Some Pre-requsites for investment banking

<p>As a student currently residing in Asia, i will be attending university in a couple of year. As such, i was wondering if the experts in I-Bankng out there could tell me what degrees it would be advisable for someone who has a keen interest in that profession to take.</p>

<p>We hire kids with all sorts of degrees.</p>

<p>Key things:</p>

<p>-Top U
-Top GPA
-Great social skills unless S & T
-Strong quant skills</p>

<p>do you measure great social skill just by how well an individual can converse during an interview?</p>

<p>No. We look for things like president of student body or frats and other signs of leadership. Interviews are important, lengthy and intense and most are not offered a job until we've seen them as interns.</p>

<p>Hey, when you are referring to Top Universities, are you referring to the Ivy Leagues, or can it be the top universities in the country that you originate from since not many of the top students in a country may not necessarily go to Ivy League due to a variety of reasons?? Thanks</p>

<p>Hi Hmom5,
For the students who are attending the target colleges, would a potential applicant for the IB be at a disadvantage if he choses to take most of his quant classes(Accounting, Calculus, and Finance) as non-credit/audits? Even though there are those who are non-quantitative majors, in your experience, have you found that some of these students have taken their quant classes as non-credit?</p>

<p>That would certainly raise an eyebrow with me. We are looking for strong quant skills, anyone afraid of showing grades in any tough class would have issues.</p>

<p>Hi hmom5,
How about if the person provides a written letter or contact information from the professor describing his grades for those respected classes? Sometimes, as with Pass or Fail grades, a student could use an audit to test himself without the fear of lowering his GPA. I have taken some of my quantitative classes as audits and got "A's" in them. Even though it doesn't reflect in my GPA. I would use the audit option for personal interest. It would have nothing to do with investment banking. If taking certain classes as audit bothers the investment banking personal who is interviewing me, then the only option is to not hire me. But only if I am allowed to prove that I have a strong quantitative background. Appearances, with regards to enrolling in quantitative classes as audits, can be very deceiving.</p>

<p>The competition, especially right now, is so tough that the big issue is whether you'll even get an interview. Some do and others don't look at a full transcript in deciding who to interview. Taking the time to review letters from profs about grades is unlikely at any stage.</p>

<p>If someone consistently took certain types of classes p/f, it means they are not confident of their skills in that area which is a deal breaker.</p>

<p>Hi hmom5,
Perhaps you're right. However, if the person does well in the classes he does well as an audit, it doesn't mean he not confident with his abilities. It mean that he just wants to test himself to see if he does well in those classes without the fear of having a lower GPA. And the Quant classes that he could take as Audits are 2 semesters of the following:</p>

<p>Calculus
Accounting
Finance</p>

<p>And this would come from a person who is not a business/economics major at a target school. But wants to take these classes for personal enjoyment. Would this still be a deal breaker?</p>

<p>I love it how everybody is talking about "this person" hahah... " Well what if this person decided to bla bla bla" hahah (sorry, just wanted to point that out...no offense)</p>

<p>Redline, I'm confused. If you want a career in banking you would not just be taking these classes for personal enjoyment. You would take thim to get the background and show your ability to do the job.</p>

<p>
[quote]
-Great social skills unless S & T

[/quote]
</p>

<p>hmom, are you suggesting that you cut some slack for candidates who apply for S&T in terms of how much leadership/extracurricular involvement they have? If so, what qualities do you look more for in candidates who apply to S&T, as opposed to those who apply to IBD?</p>

<p>I don't personally hire for S & T, and I think I wasn't clear in rereading my post. Some of those guys have social skills but not necessarily the kind that will make them future rain makers which is desirable in corp fin/M & A. They deal with a different kind of client or with computers, so the most important social attribute I've noted among those guys is access to new dirty, sexist jokes!</p>

<p>Hi Hmom5,
For the timebeing, I'll be taking the quant classes for personal enjoyment(non-credit) because I love the challenge. I do want a career in Investment Banking. But my top priority, at this time, is to do well in my other classes so that I can transfer to a top college. Whether I actually get to do investment backing depends on how well I perform in my classes at my new school. I do have other interests in areas, which I feel that Investment Banking should be looking into, but are not. I have seen a lot of businesses that could use the advice of an investment banker. However, none of them ever try to get into contact with them. Here is one example that you might find interesting:</p>

<p>Stadt</a> im Fokus: Stadt im Fokus - DIE WELT - WELT ONLINE</p>

<p>The article talks about the TS Hamburg and the goal to use the vessel as a hotel ship in Hamburg, Germany. You could get in touch with person who is looking to save the ship for the city. His business phone number is listed in the article.</p>

<p>I think you have investment banking confused with something else.</p>

<p>No,
I have not. Investment Bankers seek out every opportunity out there. Even the obscure, like engineering a sale to acquire an old oceanliner to convert into a 5-Star Hotel.</p>

<p>Hmom5, im a freshman at a reputed lib arts college, and our school is known for grade deflation. Ive only had one semester at college, during which i took :
Chinese (pass/fail, but i ended up getting an A)
Chemistry
Philosophy (higher level - junior class)
Sociology (higher level- soph/junior class)
in order to fullfill my distribution requirements. Since there are only three courses in my GPA as of now, how much will this be factored in? My grades have not been released yet, but im not quite sure how i did.would the fact that chem was an accelerated course and sociology and philosophy were well above intro level be concidered?</p>

<p>thank you! (:</p>

<p>hey, im just curious, but is there any big difference when it comes to applying for a job in investment banking with a degree from a Ivy League and a degree from a top liberal arts college??</p>