Undergraduate

Trying to get a better understanding of the different types of undergraduate managed investment funds found on college campuses. I am referring to student groups who manage a fund of alumni money and learn the skills of analyzing assets to put into a well thought out portfolio. I went to Villanova University and there we had a fund called the equity society. This fund was $1,000,000 and was made up of about 60 kids with sector "managers" and an overall portfolio "director" (all undergraduates) I am curious to know though to know what the structure at other schools' funds were like. I was under

12 Sep 2020

I'm considering attending Bocconi BIEF for UG I would love to go into IB in London or in the USA after graduating. Is going to Bocconi enough or is it worth to try applying to other universities? My SAT score is 1500 and I'm about to do another trial soon. IELTS score: 7.0

11 Sep 2020

Not seeing anything else about this on here, so I figured I would start this forum to see if anyone else is going through this process at the moment. I know Bain Capital stopped doing a summer analyst program for undergrads, but I think they must have restarted the program this year unannounced. I did a first round for them last week but did not hear back. They said they're only hiring 2-4 people for this program, Path Into Private Equity (PIPE). First round was two case based interviews and from the looks of it, the super day would be a similar thing but more rounds. Is anyone else in class

22 Sep 2020

Hey all lovely Apes and Monkeys, I'm a prospective college freshman looking to get into financial services (end-goal is PE or VC) coming from a non-target school who unfortunately had their summer internship canceled :(. I was wondering if studying the base SIE test this summer would be a good way to leverage my time to show employers and recruiters I am very serious about pursuing this path and show I am and goal-driven while also learning some barebones fluency in the field. I noticed on the FINRA site I only need to be 18 and need no sponsorship, so I'm interested at the very least. My main

03 Apr 2020

Hey Monkeys, I am a sophomore business student and I have a very weak idea for what dual minor/major I should pursue! I know Statistics and Economics are fantastic, I tried to see if an Architectural minor was feasible, but no dice and the major is a pain - I would have mainly done it from straight interest. There are maybe 200 Liberal degrees that aren't serious choices for me and I just wanted to get y'all opinions. Does anyone have particular advice as to what additional field would be super useful for someone in my position? (I want to head into REPE, pursue development as well, etc.)

27 Nov 2019

Hello folks, So I'm a senior who is looking to go into college this fall. I was accepted into both the UT Austin McCombs Business Honors Program (out-of-state) as well as Washington University in St. Louis Olin school. Unfortunately, both are quite expensive since I didn't get any aid besides loans from both institutions. Currently, I'm in conflict on which one to pick. On one, Olin is quite good, especially for having a very diverse education and consulting is extremely prevalent, and there are good chances for IB too, especially with a strong network that the school makes possible. Generally

28 Mar 2020

Hi, I need advice. I currently attend JMSB and have really enjoyed it so far, although I don't think I want to stay in Montreal upon graduation. I currently have a 3.93 and am thinking about applying for a transfer. Is it worth it? How do regular Desautels students place, assuming I'm too late for the HIM program there. Will simply having over a 3.5 and networking my ass off be enough to break into IB as a regular Desautels grad? Would a Kenneth Woods student from JMSB place better than a standard Desautels student?

25 Apr 2020

Hi, all, I'm a freshman from a non-target school who is really interested in pursuing a career in private equity. I have had coffee/phone chats with people from sell-side firms. Generally, they advise me to get into an IB for a few years then go to PE... My first question is that, in your experience, is it possible to get a job at a PE firm such as BX or Appollo as an undergraduate who's fresh out of the college? Also, what would you suggest me to do now as a freshman besides focusing on getting a good GPA, so that I would have a better chance at landing an internship/full-time job at PE

15 Oct 2018

UVA provides us with LinkedIn Learning for free and I found this financial modeling course https://www.linkedin.com/learning/financial-model… taught by Michael McDonald. I was wondering if anyone has taken this course and could give their opinion on it. Also, while on the topic of LinkedIn Learning, please let me know if there are any excel skill courses that you would recommend to someone that wants to do IB.

