non-target

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost Title summarizes the road I've traveled… consultant → intelligence community/SEAL Teams/Special Operations → director of research at a well known hedge fund → tech executive at successful growth company → entrepreneur. I love challenges. I love the non-obvious. I still haven't figured it all out and keep looking for answers. I don't think you find them by standing in the same place. I'm not going to mention specific names or companies here (and ask you to do the same), but I

06 Jan 2022

While the odds are this post is relegated to the WSO trash heap-to grace the eyes neither of monkey nor MD-on the off chance my story could be helpful to someone in a similar position as I was a year ago, I wanted to share. The moral of the story: if you're better at math than schmoozing or stuck at a non-target school due to finances save yourself years of pain and self-loathing and GO INTO TECH! After discovering WSO during my junior year at my T30 semi-target UG, I spent most of my waking moments of the following year in pursuit of an analyst slot at an MBB/T2 firm. I became obsessed. My

18 Apr 2021

As the summer 2021 analyst wrap up their experience and the summer 2022 analyst bombard LinkedIn with job post-I am sure there are many of you who wish to either be in their shoes, or are interested in learning more about the industry, profession, and process. In this thread, I will tell you my path to contacting, applying, interviewing, and landing the ~incredible~ offer. (Hint: I didn't come from a quote on quote "target" school either). So, read along if you want to hear how I broke the banking barrier. The Beginning The beginning of having any chance in landing an IB offer is the work you

27 Jul 2021

Hi WSO, Due to me losing a scholarship, I've decided to take a gap year to save up enough money to be able to afford housing once I go back to school. I want to make the most out of this year, so I'm currently studying for the CFA level 1 exam which I will be taking in August. One thing that worries me though, is that the job I'm currently working is not even remotely related to finance and is only a means to an end. Aside from BS options/stock trading, I have NO (absolutely zero) relevant experience, since I've only recently decided to take this career path. In the past I would flip flop

30 Nov 2021

I never realized how fucking shitty my school was until I started looking into career paths like banking, consulting, or even F500 corporate leadership. Nobody mentioned any of these careers to me at my school. Holy shit. Only 1 person in IB, and its MM gas and oil. 2 people in consulting, and they are both government at big 4. I tried looking at corporate finance. C'mon now we gotta be okay here? Everyone and their mother is a "finance manager" in fucking sox compliance after like 15-20 years in their career. All the actual FLDP's are taken from kids in the larger state school a couple hours

09 Mar 2021

This is more of a venting post more than anything but not a "boohoo woe is me" post. I swear I need a change of scenery big time. I've been at my REPE fund accounting job almost 2 years in July. Started there 2 months after graduating from a non-target. I didn't have an internship in college, so I was struggling during my job search leading up to graduation. I was pretty desperate at the time knowing how many bills I'd have once student loan payments kicked in so my buddy at this firm reached out to me with a referral link. As a finance/econ grad, I had no interest whatsoever in accounting but

13 May 2021

WSO Community, I wanted to take the opportunity to leverage my experience to be helpful with a Q&A. By way of background, I attended a state school, broke into MM IB as an analyst, left banking to work at multiple private equity firms, then returned to banking. Currently, I'm a VP at the MM IB firm I worked at immediately out of university. More than happy to answer any questions you have. It's been an interesting journey to say the least, which is chronicled in the posts below from the last seven years. Looking forward to your questions and the discussion. Fire away! Thank You, Broke In

26 Jan 2019

Hi, I am from India (Asia) Context - Scored (94% In High School (Was not from a well-educated family Parents never pushed me to do great and I also somewhat wanted to be a business guy so never aimed higher). Targets College here starts from 96%-98%. Gave a few entrances for college got into 2nd best college but could not afford the fee. So had to settle for an average college. (Spent whole lockdown and 1st year depressed due to this ) Currently Pursuing a Bachelor of Management Studies with a major in Finance (9.01/10 CGPA ), At the start of 2nd year. The main thing here to build a CV is Case

