Investment Banking: PSU vs Umich vs Georgetown
Hello hello,
From Lancaster PA, I want to go into investment banking for a BB IB. Penn State has the Nittany Lion Fund, very prestigious and well known on the street. Does anyone on here know what the cut off GPA is or if they check your GPA? I know the interview process is extremely competitive (according to my friends), and it is very hard to get in. I am currently an economics major, might enter DUS so I can change to Finance.
Or should I apply to transfer to Georgetown, Upenn, or Umich. I think I'll have the credentials come the end of my sophomore year! Also, they are highly regarded on the street but if I were to get into to the fund I think that would level me up.
My sophomore summer I was at lower-tier BB in IBD. Then switched to a different BB for my junior SA and was put in a coverage group I didn't want to be in. So for FT I again switched to a another BB for M&A. Then I got interested in RX so a year into my analyst program, I decided to lateral to an EB with a solid presence in RX.
These were the most represented alums at each bank for Summer Analysts / Analysts:
Sophomore SA BB: Cornell, UVA, Notre Dame Junior SA BB: NYU, Cornell, UVA FT BB: NYU, Penn, Michigan EB: NYU, Penn, Michigan
3 out of the 4 banks I was at crawling with NYU kids in every which FO division you look at. It was ridiculous. After noticing how this I asked my friend how they are able to get so many people on the street and he basically said their job search process is 4 years long. That they are constantly interviewing and recruiting for jobs during the year and it its impossible not to land an IBD job if you put in some kind of effort and want it.
I would heavily consider applying to NYU based on what I've seen on the street. I've seen a few GTown kids at the BBs as well but not the extent of these above schools. And didn't run into too many Penn State kids. I'd transfer to NYU, Penn, or Michigan if you can.
I went to a semi-target UG BSchool but this is what I've noticed during my limited time on the street.
I was in your shoes a little while back. I go to a similar B1G school and considered transferring to the exact schools you mentioned. What kept me from transferring were mainly two things.
First, my friends. I didn't think about transferring until my sophomore year, but I realized that I loved the friends I made at school and having to start fresh somewhere else would absolutely suck. College is meant to be fun - don't just pick your shit up and move somewhere else if you are happy where you are.
Secondly, I had already made an impact and great connections at my school. I built the groundwork my freshman year to be in leadership roles by my sophomore and junior years. You have to commit to organizations before gaining significant roles, and that takes time. You probably won't be able to just waltz into some club at Penn and be elected to their exec board. Having leadership roles in place for your junior year recruiting may be difficult if you transfer.
Ultimately, I decided to stick with my school. We have a similar club to the Nittany Lion Fund that places very well in IB. No idea how selective yours is, but our club just accepts candidates who we think can place in IB. I.e. if you don't get into our club you probably won't get into IB anyway. If the Nittany Lion Fund is similarly structured it seems like a great resource to take advantage of.
Ask yourself if you're happy where you are or whether you will be happier elsewhere. Sometimes it's nice to be a big fish in a small pond. You don't need to have an awesome college on your resume to be successful, and when you get over the lack of prestige you realize you can be just as successful as ivy leagures, you just might have to work a bit harder to get there at first.
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