Non-Target School, Transfer for IBD/BB?
Hey everyone,
I thought that since there are probably thousands of people here that are smarter than me, it would be a fairly good idea to come here and ask for help.
I am currently attending the University of Washington in Seattle, where I hold a 4.0 GPA (the 4.0 is from two quarters and UW, the rest are from community college, where I got a 3.5 cumulative) and am also a member of a couple finance related clubs. I am not yet in any business school, but I have spent a lot of time reading/learning on my own and feel like I now have a pretty solid understanding of how to do things like DCF analysis, LBO modeling, etc.
The more I read and hear from people, the more I am starting to realize that the chances of me getting a full time position at a BB is fairly slim. I was planning on trying to get an internship at some of the local BB offices (GS, ML, etc.) and maybe networking my way up, or trying to find something at a local IB (Cascadia, Meridian) just to have something to put on my resume for when I apply for a SA position at a BB, which seems to me like my only chance of ever getting into the industry.
I have not yet applied to the foster school of business, which I would be entering in the winter of next year, and I'm starting to think I would have a much easier time if I tried to transfer into a target school, but most of the requirements I see are based on the semester system, while UW goes on a quarter system.
What do you guys think I should do? Sorry about the wall of text.
Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Yes, definitely transfer.
If you want to make $200K/year in tech, stay.
If you want to earn a little less but be a banker, transfer an east coast private school.
haha, it's just harmless trolling with a sensible point wrapped inside: if you're only in it for the money, don't be too myopic when considering your options. at least that's how i interpreted it
Let's not get into PE comp that includes everything from shadow equity to inflated seamless accounts.
If you have a good story and you're willing to show that you want to be a banker bad enough, you can make it from just about anywhere. I was just offered a NY BB SA gig, have several more interviews coming, and I came from a school with no OCR or alumni. If you really want it bad enough, you can do it.
Ask anyone at UW Seattle what experienced people at Expedia, Google, Microsoft, or Boeing make as programmers.
Then ask anyone at UW Seattle whether Microsoft or Google hires from UW Seattle.
Then ask anyone what the pay trend in technology is, and what the pay trend in finance is. Compare the two, figure out the expected utility of income for both, and make your decision.
But if you truly love finance, you should still do finance.
Sorry, didn't realize we were comparing experienced programmers at Microsoft/GOOG to first year banking analysts.
In that case, OP, I'd suggest transferring to Southern Methodist or Texas Tech. If you want to make $10m/year because your family owns oil fields, go to SMU or TTU. Otherwise, try to transfer to a target to make $130k/year as a banker.
Sorry Illini, but you were off on this one. Nowhere did the OP say he knows how to code or enjoys coding. Programming isn't for everyone, just like banking. Let it go.
Experience in programming means more like 3 years than 10 years.
Honestly, if you know how to code, you enjoy programming, and you are getting in-state tuition, I'm not sure you can get a better median outcome, financially, by going to NYU or even Wharton. I think you will pay more in tuition to get a similar salary that requires more work.
The absurdity of your strawman argument genuinely baffles me.
Can you tell me where in OP's post there is even a single mention of coding ability, enjoying programming, financial situation or an attempt to transfer to NYU?
I used an absurd example as an attempt to illustrate how useless your commentary is, but, since the message obviously didn't stick, I'll try again:
Honestly, if OP's family owns several oil fields, he enjoys the O&G industry and he is from Texas, I'm not sure he can get a better median outcome, financially, by going to Harvard instead of SMU.
Only though in your analogy OP already is from a family that owns a bunch of oil fields since he has a 4.0 GPA at UW Seattle which is a top 10 CS school (Microsoft), and he likely meets the GPA requirements to enter the program.
The only question is whether or not he enjoys programming. If he does, CS is kind of a no-brainier. Median outcome, he will be earning more money in five years with a CS degree from UW Seattle than he will with a Finance degree from NYU. He may also be paying in-state tuition for it. (Even if he's paying out of state, that's much cheaper than private tuition.)
If you're going to lampoon me for logical fallacies, a better approach would be to laugh at me for trying to sell OP a bus ticket to Illinois when he is trying to get to New York (from Pennsylvania.) Honestly, we don't know if OP's motivation is money or finance, but if his motivation is money, he is sitting on top of a gold mine with UW Seattle's CS program, its proximity to Microsoft, Expedia, and Amazon, the broad array of tech recruiters that show up on campus, etc. etc. If he just wants money, a much much easier transition is to study CS at UW Seattle and work at Microsoft, Expedia, or maybe Google for a few years. This requires no additional debt and results in the same median financial outcome as studying finance at an East Coast target school.