25 Aug 2021

I am a recent graduate from Dalhousie University in Canada. I achieved a BComm degree with a 3.32 GPA. I am currently two years out of school, and am working at a PWM firm in Calgary. I've always dreamed of a career in banking, but was never ready to make the commitment until now. I believe that I am ready to take the plunge, but I need to get my foot in the door and am not sure where to start. I have a mediocre GPA from a non-target school, and all my previous work experience has been in the wealth management sector. I know that I need to boost my resume with work experience and

14 Dec 2021

Hey WSO, I've been a forum lurker for a little over 4 years now and felt like it was time to contribute to the community. My background: As the title says, I went to undergrad at a non-target where I majored in finance and economics. Had internships in boutique restructuring consulting and in a Big 4's capital markets group. It was a grind to even get those opportunities, so believe me when I say that interviewing for Big 4 opportunities at a non-target is just as competitive as the BB recruiting stories at targets. I would say I performed well throughout the application process primarily

08 Aug 2018

Background: I went to a non-target, had a 2.7 GPA, and didn't study finance in college. Ended up landing a job in ER. I apologize in advance that I have failed to contribute as much as I should to these forums. WSO was one of the main tools I used and find myself looking at boards plenty often. My story: Throughout college I never knew what I wanted to do. I was a curious kid who liked figuring out how things work. I liked investing and always had wall st. (specifically ER) in the back of my mind. It wasn't until late in my collegiate career that I wanted to get into ER. In fact, with 4 weeks

13 Feb 2018

I have some questions about Equity Research if any of you don't mind answering... What does your typical day-to-day look like? What is something you wish you knew before going into your equity research super day? What technicals would I specifically need to perfect for an equity research super day? What do interviewers look for in interviewees coming from non-target schools (I've heard the technical questions they ask are harder than coming from a target school)? If you only want to answer one question instead of all of them, that's fine too, as any input would be appreciated.

13 Dec 2021

So I figured out about half way through my undergrad degree that I want to end up with a career in Finance. I'm a 3rd year undergrad, non-target but decent private school, formerly a Math major, now a Finance/Math student, 3.7~ GPA, I have quite a few electives in computer science, statistics, and upper division math courses. Decent extracurricular involvement in some finance/entrepreneurship clubs. I transferred schools so it'll take me one extra semester to graduate, which is good in a way since I have two summers to intern now. I'm fortunate thanks to personal connections I'll be able to

05 May 2021

Background: Rewind back to October 2011. I was a Senior at a fairly prestigious state school, but it was a non-target university. I was graduating with a major in History, and I believed I wanted to go to Law School eventually. My father and mother both went to Law School and it seemed inevitable that I would do the same. However, in October of 2011, I opened an E-Trade account. I did some qualitative analysis on IMAX, and when the stock went up from beating projected earnings, the stock went straight up. I was hooked from that point forward. I loved the idea of analyzing and investing in

09 Jul 2017

Hello everyone! I'm currently a junior and athlete at Indiana Tech and I want to break into M&A. It is my first semester here , I transferred from another non-target school. My GPA this semester I would say would be somewhere between 3.0 - 3.5. I'm aware that I don't have a 4.0 GPA from Wharton and that I'm not American, but I really want to break into this industry, it's my passion. I know I'm very capable but I feel like some of the "standards" are holding me back. I have done the DCF and Financial Statement Modeling course from WSO, applied to more than 150 companies, sent countless emails

25 Nov 2021

Currently a senior in high school, set on finance and interested in Investment Banking in the long term. Mainly looking to chose between three schools, Indiana University (Kelley), Georgia Tech (Scheller), UGA (Terry). I am a Georgia Resident so from a financial perspective Scheller and Terry are the better options; Kelley would set me back 50k a year whereas GT and UGA would be ~10k. But from a roughly objective point of view, does anyone have any advice on which school would position me better for recruiting? From my knowledge Kelley has a semi-target presence among BBs and EBs in NYC and

01 Mar 2021

So I was selected as a finalist for a college admissions program called Questbridge. I doubt that anyone on WSO has heard of it because you are all mostly prep school bred, but it basically gives low income or first gen kids a leg up by letting them apply to top schools(45 partner schools) for free if selected as a finalist. If they are selected for the match scholarship, they get four years of college for free (tuition, board, books even flights) The only catch is that student have to attend the school that gives them this scholarship. Its legally binding. We could only pick 12 schools and we