04 Sep 2019

Hi, I got an offer from wbs for BSc Accounting and Finance and I was wondering on how strong is this degree when following its finance pathway in Investment Banking and Financial Analysis. Also which Masters would you recommend to make me more competitive in the job market?

18 Mar 2019

Some of my professors have degrees from the best institutions. Every semester I read their Bios and I am impressed with the level of knowledge. However, I keep asking myself why they chose to leave industry and teach / research when they know so much about their expertise. Is it too stressful on the Street!

08 Oct 2018

Hello all, I am a junior undergraduate student and I have a first-round, 30-minute phone interview with a private equity firm tomorrow. I have no prior banking/consulting internship and have little-to-no technical knowledge of finance outside of a basic understanding of how PE business models and transactions work. I have no idea how I got selected for a first-round interview, yet, here we are! My game plan so far is to refresh myself on PE business models/transactions, do basic online firm research, practice common behaviorals, and prepare my questions. I would also like to learn as much

05 Mar 2019

Is there a significant gap between these schools, at least one that is noticeable in the context of graduate B school admissions/career opportunities? Princeton and Dartmouth seem to offer very similar benefits (best undergraduate focus in the ivy league, tight alumni networks, etc), and then of course Yale is Yale. I know the hierarchy usually goes Y>P>D, but in the real world does going to one school versus the other really matter?

01 Aug 2018

I attend an out-of-US university for my undergraduate degree and might have the opportunity to transfer to Columbia for the last two years. Is the price ($100k) worth it? I am aware that Columbia is much better for both preparation and networking but the price tag deters me. Is it realistic to hope for an IB job out of a non-US undergarduate?

09 Oct 2019

Thought I'd see if anyone in the industry could share some insight on a current dilemma. I'll be signing up for Spring classes soon (my final semester) and can only take a few of the ones I'm interested in. I'd like to take those I will get the most value out of in the short and long term. I attend a semi target and was an SA last summer at a MM in NYC. After graduation I will be joining a BB in NYC in their Healthcare Group. I've heard they are one of the top 3 HC groups on the street, so I hope to have a chance at a MF or UMM after my analyst stint. After PE, I'm thinking about b school and

30 Sep 2019

Hi everyone, I have been lurking on this site for a while and have learned a lot, so thanks for that. I wanted to get your guy's opinion on what I should be doing right now as an undergraduate in the process of transferring to a target. I am currently at 3 CC's in LA transferring this next fall(not one of the CC's had all the classes I needed). I am sophomore but when I get to a target I will extend my graduation date to have time for more internships. I do not know which target I will get into as I am submitting my apps now. I have attended a university before this in Utah and transferred to

08 Nov 2018

I have recently decided that I want to become a quantitative financial analyst after I finish my education. I was originally planning to double major in math and finance, along with a minor in computer science. However, I learned that a math-finance double major is next to impossible at my school due to the fact that they are in different schools (arts & sciences vs. business) and thus it would be a "dual degree" instead of a double major, which has a lot more requirements and is difficult (if not impossible) to complete in 4 years. So now I have to decide on (an)other major(s). I am now

24 Oct 2018

I am a current hs senior and just received my college decision results. My top two acceptances are Amherst and Bowdoin. This is a hard choice for me. I am fairly certain that I want to go into finance, and I have heard that Amherst (along with Williams) are top tier, best-of-the-best among LACs for IB recruiting and placement. Problem is, I've heard over and over that the social scene and student life at Amherst has recently become ABYSMAL (got rid of social dorms, division in the student body, very bad food, not much to do...). Conversely, I have visited Bowdoin, loved the campus, and heard

03 Apr 2018

Hey Everyone, I am a senior at Michigan from a software engineering background with no finance experience. I applied to an AM FT opportunity because I thought it sounded interesting and FO high finance is something I always wanted to look into, but I thought my GPA was much too low (sub 3.0). I got an interview with a firm that serves institutional investors, with 150 Billion USD+ AUM and a derivatives portfolio worth a little less. The position would work with various asset classes and later, derivatives. The first interview went really well, and I was basically told on the spot I would be

