Breaking into IB from Ohio State

Career Opportunities & Internships Investment Banking
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<p>Ok, so I've read a lot of past threads on hear , on other websites, WSO, etc... and I know it is very hard, but not impossible to break into IB from a non-target like OSU. </p>

<p>I am a high school senior right now and it looks like I will be going to either Ohio State or South Carolina (But I am leaning towards OSU right now).</p>

<p>I have pretty good grades/test scores, and applied to some schools that would be considered targets/semi-targets like UVa, NU, Penn(CAS), a few others. </p>

<p>However, there was some confusion with my dad about his salary and pension plan and when I was applying to colleges I was under the impression I would get some decent aid. But, I might be full pay at a lot of my schools or I might get a loan haha.
But, now it looks like the only "reach"/target school I would be able to afford would be Penn, and maybe Northwestern. (based off of sample FA awards they have on their websites. Other schools that I applied to don't seem as generous)</p>

<p>But I am not banking on Penn and, while I have a better shot at NU, my chances aren't that great either. </p>

<p>And please don't try to talk me into borrowing money to attend a target if I get into one like UVa or something. I am not opposed to having debt, if I go to Penn or NU (kind of a stretch now, but who knows) I'd be graduating with at LEAST $25K...which IMO isnt that bad. </p>

<p>But based off of the FAFSA (which doesn't even include a lot of assets and home equity like the CSS/Profile does) I would have to borrow at least $20-25K PER YEAR.
So, no, I'm not going $80-100k in the hole for undergrad when I'd like to go to MBA school eventually and take on even more debt. </p>

<p>So, anyways, it looks like I will be headed to Columbus this fall. I was disappointed when I found out my big college dreams were pretty much crushed, but I'm making the best of the situation and looking forward to OSU. </p>

<p>I've heard, on here and somewhere else, that OSU sent two kids to Goldman last year and people were making a big deal about it. I'm guessing this was front office, with the big boys?</p>

<p>And apparently there is something called back office or ops? How much worse is that? I heard it would be a lot easier to get an ops job coming from a place like OSU, is that true? Could I eventually transfer to "front office" or go on to a top MBA program from there?</p>

<p>I talked to someone in the OSU business school and she brought up a program called Fisher Futures. </p>

<p>Fisher</a> College of Business | Fisher Futures</p>

<p>She made it sound pretty easy to get into, like get a 3.6 and you're in...but I'm not so sure about that, those kids' resumes are pretty darn good and there are only nine of them!</p>

<p>Apparently PSU has a similar program and knowing what I know now, I wish I had applied to Penn St., but it is pointless now no point to dwell on it. </p>

<p>I realize this post was all over the place haha and I found a lot of my answers in other threads. </p>

<p>However, this forum and other places seem to only focus on high end, Wall Street Investment banks (what is a BB? Bulge Bracket? what does that mean...?)</p>

<p>But what about boutique IBs? How hard are they to break into? I am sure they are pretty tough to get a job at, but they have to be easier than getting a job at Goldman in NYC, right?</p>

<p>Do you think if I network well, I could get a solid job at a boutique somewhere in the midwest (assuming I go to OSU)? </p>

<p>Working at a boutique would qualify as good work experience for top MBA programs?
The pay may not be as great, but apparently the lifestyle and hours are better, so IMO the tradeoffs aren't that bad. May not look as good on a resume, but it's still Investment banking. </p>

<p>Schools that I am aiming for are Chicago Booth, NU Kellogg, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Dartmouth and probably a few more. I know this is a rather ambitious list, but if I don't make it into any of these schools, I guess there is always next year, right?
Looking online, I saw that MBA applications are pretty pricey, like $250 a pop. So about how many b-schools do people apply to? </p>

<p>^^^I guess I don't really have to worry about that, b-school is at least 7-8 years away. </p>

<p>But eventually I would like to work in Chicago and settle there, so my favorites for now are Booth and Kellogg. </p>

<p>So, if I go to OSU, double major in finance and accounting, get a 3.9+, network my @$$ off, hopefully get into Fisher Futures, do I have a shot for a some decent IB jobs? </p>

<p>I would not mind a mid-sized boutique either, as long as I have a pretty good shot at landing a spot at a top b-school. Eventually (like by the time I'm 30ish), I'd like to have a solid job that doesn't work me to death (ideally 50ish hours a week, obviously around 40 hrs is better, but that probably isn't that realistic) and pretty good money. I'm not really looking to become a millionaire, but I would like to have financial security. Less hours/better job will come after the MBA, or at least that is what I am thinking.</p>

<p>Sorry, this post was long and rambling and please correct me if I said something wrong. Excuse the typos, it's almost 12:30 too</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