21 Oct 2021

Hey WSO, Since this site has been instrumental in helping me break into Consulting from a non-target, I wanted to share my experience with the community. Hopefully this post will be helpful to someone else looking to break in to Consulting, as many previous posts have been for me. To provide some context, I'm a junior at a state flagship university. While it's a very respectable school, there is no OCR for any Consulting firms, Investment banks, etc. Despite this, I was able to network my way into interviews with LEK, Oliver Wyman, BCG, and Bain. I made it to the final round with all four

27 Dec 2016

Hi all, I'm a UK monkey that is soon going to graduate without any high finance exp. I enjoy reading success stories, especially those that offer insight into how the non-target approached it. However, almost all networking success stories seem to be from the US. Is the UK that structured so only target kids make it? I have had a few cases when they flat out say "sorry you are from X university, we will not hire someone from there". Can a UK non-target that made it share their experience? Thank you.

16 Mar 2020

Hey Monkeys, WSO was a huge resource for me navigating through and eventually breaking into the AM industry. Thought I'd throw an Q&A for all the grinders interested at AM who aren't at target schools. Went to a small non-target school in Boston. When I say non-target...think smaller and less known than BC. Scored a 2.5 freshman year, but ended up with a 3.8 major and minor GPA by graduation. Started the internship path with the brutal insurance sales job, after-which I cold called and presented my way into an industry research role at a PE search-fund in the Greater Boston Area, worked 30+

11 Sep 2017

Mod Note (Andy) - this Q&A originally went up last December but @THE PsYcHoLoGy" wrote and said he could still answer questions WSO, I joined this site during my junior year of college, and it has proved to be a great resource time and again. There is a wealth of information on this site ranging from first-year analysts to industry veterans, which provides a robust and diversified view of many areas in finance. The playbook for success is on the site, but it's up to you to decide how to use it. I'm grateful to have come as far as I have, and am always looking for ways to help others that were

03 Mar 2016

Well I did it. I landed an offer to be a summer analyst at an investment bank. Breaking into I-banking from a non-target may be a more common occurrence these days, but it is certainly still a challenge. Here are three pieces of advice that definitely helped me in securing an offer. It's not what you know, it's who you know I know you've heard this a million times, but it is so crucial coming from a non-target. Reach out to alumni, friends, or friends of friends. Basically anyone willing to lend an ear and possibly help you out. I sent countless "cold" emails out and had 150 contacts by the

30 Mar 2016

Hey everyone, I am new here. I have been reading WSO posts for a couple of months, but I just made an account. I am a senior in high school this year and still deciding on a college. I know for sure I want to be in non-retail finance; I have been exploring and researching this industry and world since I was 13. My questions are: Is it worth it to go to a non-target school that I want to go to and just work harder than everyone else (put lightly), or try and get into a target school? What majors are the best to study? Econ. or finance or even applied specific math degrees? What difference does

04 Sep 2021

Just wanted to get your thoughts on this. Is it better to be at a school that is not a target by any means and be the big fish? i.e. starting clubs, having multiple leadership positions and a high GPA. Or is it better to be at a school like NYU Stern or Georgetown MSB and be a small fish in a huge pond full of kids who all want to do relatively the same thing? While having a decent GPA and maybe being in a club? Just wanted some thoughts on the whole must go to a target school to be successful stigma. Thanks!