14 Sep 2018

Hello Stern hopefuls. I am currently a student at Stern, and in an effort to procrastinate applying for internships/jobs next summer (yes, it starts this early) I decided to write some things I wish I knew when applying to Stern. Being one of the only direct admit business school programs in the country and a top school for finance/related fields (academically and location wise), NYU Stern is a great option for people that want a world class business education in NYC. With an acceptance rate of 12% and college applications due in 4 months at most (almost 2 if you ED), it's best to get informed

23 Aug 2017

I finished high school in another country and moved here. I started working in a restaurant just to cover my bills and focused on classes thinking it would be enough. however, I never did an internship or got any experience in my field, and I am graduating next semester. I don't know where or how to start and it is freaking me out.

05 Dec 2017

Hey guys, I know there's a million of these post but I'm really unsure of what to do and could use some feedback on my situation I am a computer engineer from Rutgers University (Big Ten State School) -3.4 gpa (2.7 underclassmen GPA || 4.0 upperclassmen GPA) (due to personal issues my freshman and sophomore years) -decent internships in tech is it realistic to pursue IB or should I give up and focus on tech instead?

31 Jul 2017

It seems like IB is the gold standard for jobs straight out of undergrad, but there are so many great career paths. What are some other jobs in finance that, similar to banking, have: 1) Good opportunity to learn early in career 2) Provide exit opportunities comparable to IB 3) Surrounded by smart, driven people Some that come to mind are reputable PE or Hedge Fund, Equity Research, Consulting (?). Any others?

01 Aug 2018

I am a freshman at an MBB target school. I would like to enter the tech sector of consulting but have no interest in CS. Long-term, I would like to be doing business operations/strategy at a silicon valley tech giant. When it comes to an undergrad major, my research has led me to believe it's smartest to choose a major that 1) you enjoy 2) you can get a good GPA in and 3) is quantitative/analytical. For the first two, Public Policy is the major that comes to mind. I do also see myself pairing it with two minors, one in Economics and one in Statistics (on the Data Science track), however, if

18 Dec 2017

Hi all, I'm a current HS senior looking to do something in Finance and Investment Bankings seems like an appealing and interesting thing to pursue. I know IB is not the end all be all, but I would still like it to be an option for me should my interest in it continue into and through college. The current schools I'm looking at are: Indiana University (also, I know the IB Workshop is great, but what about kids not in it, how do they place?) Villanova Wake Forest Miami of Ohio How do these undergraduate business programs place in different regions of the country, if at all? Do you have any other

12 Sep 2015

Hi All, I am a rising sophomore at NYU Stern (Undergraduate). As most of you already know recruitment has moved up. I want to prepare as much as I can researching about the undergraduate opportunities I will have (mostly for summer 2017). Please comment below if you know of any great consulting opportunities/ programs/ conferences from either big consulting firms or boutique firms and if you know the deadline date/ how to apply. For instance, I know Deloitte has several great programs for freshman/sophomore students. I would greatly appreciate it if you shared your knowledge on any women

04 Aug 2016

I am a non-aeo student at western university, currently waiting to hear back from Ivey for their HBA program. For those who have been accepted or have gone through the process, how competitive is an 81.4% cumulative 2 yr average, EC's are summer placement at a major canadian bank, tech start up and executive at school club? Any insights would be appreciated.

06 Jul 2015

Got accepted to transfer to Columbia, Penn CAS and Northwestern after my sophomore year. I'm currently a math and finance major at a non-target business school. I would be a math major at Penn or Columbia. At Northwestern I would be able to do a Math/Econ double major. Which of these schools have the best placement for investment banking and S&T. Also, how would transferring right before recruiting affect my chances for an offer? Any other insight would be helpful.

11 May 2016

Thanks to everybody for your responses. I've edited/taken down the info from the post because I learned what I wanted to learn about this kind of opportunity.

