Chance me! Rising Junior Transfer Applicant with Investment Banking focus

Transfer Students
1

Junior Year Transfer Applicant with interests in IBD

CHANCE ME: Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, UVA (McIntire), Northwestern, BC, Georgetown, UTAustin, Cornell, UPenn (econ), UNC, Fordham, Carnegie Mellon

Current School: Large Public ACC in the South

Intended Major: IB-Target schools Finance/Econ

Is high school competitive or a feeder school: No
Demographics:
Suburb in Northern VA
Race: Caucasian
First Gen or URM (Y/N): Jewish (but idk if that helps)
Income (optional): $250,000

Stats

HS GPA (UW/W): 3.4/4.0
College GPA 3.83 Business GPA: 3.77
32 credits taken
Ranking and Course Rigor: County provides no class rank
IB/AP Courses:
AP US & Comp Gov. B/ APUSH: A- / IB Math 1: / IB Psych SL 1: A / IB Spanish 1: A / IB Physics 1: B+ / IB Geography SL B / IB Math SL II B+/ IB Spanish SL II A/ IB Psych HL II A

ACT: 27 (Was wondering if it’d be necessary that I retake?)

Extracurriculars w/ very brief description
1.) Internship with Commercial Real Estate Firm in the heart of Georgetown (is this something I should elaborate in the Georgetown Application?
2.) Captain of HS Soccer team
3.) Travel soccer team was ranked T10 nationally
4.) Summer Club Swim Team

Awards/Honors w/ level of recognition (Regional, State, National, International)
1.) Deans list 2x, likely both times this year as well.

Subjective
Letters of Recommendation: I can get letters of recommendation from the executives of the firm I worked at this summer

Anything else to know about you: Along with opinions on my chances, I’m also looking for constructive criticism. That said, I’m aware that my college ECs are low, and I plan on joining more clubs this semester and next.

Questions: Would you recommend studying abroad come spring semester? Would that affect my ECs or is there a likelihood that it would be detrimental for my chances?
Should I apply after I get my Fall semester grades this year?
Is it detrimental to take 12 credit hours this semester?
Should I take the ACT/SAT again?

2

Your college GPA looks great. What probably held you back in HS was your GPA and test scores. The transfer colleges will still look at your ACT, but it won’t play as big of a role since you will have 2 years of college coursework.

However the big problem that I see is that the big investment banks give out offers to students who completed a summer internship between junior and senior years. The recruiting for these internships start in the spring of sophomore year.

So assuming that you are successful in transferring to an IB target school, then what will you do? All of the recruiting will be done by the time you arrive next fall.

3

Is that true though? I’ve read that it begins the spring semester of Junior year, which would give me a semester to get my gpa in order. I’m aware that I will be disadvantaged in terms of recruitment that may have started earlier, but it’s still a better shot than my current school.

4

I think there may be some outliers (smaller banks, boutiques, etc). But the large majority of the big banks finish recruiting about a year before the actual start date. You might consider delaying graduation by a semester so that you can take advantage of the recruiting. Otherwise getting an IB offer without having done an internship is close to nil.

5

@sgopal2 is correct. S is a junior and “networking” on campus events for the major banks started last spring (sophomore year). Applications for next summer’s internships opened up over the summer. Recorded video interviews started end of summer with phone interviews occurring since the start of school. Superdays (home office interviews) for finalists are in process now. As a sophomore, you will need to submit your applications when apps open up next summer. Your current school may or may not have networking days in the Spring, but you will need to work through your current school’s career placement office this year.

6

where did you end up going?