03 Feb 2021

I've been a frequent reader of WSO for the past few years and I thought it might be helpful to anyone interested in a similar career path as mine. I definitely gleaned a lot from others here so hopefully I can answer some questions people might have. Background: 2nd Year Research Analyst at a top 5 event-driven/special situations hedge fund focused on stressed/distressed and catalyst-oriented/situational opportunities (restructurings, bankruptcies, spin-offs, etc.) in both public and private securities across the capital structure. Joined directly out of undergrad from a "non-target" school

03 Feb 2017

Soon to be rising senior 3.7 gpa studying finance and accounting at a non-target state school, just recently started taking my future seriously and have found High-Grade DCM to be of interest. Looking for advice on where to go to network and generally just how to get my foot in a door as a non-target student. My internship this summer is in CF and I have little to no connections in IB/Trading, so I am really trying to start from the ground up. I am prepared to get shredded on this thread for my lack of knowledge, but any advice is good advice at this point. If anyone has any advice they're

20 Apr 2021

I am currently a sophomore at a mid-sized non-target school (similar to Villanova) in the northeast. Over the summer, I spent as much time as I could connecting with alumni in the industry, mainly analysts and associates. Now that I'm feeling more comfortable reaching out to more senior staff members, I've been connecting with VPs and MDs. However, I am realizing that many firms I hope to apply to in the spring have a small representation from my college in their IBD. For example, I was looking at an EB bank on LinkedIn today, and ~10 alumni from my college work there, all of them in something

17 Nov 2020

I'm currently a rising senior at a non-target college in NYC. I have a 3.93 GPA, Boutique IB experience from last summer, Active in clubs- the president of the trading club & VP of another business club, leadership experience, volunteer work. My resume has been verified as "perfect" by bulge bracket Investment Bankers. With all this being said I am a white Jewish female so diversity is not on my side. Any opinions why I am having difficulty? Additionally, my guy friends at school secured internships with far less experience and lower GPA's and are very confused why I am having trouble.

13 Jun 2018

Hi, I am a super non-target(GPA3.7+) and I have been networking pretty hard for about 6 months. I have a good network built up and with 2021 applications opening I want to ask my network for the referrals. Most conversations have gone well and they have referred me to their peers or said "Yeah, lets stay in touch." but how do I ask for the referral to the firm? Is it just "Hey, we talked a month ago you said to follow up with you when applications open.... Can you give my resume to HR?" lol What have you guys done? What is the best approach without sounding to pushy? Thanks for any help!

21 Apr 2020

As the title suggests, I am currently in a UK non-target university for my Bachelors degree and I would like to do my masters in a top uni (INSEAD,Bocconi,Oxbridge, LBS, M7 etc). I am in my second year and I am on track to get a First class degree or a high 2.1. I have been a WM intern for 6 months and I plan on sitting CFA Level I in December, 2019. After I gradute in 2020 I will have to work for 2-3 years to save up which gives me plenty of time to improve my odds to get into a target uni. Eventually, I want to break into IB but I also want to get a masters degree for personal reasons. My

29 Dec 2018

I want to know realistically what my chances of are of landing a summer analyst spot at a BB or EB my junior year summer. I'm a sophomore at a non-target state university and am majoring in a STEM field. The reason I chose my school was because I got into a very selective program and also because of financial reasons. I've taught myself Excel and modeling, am a member in a selective investment club, president of another finance-related club, and I have an internship lined up at a small boutique IB summer after sophomore year. My only problem apart from my school is my GPA, which will be a 3.6

13 Oct 2021

I was a complete idiot in High School and didn't do enough extracurriculars to get into an Ivy or target school. Have a 1520 SAT and 96% unweighted grade percent average (110% weighted), not sure what that is in terms of 4.0 scale. I'm going to the University of Connecticut as a Freshman this Fall, planning to double major in Finance and Management Information Systems with a Minor in Accounting. I'm gonna try to transfer to a better school like NYU or Cornell next year but let's assume that I don't get into a target as a transfer and I'm stuck with UCONN. What's the best career path to follow

17 May 2021

Hey all, I'm currently working as an intern at a top 10 PMW firm and have been since I graduated college last semester. I come from a non-target school with a 3.5 GPA and some involvement with a finance club on campus-not very impressive to recruiters to say the least. I got into finance a bit late, so my decision was mainly due to having the entirety of my school paid for through an academic scholarship. I'm out of school debt-free now, but I'm struggling to land any type of full-time interview. After looking into industry jobs through my entire college career, I found HF work to be really

