<p>What are the prospects in IBank for students of top LACs? I'll be attending Pomona College in the fall, and was wondering if companies still recruit, since LACs typically don't have business programs? Thanks!</p>
<p>i'm seeing quite a few kids that went to Pomona that are in I-Banking and Management Consulting, so I think you're good to go.</p>
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I'll be attending Pomona College in the fall, and was wondering if companies still recruit, since LACs typically don't have business programs
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<p>Most of the top research universities, such as HYPS, don't have business programs either (for undergrads). Yet obviously plenty of them get hired into Ibanking.</p>
<p>If you graduate near the top of your class you'll get interviews.</p>
<p>Please excuse my naivete', but I have two other quick questions. Are there that many IBanking firms located in the LA area, or would it be more likely that I'd be recruited to go work in NY city? Also, what exactly would interest a prespective employer (sorry if this is covered in previous posts)? Since I'd be in the L.A. area, I suppose internships w/ local banks, perhaps a major/emphasis in applied math or mathematical economics? Thanks for humoring a newbie!</p>
<p>most bulge-bracket investment banks have offices in LA, a few of the offices are pretty outstanding, UBS LA for instance has a lot of analysts who make the switch to private equity after a couple years (it's quite difficult to move from banking to private equity, so the shops who send good numbers to PE are well regarded) CSFB LA group is supposed to be great too.</p>
<p>Additionally, I know it's not LA but, many banks have their technology groups in San Francisco.</p>
<p>As for what would interest an employer, GPA first and foremost, and then some good internships during your undergraduate would be great.</p>
<p>Most of the investment bankers I'm seeing from Pomona have degrees in mathematical economics or just economics</p>
<p>Thanks for replying so quickly! Actually, the only reason that I mentioned L.A. was that it's the biggest city on the West Coast, so that's where I assumed a great deal of the financial market would be.</p>
<p>One more question, though I'm not sure if it's really easy to answer. Let's say that I turn out to be a top student (i.e. top 10%) and have some great internships, GPA, etc. Do firms come looking for you, or is it the student that has to take the initiative? I hope that not too vague :/</p>
<p>I dont know how it works at Pomona but at my school there are resume drops, you drop your resume and come in for an interview. So it would be up to you to do that.</p>
<p>Even if you have a 4.0 GPA they're not going to kiss your ass, these are some pretty coveted and sought after jobs, and the interviews will be tough (usually you can expect to go through multiple interviews in the same day) and some of the interviews wont be easy -- they'll intend to grill you hard to make sure you can work under pressure.</p>
<p>If you want to get into banking you should be that Type-A personality who has a lot of initiative</p>
<p>"Even if you have a 4.0 GPA they're not going to kiss your ass."
Wouldn't it be nice though? lol!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info, eveybody. If you can offer any more info, rants, warning, praises, or whatever, I would greatly appreciate it. </p>
<p>Also, are there any books that you would suggest I take a look at to get a better grasp of IBanking, and some of the career paths that it leads to? Thanks.</p>
<p>I know the book says Wharton, but this book was probably the best book I've read considering investment banking and finance. It chronicles a few kids at Wharton and their time interviewing, landing internships, and what they did at the internships. Very informative, exposes you to other related careers too -- not everyone ends up with banking in the book, some pick consulting, others pick jobs with corporations.</p>
<p>Also check out Monkey Business -- paints a pretty grim picture but it's a good read anyway. Liar's Poker is good, it's about trading .</p>
<p>What about Swarthmore? Does a Swarthmore student have a good chance at landing on top i-bank jobs?</p>
<p>Since my daughter graduated from Pomona I know a few of her friends have gone into I banking after graduation. One particular good friend worked two years at Lazard and will be going HBS this fall. Another one worked two years at an asset management company and is also at HBS.</p>