<p>I've spent some time reading things about Ibanking, and what Ibankers do, and it looks very interesting.</p>
<p>Right now i'm a sophmore in college, and I have a few questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don't go to a target school (I go to Ohio State University, Which i think is tier 2 for business) but I have a 3.7 GPA (which let's assume stays the same). What are my chances of being picked for a job or internship at a respectable place?</p></li>
<li><p>I like the idea of spending time in NYC to intern, but I don't see myself living there. I'd prefer to not live in the city, and I'd have no problem living in the suburbs and commuting. I was wondering if its absolutely necessary to be in New York to be successful in the finance field.</p></li>
<li><p>Since I don't go to an Ivy, what other tips do you have to make myself stand out as a candidate for a job/internship? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m not an IBanker and have less college experience than you, but here is what everyone in this thread is going to tell you.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Low. You are going to have to network.</p></li>
<li><p>NYC has the biggest deals, but IBanks have regional offices all over the country. </p></li>
<li><p>Network.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Ya you dont have to live in NYC if you don’t want to since you can work in a regional office, but most people seem to think that there’s a lot of value in starting out in NYC.</p>
<p>Also, a random sidenote, I don’t think you’ll want to live in the suburbs and commute ifyou are in banking. Think about working an 18+ish hour day and then have to commute to/from work.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Define “respectable place.” If you are referring to BB shops, then your best bet will be to utilize your alumni network to the fullest and hope to leverage some internship experience, a strong GPA, and your connections into some 1srt round interviews. If you are referring to BBs, solid MMs and solid boutiques (not necessarily elite, but interesting shops with some deal flow), then you will have to follow the above, but you can also check any local shops and begin cold emailing smaller shops to see if they have any potential need for interns (to at least get your foot in the door) - whether paid or unpaid - as a soph, it’s all good. </p></li>
<li><p>You absolutely do not have to live in NYC - there are plenty of ops in CA, and regional boutiques and MMs, and satellite BBs all across the country. Rather than become committed to one location or another, you should focus on landing an opportunity and begin to develop your resume - then as FT begins to roll around in a few years, you can really focus on location - ideally with a stronger resume. Additionally, to echo what has already been said, you will want to tread softly as it pertains to living far away from the office - whether you are working 14 or 19 hours per day, driving home and wasting what little “you” time that you have on a commute is something that gets old and annoying quickly (yes, even if you like driving). </p></li>
<li><p>Excluding the networking aspect, I would focus on landing a finance-related internship, whether IB, P/E, Corp Fin, etc - something to get a solid mark on your resume as an earlier college student will definitely help to support your candidacy going forward. Additionally, I would recommend joining a finance/IB club to show your interest and potentially make more connections. Finally, depending on your major (assuming it is not finance or accounting), I would recommend taking a few intro to fin and acct courses just to get a feel for the subject material (if that is an option at your school). </p></li>
</ol>
<p>3.7, OSU, IB is not going to happen. If you’re going to a tier II school {I hope your major isn’t business}, try 4.0, then networking.</p>
<p>Also, you may want to go to an Ivy {or MIT, Stanford, etc} kind of school for a master’s, graduate with a 4.0 from there if you want IB to be a serious consideration. Otherwise, it just isn’t going to happen. Read some of the older threads here.</p>
<p>OSUstudent, do your research! A few years ago, the Princeton salutatorian, graduated with a degree in ChemE, 4.0 GPA, and went on to become an IB. These are the people are competing with. Math, engineering, physics majors with straight A’s, and are at recruiter schools. Even with a double-major, 4.0, OSU, it just is so unlikely. I’m not a fan, but it is an elitist system.</p>
<p>That’s a bit of BS. Yes, it is absolutely more difficult to break into banking from a non-target, and yes you will be competing with strong candidates from target schools, but it is absolutely not impossible and you don’t need a 4.0 (you need a strong GPA, but a 3.7 double in fin and acct is definitely strong). </p>
<p>I’m not saying that it is easy, but it is definitely possible. You need to network, get your name out there, get some relevant internship experience and go for it. Saying that you are competing with the Princeton salutatorian who had a 4.0 Chem major is silly - everyone applying and interviewing banking positions does not, in any way, fit that description. Banking is not full of a bunch of incredibly brilliant Nobel prize winners in the making - it is, however, predominantly full of Target students, which is why you will have to work harder to get the same position. </p>
<p>I’m not arguing that it is going to be difficult, I am just saying that it is by no means impossible, especially if you are interested in banking and not exclusively BB banking. </p>
<p>Honestly, you don’t sound cut out for ibanking with a major firm. In most good jobs, you will be transferred at the will of the firm during a career and can end up living lots of places. If you’re not open to NYC, HK, London, Beijing,–choose another business.</p>
<p>And I must say, in 30 years of banking in NYC, I can’t remember an unmarried young banker who didn’t live in the city (OK, a few in close by NJ). During your early years you will be working so many late nights, your bed needs to be a 5 minute cab ride from the office.</p>
but i’ll see if I can do it :D</p>