09 Sep 2021

Hi guys, I'm an average undergrad student(20 yo) from an average uni in Bangalore, India. GPA - 7.5, 2 internships in wealth management ( not well-known firms), 1 on-going internship in quantitative finance( not a well-known frim). I'll be writing CFA L1, feb 2021. yet to take the GMAT, I'll probably get around 680-700. I've completed a bunch of Insidesherpa virtual experience modules and I'm doing 2 courses on coursera ( python and investment management). I've recently started to trade penny stocks with a small sum, I'd like to take this forward too. I want to make big money in the comings

22 Aug 2020

Hello everyone, so I was thinking I'd provide some names of non-target schools (on eastcoast) and we can discuss which ones are better. I assume that most of us would like to end up on Wall St. and thus being close to that area, the northeastern coast, may be the best option, even if you don't end up at an Ivy-league or semi-target school Brandeis, Rochester, Rutgers, Bentley, Temple, Fordham, Babson, Fairfield, Northeastern, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Lehigh, University of Maryland, Saint Joseph, John Hopkins. So, which of these would be your top 3-5, and why? Have a beneficial discussion ;)

12 Oct 2020

I have been an avid reader of WSO for the past couple of years and the stories that I have enjoyed reading the most are about non-target kids breaking into Wall Street. I always looked at them with admiration and dissected every article to gain the most valuable information possible to use in my path from non-target to the street, and I dreamt of one day sharing my own story. Now, it looks it is my turn and it has come earlier than expected. I sit here today as a sophomore from a non-target school with an offer to join a BB for the summer as an IBD analyst. So, I want to share my story to the

18 Apr 2015

Hi everyone, this site provided immeasurable help in my journey to break into finance. I realize this post may only apply to a small group of monkeys, but I think I can be most helpful by discussing my transfer process and decision to switch schools at the undergrad level. Since the deadline for applications is past due and decisions come out within the next month, my post focuses more on the decision than the application aspect, but I am happy to answer all questions. My story I became interested in business and finance during my senior year in high school, but my freshmen through junior year

11 Apr 2016

Hello, I currently work at a law firm (non-attorney) and was approached by a large PE firm about a position in their Investor Relations department. I have a set of interviews next Monday, which will be my second round, and it was also mentioned that I will complete a case study next week. The problem is I have zero financial background. What can I expect from my next round of interviews/what do I need to know? And for the case study, will they actually ask me to create a financial model, knowing that I don't have any experience in finance?

12 Jan 2022

Let me first begin by saying that for most of my time in college, getting into a FLDP at a F500 firm has been my goal. I am very intrigued by the exciting, fast-paced life and lucrative pay of the IB world, but the 80-100hr work weeks and the fact that the company doesn't "make something" simply doesn't interest me. That said, I decided early on that I want to make it to the C-Suite of a F500 company, and a FLDP is probably the best place to start. My background: I'm finishing up my senior year of college, majoring in Finance and Economics. To call my school a non-target would be an

14 Nov 2015

All, Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to the admins, users and interview guide authors for their commitment and consistent assistance to the WSO community. In 2011, I was thanking the community for the help breaking into investment banking (Thank You - BROKE IN!). Now, I am back to thank everyone once again for their support and assistance that facilitated my entry into private equity! I am coming from a top MM bank and just received (and happily accepted) my offer with a strong, $1B+ fund with a great culture and proven track record. Over the past two years, I have had a great

20 Sep 2014

Hey guys, does anyone know of any banks that are more willing to take on non-target finance majors as summer analysts? I have been building a decent network, but with limited alumni, my networking is mostly cold emails and LinkedIn connections. I've gotten some positive feedback and had my resume passed on to HR at a couple of Boutique/MM banks that recruit in January, but I am hoping to find out if anyone has ideas of where else to apply/network. Thanks in advance for the help and any advice for a non-target athlete you care to pass along is appreciated.

