<p>I know there isn;t any major requirement for ppl who plan to work in investment banks and consulting firm, but I still would love to hear suggestions from smithies who know if there is any other requirements for Smith students to work on the Wall Street, including GPA cut offs, if any, extra curriculum activities etc, which one outweighs which? Are there any courses you would strongly recommend to take in order to benefit the future job?</p>
<p>One of the best ways toa nswer this question is to research consulting firms or banks you want to work at and look at their web pages. Do they offer internships? Are there entry level positions listed? What are the qualifications. </p>
<p>For the top investment banks, you will need a very high GPA and a strong math background. It helps if you’ve taken economics, in fact that may be a requirement. And any special skills you’ve been able to gain, like computer modeling or being able to do fancy things with Excel will certainly help. Also, most of these banks seem to choose their entry level people from among their interns, so you should find out what you need to do to be competitive for those internships. They are highly competitive, but also fairly well paying.</p>
<p>thanks SmithieandProud! Are you a graduated Smithie? I feel it kind of vague for “high” gpa you mentioned…i dunno how high it can be a “high” gpa, like above 3.8?or above 3.75?</p>
<p>I know a Smithie who get an IB job at a boutique firm in NYC. Had the Econ major, not the highest GPA in the world. A GPA north of 3.5 certainly helps, as do recs, quite a bit of perseverance, and a little luck.</p>
<p>from most colleges it’s fairly straightforward to get a job at a boutique, but if you want bulge bracket you need HPW (Harvard - Princeton - Wharton)</p>