SEO/Ibanking phone interview

<p>Hey everyone, I was waitlisted for SEO as well (I'm a sophomore). I applied for Asset Management and Sales and Trading. I see you guys talking about other offers and stuff, and they specifically say to keep in touch with them about your offers. I have a friend who did SEO as a sophomore but had an offer with CSFB and accepted the CSFB offer and SEO "placed" him there, so he accepted the CSFB offer but was still a member of SEO.</p>

<p>Wow... I am pretty sure you cannot rescind something after accepting the offer. Only SEO has this type of waitlist :sigh:</p>

<p>seriously dpa, explain to s&p if you get an offer from seo later that it's a mentoring program for minorities-- it's a unique opportunity- they'll let you go if they are looking out for your best interest</p>

<p>Ok, I will try to tell them that. Thanks.</p>

<p>I actually had a question about SEO. How much do you really value it? To be frank, I previously wanted it simply because it was an easier way to get an ibanking job as a sophomore, because it is almost impossible to break into the field as a sophomore, and SEO provides a much easier way. Furthermore, the fact that you get so much mentoring and networking prepares you a lot better than if you were to only go at it yourself. However, I'll admit that there is a decent amount of anti-SEO sentiment, in that "you're only here through SEO" or something. SEO is a very difficult program to get in, but I am not going to lie when I say that it is more difficult to get into Goldman Sachs directly (not through networking, but through the standard application process) than into SEO. SEO itself is still extremely prestegious, but there's no arguing that it does make it easier to get a job at an ibank (specifically CorpFin, because non-SEO that's like almost impossible). Hypothetically speaking, had you an offer to a buldge directly without that extra SEO leg, would you take it, or would you do it through SEO? I know people who have applied directly, and others who got into the firms, and then chose to accept through SEO simply beacuse they valued the mentoring aspect of it. Also, with all the SEO perks there are some drawbacks- you have to wake up extra early to attend lectures before work (yea I know, this shouldn't be an excuse), and you have to miss parts of the day to attend SEO events. YOu lose out on some of the firm culture, and some arrogant people label you as the "SEO kid."
I'm pretty sure I will take the S&P job directly, and apply to SEO again next year. However, I do feel that I have a good chance of getting into an ibank directly next year (hopefully). Because of that I wonder if you guys truly value SEO as a networking tool or SEO as an entrance, because if more people see it as an entrance, maybe if we don't need it to break it, it's not worth the associated stigma. For this reason, I'm planning next year to apply round 2 (would do you think?). My friend got a second round in person interview yesterday, so they are still interviewing 2nd rounders. All the ibanks generally recruit junior internships from December to January. Thus, there's the possibility of getting a good internship before applying to SEO, and that not only gives you the decision to participate through SEO, but also makes it much much easier to get into the program should you do accept (i hear it's almost a shoe-in). Any thoughts on this?</p>

<p>I'm a perfect example... I have ML, but I'll rather do ML "through" SEO because of the mentoring and lifelong connections...</p>

<p>true, you'll be labeled the seo kid in the interim, but what about say five years from now, when you are looking to break into a different I-bank on wallstreet after two years at say Lehman, or you are looking to break into Google Inc.?...it's your friends at SEO working at those firms that'll help you out...</p>

<p>I think we look at seo wrongly if we analyze it momentarily...my mentor is in his forties, but he still has strong ties with his seo friends up till today and they still help out one another--- one regular summer internship at Goldman won't give you this wide array of friends and connections because it simply can't- u shud view seo as a lifetime commitment</p>

<p>^ By the way, is it possible to do like Global Markets or Operations through SEO, if SEO only offers Corpfin, Sales/Trading, and Research? I also wonder if M&A falls under CorpFin for SEO.</p>

<p>and thanks for the reply; i never thought about your friends at SEO... always viewed it as networking with mentors and stuff, but your intern friends are just as important</p>