15 Oct 2018

Hi, I have one week left to decide... so any opinion is greatly appreciated!! I am thinking of pursuing either finance/consulting after undergrad and maybe, if the courses I take intrigue me, I'd be interested in going to law school for commerce law or just to have an additional background. (So for law, I think GPA would matter quite a bit) For Berkeley, the program (Haas) is obviously amazing... but I can only apply for it in my sophomore year, so admission is not guaranteed -- I'm currently accepted at the College of Letters and Science with Econ major. As for UMich, I'm already pre-admitted

20 Apr 2016

So I have heard back from all the colleges that I applied to, and I now must choose between Wisconsin, UCSB, Indiana, and Boulder. I know none of them are really target schools, but I'm wondering if it is easier to get an investment banking job from one of them over the others. I'm from California, so I get in-state tuition at UCSB, and it is the most highly ranked school to which I was admitted, but they don't have a business school, just an economics program,. I have the opportunity to take business classes all four years at Boulder, which may be an advantage. I was directly admitted into

13 Apr 2015

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10 Jan 2017

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18 Sep 2015

I've been accepted to these 4 schools and am interested in having a career in business. I do not really have a preference to where I want to work after graduation. I just want to get a good job, then 2 years later, get a MBA. I've been hearing that Stern would be the best for job placement, especially for finance. However, I am not entirely sure that I want to do finance- I am open to any concentration as of now. UCLA does not have an undergrad bus. school, but I hear its graduates still do well in the business industry. What would you guys objectively rank these four schools based on purely

02 Apr 2015

Hi guys. I am a high school senior right now and I've been rejected to all of my target/semi-target schools, except a waitlist at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration. I may get into Cornell as a guaranteed transfer for sophmore year though. However, I also got into Tufts. Is it worth going to Tufts, or should I go to a local state university for free and try to transfer into more of a target school? Thanks.

13 Apr 2015

Hi I'm about to start my undergraduate studies and really can't decide on which university to attend. I live in Egypt and would like to pursue an investment banking career abroad. I stumbled upon the UoL IP which seem pretty good but are relatively expensive (about 66% more than my normal program), so I'd like to know whether these programmes have any real value abroad and whether they can help me land internships and later a job in London, Dubai or the US. Regards

03 Oct 2019

Interested if anyone has found consulting case competition information for 2019-2020. Primarily interested in opportunities for US undergraduates, or mixed graduate + undergraduate teams. I know Deloitte has hosted one in the past. Among colleges, have seen ASU, Georgetown, Northeasern, USC, McGill (Canada).

28 Sep 2019

I did recently post about my undergraduate college acceptances and Dartmouth was one of the schools I listed. I just recently visited Northwestern and I really loved it and have yet to visit Dartmouth. As Commit Day is approaching, May 1st to be exact, I would just like some insight on to why you would choose Dartmouth in general? I know they have one of the best alumni network in the country and their name really helps me out in IB placement, but is there anything else besides that? I just don't want to live my life wondering "What if I went to Dartmouth, an Ivy League" if I commit to

17 Apr 2014

Hey guys, This is my first post and I'm looking for some help. Let's start with some background info: I'm a senior in high school living in Toronto, Canada. My family is middle income. I'm pretty set on pursuing a career in finance. I got accepted to NYU Stern recently and received around 20k in scholarships from them. That lowers tuition down to about 50k/yr? My family can contribute a good amount, but they'll be taking out loans and I'll have to pay them back afterwards. Expecting around 100k+ in debt. Alternatively, I can stay in Canada and go to the Richard Ivey School of Business. Tuition for Richard Ivey is only about 20k.

14 Feb 2015

Hi guys , just wanted to ask you your two cents about my situation. I am an 18 yrs old Italian student (South Italy) , and I applied to a few university for my undergraduate. I have a 1810 on SAT test so just got into some crappy colleges (with full tuition scolarship) in the US, not worth the effort to cross the Atlantic (I received offer for scholarship from University of South Florida or Hosfra university, so figure out the level). Fortunately I applied to some unis in Europe and got in at Warwick (L100 Economics) and Bocconi (Bachelor in Economics and management taught in English). So my question is : In your opinion which of the two should I Pick?