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<p>You have a shot of breaking into IB from OSU, especially if you can get into Fisher Futures. Getting into IB from a non-target is not impossible. In fact, it’s not very uncommon, especially if you’re looking at boutiques. However, being at a semi-target/target makes it a lot easier because of the on-campus recruiting (less work/networking on your behalf). That said, if you decide that after a year or 2 at OSU that your chances of breaking into IB are grim, you can consider transferring to a semi-target/target.</p>

<p>On a side note, I believe I replied to your thread on WSO as well lol.</p>

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<p>Thank you. </p>

<p>That is good to hear. </p>

<p>I don’t mind putting forth the extra effort to network and sell myself hard, even kids at targets probably do that to an extent. </p>

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<p>Oh, I don’t actually post there (yet anyways, haha) but I think I know which thread you are talking about, the one where the kid is asking about Michigan vs. Penn St. vs. Ohio St.?
That thread was kind of helpful, but people seemed to focus a lot on PSU and how if you excel and network right there were a decent amount(for a non-target) of PSU grads on Wall Street, in part because of proximity too. </p>

<p>thanks again</p>

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<p>jdb - I’m currently at a non-target (but trying to transfer) and I’ll give you a brief rundown of what you can expect.</p>

<p>Non-targets get absolutely no recruitment from IB, at least my school doesn’t and we were ranked in the top 60 in businessweek’s rankings of ugrad b-schools. Any chance of getting into IB for me would have to be through extensive networking. That said, I do know a girl who is interning with JPMorgan in IBD. However, she attended an event in California called the Alpha Cases (gathering of schools across the country that compete in a work-study case) and spoke with the recruiter there. The recruiter was impressed with her credentials and ended up landing her an interview and eventually an internship. Obviously, she networked and had an exceptional resume but her desire for the field is what attracted the recruiter.</p>

<p>Anyways, by going to a non-target, you’re going to have to really network and get your name out there. If you can get into Fisher Futures, obviously you’d have a much better shot but still a lesser chance than students at targets/semi-targets.</p>

<p>By going to a target/semi-target, you don’t have to network nearly as much and the recruiters find YOU, rather than vice-versa; awesome right?</p>

<p>My advice would be to go to OSU and see how you like it. If after one semester you feel that transferring to a target/semi-target would be ideal, by all means give it a shot. Personally, I’ve spoken with students who transferred to targets/semi-targets from non-targets and they all agreed that it was the right decision. Simply put, you get more opportunities at a target/semi-target while not networking nearly as much.</p>

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<p>How would one network if recruiters don’t come to campus?</p>

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<p>^By getting involved on campus, some clubs/organizations travel to various recruiting events which can essentially land you a SA position. I know a girl from my school (non-target) who went to an event in California and landed a SA position with JPMorgan. A little luck obviously because that was the only IB position she applied for, but her desire and skill-set played a large role as well.</p>

<p>Another way is to cold call random boutiques, which a lot of students do.</p>

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<p>So, as sort of an update, I didn’t fair too well in the college admissions game.</p>

<p>I got into USC and I was happy about that and then I was waitlisted at Georgetown. Rejected at UVa, Northwestern and Penn. Not too surprising about but still sucks haha.</p>

<p>So trying to decide between South Carolina and Ohio State, but I think I am leaning towards OSU now. Carolina would be a little cheaper and apparently their International Business program places very well, but OSU seems more like the sure thing, better bet. Carolina not too shabby either, but OSU has pretty solid Big 4 recruiting, which is a little less competitive than IB jobs.</p>

<p>So I’ll probably go to OSU and major in Finance and Accounting and work my rear off to get into Fisher Futures.</p>

<p>[Fisher</a> College of Business | Career Management Annual Report 2010](<a href=“http://fisher.osu.edu/mag/2010/careerreport/pageflip.html]Fisher”>http://fisher.osu.edu/mag/2010/careerreport/pageflip.html)</p>

<p>(on page 6 on the 09-10 annual report)</p>

<p>Says Goldman Sachs hired 3 Fisher Futures students. Not bad considering Fisher Futures only has about 10 students in it per graduating class (class of 2012 only has nine members). The other 7 or so kids were probably able to land decent jobs as well, I’m assuming. </p>

<p>Not too shabby for a midwestern non-target. </p>

<p>Alright thanks guys. </p>

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<p>That’s a good idea and I was thinking about doing that already. Probably be easiest to do in Columbus/Ohio, hopefully connecting with alums. </p>

<p>Alright, thanks everyone.</p>

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<p>I would call to make sure they hired those students for investment banking and not other job areas (private wealth, ops, risk, etc.). A lot of schools advertise with great name companies but don’t specify the job function (I would rather be an investment banker at a small regional bank than be in ops at Goldman Sachs).</p>

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<p>Agreed, precisely what I was thinking.</p>