01 Dec 2017

Hey everyone, (Edit: Got a number of PMs here - Added my responses below the rest of the post) I recently accepted a BB offer, am from a non-target, and thought I should contribute something here on WSO given the help and advice I have received from others. However, I did not want to do the typical success story – I tend to see those posts as less altruistic than they may actually be. So, I thought I would compile a short list of non-targets I know that "made it" into IB. Hope this shows the "secrets" to breaking in from a non-target. Not all are from my school and some are from previous years

29 Sep 2014

Hello...I study kinesiology (exercise science) at a great school, but non-target, in the United States. Midway through my college career, I fell in love with investing and realized my major was a massive waste of money. I've always had a love for research and problem-solving and wanted a career that kept me on my toes (hence my interest in equity research). I also spend much of my free time researching for my own portfolio, and through my own studies, I have gotten pretty solid at modeling (I definitely still have room to improve). Obviously, it's going to take a lot of extra effort for me to

29 Jun 2021

My story is like most other non-targets I learned everything too late. I did well in high school 4.0 gpa, 1970/2400 on the old sat. Instead of going to the semi-targets I was accepted to, think Wake Forest. I went to an school ranked in the bottom quarter of the top 100 because they gave me a substantial scholarship and I thought that being in the top 100 was all that mattered. I didn't even study business. I studied a humanities subject (english, philosophy, sociology.. I know). I graduated magna cum laude in 2019 and have a job I don't like, in a field I do not like. I always thought venture

14 Dec 2020

Hello, fellow chimps, I am currently a sophomore at a community college, soon to be transferring to a non-target, medium-sized (sub 500 ranked/ top 50%) D1 to play baseball. I currently have a great mentor in IB, although I am unsure exactly what I would want to do. I've looked at IB, PE, and consulting so far. I am just wondering what options would be available in the world of finance coming out of a non-target school? Would it be best to get an MBA to help facilitate the job process? As well as how athletics could possibly help land a job?

27 Sep 2021

Afternoon, monkeys. I've got the first of a two part interview for you today with Certified User Nefarious. Nefarious works in Strategy at a major Fortune 500 Aerospace & Defense company. While I know many of your are focused on banking and private equity, I think everyone can benefit from hearing his story. Strategy jobs are some of the most intellectually satisfying roles out there, and they've got a great work-life balance. Plus, if you're in an interesting industry, like A&D, you'll put yourself in a position to have a tremendous, well-paying career in a space you really care about. From

30 Nov 2012

In search of advice from those who might have been in my shoes or have insight into my situation. For background, I attend a large non-target school in Colorado (think CU, CSU, DU). An internship was lined up for Summer 2020 at Bessemer Trust, on the investment team in NY. Those plans fell through. I am now planning to intern at an Options-focused investment advisory firm, a regional boutique healthcare bank, and a lower MM bank (based in Boston, with a strong presence in Colorado). All three internships will likely take place between now, August '20, and late May '21. I also graduate May '21

14 Aug 2020

Hey all, Was reading through Flake's ER Q&A posted around the holidays and thought that his thread was fantastic. My experience / background is a little different than his was, so I wanted to start this thread as an opportunity to help provide at least some insight into other ER routes that aren't predicated on being at a BB. Forgive me if it's redundant to some of you, but this was something I wish I would have had when exploring other options. For a bit of background information on me, I went to a very small non-target UG school and studied Finance. It was a writing intensive college, which

02 Jul 2012

Roast my resume-- I am just starting my senior year. I am at a very non-target school. No banks recruit, and no banks within 300 miles(think Wyoming, Montana). Applying to banks has been tough. I have networked a ton but have barely got 1 interviews set up. No alumni to talk with in the industry. I got a back office job for JPM in delaware, but I could not get any leads. My real problem is knowing people that can pass along my resume. Any thoughts? (I have taken out cities and names of companies besides JPM) EDUCATION University of College of Business and Economics B.S. Accounting May 2018 GPA

30 Aug 2017

About a week ago, I was sitting at my desk at my current PE internship when the partners and the CEO were filling in a questionnaire that an investor (bank) had requested. The specific question that caught my attention was one that asked for the caliber of my firm's current and previous interns. The answer provided by the big guys?

We have had Ivy League interns, mostly from Harvard, Stanford, Yale and other top universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and LSE.

...and other universities.

04 Nov 2012