Should I transfer out of Colgate?
As the title says, I'm considering transferring out of Colgate University and would like to know my chances for certain schools as well as general information regarding transferring. I am currently a rising sophomore.
Although I do enjoy Colgate, I want to be put in the best position for breaking into IB. As I currently understand, Colgate is not a target but it does get OCR from BAML and Barclays.
Here's a list of schools I'm considering:
Claremont McKenna College
Columbia
Cornell
Duke
Georgetown
Middlebury
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Penn
UC Berkeley
Vanderbilt
In college I have decent extracurriculars but I would like to keep those private in order to keep my identity secret. However, as I only recently found that I would like to work in IB, I did not get a finance related internship but have been volunteering instead. Does this put me behind? Are freshman expected to have relevant experience?
Another problem I have considered is that Colgate does not offer finance related courses so it would most likely be too late to enter the business school. Am I ok just majoring in Econ? Are there any other targets/semi-targets you suggest? Thanks for the help.
I'd definitely check out transferring to a target and see what schools you get into. That being said, I have a few friends in some banks who went to Colgate like UBS/RBC so it's not unrealistic to break in from there.
Look - no one on here can make your decision for you. Colgate isn't a bad school by any means and if you put in the work you could easily try and break into IB (especially considering BAML and Barcap recruit there). I'd throw in some apps cause why not, but transferring doesn't just guarantee you a spot anywhere. Sure it may improve your chances and help w/ OCR, but other forums across this site explicitly say that sometimes it's even more competitive going to a top target where you're surrounding by hundreds of other kids looking at those same job prospects.
Not saying write it off, but if you enjoy Colgate enough I'd stay. It's a good school w/ a good reputation and there ought to be some solid alums that are across banks. If you're willing to grind a bit harder to get in then do so and stay and enjoy school.
Just a heads up a lot of the schools you named (ivys, middlebury and especially Claremont colleges) take very few transfers. I'd try to figure out the most transfer friendly schools on bloombergs b school ranking or something and narrow down from there. You would also likely be able to transfer into any of the top larger public schools with your profile pretty easily, maybe look into Michigan, UNC, UVA, UT Austin?
public schools have higher transfer rates mostly because they have loyalty to in-state CC students
That is true, but not the whole picture at all. They are all around much more transfer friendly
I would stay at Colgate over any of those options. Imagine starting up as a junior in that huge sea with SO much competition for banking jobs. It would be really hard to distinguish yourself - you're better off at Colgate as a big fish, plus it'll fuck you up socially which will have a negative effect on your alumni network.
Honestly, unless you hate Colgate, i wouldn't transfer. I knew tons of bankers mostly at EBs from its peers - Skidmore, Colby, Trinity, etc. A lot of these kids come from New England boarding schools and place well. Plus, the alumni networks are extremely loyal. It's not a big state school with millions of grads on the street, but the ones that end up there are more likely to be receptive to a reachout.
There are plenty of people from "meh" LACs with banking jobs who come from wealthy New England families who get their kids jobs....going to assume this isn't the case for OP. I would transfer. If they asked why you transferred, just tell them the truth -- you wanted to go to a better school.
Stay at Colgate, network (there are fair few alumni in banking), and do the Tuck Business Bridge at Dartmouth.
Why would you want to transfer from the home of the finance GOD Robert DuVal?
Nothing wrong with Colgate, but if you have a shot at any of the schools you mentioned (I candidly don't know much about Claremont McKenna) then I would say it's a no-brainer to transfer.
As others have stated, transferring to a different school will not guarantee you entrance into IB, but I do believe it will increase your chances (assuming you keep a decent GPA, good extracurriculars, etc.). Look at each school's transfer page and see what the details are regarding process, competitiveness, etc..
I did not see a lot of freshman with relevant finance experience... I did see that sophomore summer and obviously junior summer when you hope to intern for a FT position the following year.
Accidental double-post. Disregard.
Colgate actually places pretty well on Wall St (better than several schools on your list). The Colgate alumni network is the real deal. Why don't you reach out to some Colgate alums for some informational interviews? The placement office can help advise you on this. Majoring in econ is fine.
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