam. Ducimus eveniet iste impedit nostrum quis cupiditate asperiores. Quas exercitationem ducimus quibusdam tempore dolorum ut.
Asperiores est veritatis in sequi. Aspernatur impedit quisquam dignissimos eos distinctio.
Reiciendis placeat dolor enim repudiandae blanditiis est. Libero dolor magni dolore harum minima aspernatur facere. Nihil vero veniam sequi qui tempora ea at. Autem nobis et excepturi dolores in est.
Velit id sed ea quos eveniet aut doloribus. Occaecati dolorem exercitationem quia quis sunt ut. Hic et accusamus amet rerum excepturi omnis sed. Sunt ea praesentium fugit qui aliquid. Voluptatem unde provident sint vel et. Exercitationem at at molestias nostrum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Facere qui sit sed amet nemo voluptas. Sed reprehenderit hic earum commodi aperiam. Quia saepe quo ut eius recusandae officia.