13 Apr 2014

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02 Aug 2015

Obligatory already used search engine/not trolling -- I'm trying to hear some current opinions on doing sell-side banking immediately vs. trying for the buy-side out of undergrad. My school historically places a handful of people into BB's/globals and has recently gained a couple of undergraduate options for PE summer positions. For me personally, I was stuck thinking that my only opportunity was going for the glorified 2/2/2 out of undergraduate and trying to snag PE at a later point. I know that LGP has come in the past and it's rumoured that SLP could be coming this year. In aggregate, would those be preferred to a top BB/elite boutique? It seems like blasphemy that I'm even asking, but is turning down SLP for a summer position in favour of an IBD role just a terrible decision?

15 Dec 2013

I'm transferring from a community college and I have been admitted to William & Mary, Middlebury, Emory and Claremont McKenna. Depending on which school I choose, I will major in either Finance or Economics. My goal is to get the best possible internship and land on Wall St. after graduating. What would be the best choice among these schools and why? Where would I get the best opportunities? Which one is best represented on WS? All comments will be much appreciated.

20 Mar 2014

First want to thank everyone for taking the time to answer my questions and for providing great insight on WSO. I've been an active reader for the past few months but haven't really posted much, so here goes the first post. To cut to the chase, my question is in regards to when to pursue my MBA – I'll start with a little background and then go into what my plan was.

16 Feb 2015

I'm attending BC's Carroll School next year and am trying to understand the reputation of Carroll students in IBD, and other competitive positions, now as compared to the past (when CSOM's reputation was only slightly above mediocre). Considering BC and Carroll are highly ranked in recent published rankings, I'd like to gauge how the school's prestige fares today. Some background: Carroll is currently ranked 6 in Bloomberg's BBA ranking (I understand that most people ignore these rankings, but I've also heard that recruiters do at least consider them.) BC is also ranked above NYU in the US

15 Jun 2013

Hello, I introduced myself on here before, and got great and honest feedback. I am a rising junior worried about an internship this summer looking for great advice. I'll go to a non-target school with a 3.0 GPA, I am heavily retaking classes in order to break into investment banking (end goal 3.6). The only work experience I have is working sales, and small jobs such as a waiter. I landed an accounting/finance internship this winter at a CPA firm, which is great but what would be a great path to break into investment banking? I was thinking a private wealth management internship in buffalo

30 Sep 2016

So I want to work in either investment banking, private equity, or venture capital and I am currently deciding on an undergraduate business school. So NYU is currently my #1 and I am aware of the lack of campus and school spirit. This is the big question; debt? My college fund is about 158k. If I go to Michigan I will have 60k in debt, Nyu 120k in debt, and Penn State I will have 40k positive that I can invest freely on my own. What school is the best choice? I plan on being a finance major.

07 Apr 2015

I am an undergrad and after some cold calling and networking have been invited for a private equity interview with a middle market pe firm for a summer position. I finally got back home and some time to let of steam after finals and basically hell week(s). I am trying to prepare but this I feel like this will be substantially different from my earlier equity research and investment management interviews.

13 May 2012

So, I've gotten into IU kelley and will get into UMich LSA (probably not Ross direct though). I was going to apply NYU Stern, with NYU CAS chosen as a backup. But I'm also considering straight applying to CAS instead of Stern for economics instead of finance. I wanted to go into investment banking for a while now, but I'm having some second thoughts about it. Not about the work load or anything, but just if finance is really my interest or what I want to do for my life. I've considered going into law school after, and I find economics very interesting. So I'm just kinda lost. If I were to go

14 Dec 2015

Hi guys I would like to work in IB in the beginning of my career. Perhaps I will start in London but my long term goal is the US. Say I have these two options - which one is the best for name recognition & prestige and contacts in the US? 1) St. Andrews, BSc in Economics and Statistics (with a lot of financial maths/stats) - 4 years. 2) Bocconi, BA in International Economics, Managment and Finance + LSE, MSc in Finance/Economics - 4 years.

22 Jun 2013