<p>I seriously don't know how it works...one things for sure tho...
if I ever get off the waitlist, I'll explain it to the ML people how important seo is to me and I'll ask them to bear with me if I don't eventually get placed in global markets</p>

<p>P.S- another reason for seo--- seo has a lifemembership career center---what can be better than that!</p>

<p>Does anybody think they will get back to us before March 22??? like maybe by the end of February</p>

<p>I think they might-</p>

<p>Hey guys, welcome me to da waitlist. So ****ty!!</p>

<hr>

<p>Dear XXX:</p>

<p>Thank you for applying to the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Career Program. At this time the Admission Committee has not yet made a final decision on your application. Please know that you are a very competitive applicant and still in consideration for a summer internship position.</p>

<p>You have been placed on the waitlist. We are currently trying to determine the needs and requests of our partner firms in order to assess the amount of intern positions available. You should continue to check your application status online to confirm that we have received all required official transcripts and recommendations.</p>

<p>We also encourage you to continue your industry research and notify us of any changes in your status or any offers that you have received from SEO partner firms. A further decision on your application will be made by the close of our final round notification, March 22, 2007. We appreciate your patience and will contact you with updates on your application status.</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>William A. Goodloe
President & CEO Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO)</p>

<p>wow seems like everyone is on the waitlist... i will most likely be withdrawing, so good luck to you!</p>

<p>Yuki, did you copy and paste your waitlist letter, or did you edit parts of it? I just find it strange because they wrote different things in mine, and I would assume all of us would get the same letter.</p>

<p>neilshash are you a sophomore? sophomores and juniors have basically the same waitlis letter but with slight variants...</p>

<p>waitlisted too and i'm a junior...do juniors still have a good chance of getting accepted?</p>

<p>probably a better chance than sophomores...</p>

<p>Yes bumpitybump, I am a sophomore. They mentioned my interview in mine, so I was curious since an interview was not mentioned in yuki's letter, and I just assumed that we would all get the same letter.</p>

<p>Apparently they distinguish between sophomores who got a 2nd interview and those who didn't. </p>

<p>Thank you for interviewing for the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Career Program. The Admission Committee received a record number of applications and inquiries from qualified candidates, such as you, for approximately 400 internship positions. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you an internship at this time.</p>

<p>As you may know, the SEO Career Program admits very few sophomores due to the limited number of internship positions available. We congratulate you on being selected as one of the few sophomores invited for an SEO interview. We trust that you will continue to build on your academic excellence, community service and industry knowledge, and we look forward to receiving your application next year. </p>

<p>Thank you once again for your interest in the SEO Career Program. We wish you continued success in your current and future endeavors.</p>

<p>And compare that to the original one i posted (sophomore without interview), at least they commend you on an interview.</p>

<p>Can we make a list of some sort to determine everyone's status (who wants to disclose)? It's pretty bumming to here all you CC guys get WLed. But has anyone else been accepted?</p>

<p>Can I join in the SEO fun?!?! I am a fellow waitlistee and have NO idea what this means. An SEO alumn at my school looked at me sadly and said it can go both ways.... errrr didnt sound positive but then he goes DONT WORRY THERE IS STILL CHANCE! grrr what does that mean?! Anyways I am surprised I was even waitlisted my interview was HORRIBLE --- I did something I dont think anyone here did: I was defensive and angry. </p>

<p>When they asked me what I like to do for fun. I am like you are interested in my personal life? </p>

<p>They asked me to multiply. And I responded with that's an unnecessary question. So yea BAD BAD BAD.</p>

<p>By the way I am a junior--so no chance for next year. </p>

<p>P.S. Questions could have been worse. At Goldman they asked me if I were a tree which one would I be and why. So I gave a 30 second haiku on why I would love to be a palm tree ;)</p>

<p>My friend had a LB Super Satturday the other day. They gave him 30 seconds to answer a math question. If a track is a mile long, and you average 30 miles an hour the first lap, then at what speed would you need to run the second lap to average 60 miles an hour?</p>

<p>See if you can figure it out. Tricky aren't they? =)</p>