Who says he is studying tech or CS? What are you even talking about? There is literally no mention of technology in the OP. Actually, he is already in a finance club and is planning to network through local internships - suggesting he is intent on a career in finance.
I've noticed that you try to put out the humble/finance isn't god's work theme throughout your posts, but it's seems like you're trying way too hard. Relax.
Sorry, I'm really confused about what you are asking. Are you saying that you're in undergraduate school right now and want to transfer to another school before getting your bachelor's?
If so, you should know that it's very tough to transfer twice. I mean it's possible, and it helps A LOT that you have a 4.0, but since you're already at a good school it will be a tough sell. Another thing to keep in mind - what is your current status at your uni? If you are a junior or senior, you won't be able to transfer. Most schools require you to do a minimum of two years there and won't let you apply unless you are currently a sophomore.
OK, I believe OP is ready for a finance career (models, boutique ib, transfer to school). In this regard, yes OP you should transfer to a finance target. If you don't like coding, CS will bore you to death. I think IP is making some points here but from what I've been seeing in OP's statements, he should be better off choosing the FIN route.
Thanks guys, I appreciate all of the responses.
My main concern about transferring is that I have about 90 credits accumulated between community college, AP credits and UW. All of the courses I have been taking are on the quarter system, which would cause issues if I were to start applying to schools with their prerequisites in the semester format (most target schools)
What I have been doing is accumulating the prerequisites I need to get into medical school so that I have the option of making a career change in the very likely event that IB doesn't pan out. The problem is that my genuine interest lies in finance. I know that certain specialties within the medical field both pay very well and offer reasonable work hours (much better than the 90+ seen in IB), but I would hate to place myself in a career that I am uninterested in especially when both my career and the well-being of my patients would be at stake. Either way, I will begin to devote my full attention to medicine if I am not able to land a SA position for the summer of 2015, although in the meantime I plan on doing everything I can to get that position.
Please don't hesitate to tell me if IB is simply not going to work out for me. I am more than prepared to accept that fact, and would like to cut my losses as early as possible if that happens to be the case.
Like I said earlier, I really do appreciate all of the input.
EDIT: Sorry I forgot to address the suggestions about going into CS. I am aware of the caliber of the CS program at the UW, but I have a hard time convincing myself that I would be willing to do something like that for the rest of my life, provided that the progression of technology wouldn't render my skills obsolete in the next 40 years. At least (and this is a reluctant "at least") medicine would bring me some satisfaction from the knowledge that my occupation involves improving the general well-being of others.
If your interest in medicine is on par with your interest in finance...I would stick with medical school (though medicine is no picnic). If you're truly gunning for IB, it would help a lot to transfer (and I hate suggesting that because UW is a quality school). There's probably a few people that's cracked IBD from UW here and there, but UW isn't a high percentage play (EDIT: I just realized two alums above me provided more specific info...listen to them).
I came from UW, did the whole Foster Business School gig.
If you aspire to be in the east coast, working at BB banks, then the foster school is the wrong choice for you. If you aspire to be in the bay area, working for PE/HF or at an MBB Consulting firm, then foster is the wrong choice for you.
If you want to do Big 4 accounting, then the foster school is right for you. If you want to do F500 FP&A at Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing... then the foster school is right for you.
Background: Did/Offered the latter 2 options. Currently working at boutique consulting firm that works with European CIB in NY.
Foster is a major accounting hub--everyone is pushed to be in the accounting program and professors preach the Big 4 career route. The finance department is very weak and the networking opportunities related to finance is also very weak.
I have heard of 1 or 2 of my classmates this year going BB's (one in the bay area), but other than that I have not heard of anyone else. There is also one person I know of who got into MBB and McKinsey recently began OCR this year. I know a good handful of people in finance that ended up in consulting (Deloitte, Accenture, Hitachi), but definitely not many in IB.
If you are competitive enough to get into BioChem or Bio, then I would seriously think about that route. The science program at UW are pretty hard and produce a lot of quality graduates who go on to some great med schools. UW has a great reputation for their med school as well.
Asperiores excepturi consequatur iste rem reprehenderit officia nam. Ut nesciunt rerum rem quod ducimus accusamus sint.
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...