<p>Right now I'm HS Sophomore and been reading many books on the industry since last month. However my concern is how do I prepare for it like what classes can I take beside economic. Can any of you help me here? I refuse to spend 4 years in college learning about something which wont be much help for me wall street.</p>
<p>What you'll need most is a super-high college GPA. Get as close to 4.0 as possible. Also, make sure you go to a top college. Ivy League or ivy-equivalent if you can. If not, go to a well-known and reputable school. </p>
<p>Try to major in something quantitative like engineering, applied math, physics, econ, business/finance/accounting, etc. Some i-banks recruit from all majors. Whatever you major in, a high GPA is VERY IMPORTANT.</p>
<p>Join a lot of clubs/orgs in college and attain leadership roles. You don't necessarily need to be in business-related clubs. The goal is to have as much leadership experience as possible. In addition, try to get a part-time job during the school year or play a club/NCAA sport. I-banks look for students who do a lot of activities yet excel in their academics.</p>
<p>Buy and read the Vault Guide to Finance Interviews to learn about how to prep for interviews. Start reading the Wall Street Journal or Financial Times regularly to be knowledgeable about current financial events.</p>
<p>Why does IB require such high GPA and only go for the top-notch schools. I mean not everyone can get in into these schools nowadays they are even rejecting those with straight A's and perfect SAT/ACT score. Why the SUPER high expectations, because in my opinion it doesn't what school you go to if you don't have the drive to succeed.</p>
<p>I-banks demand pretty much the best of the best. It takes a special kind of person to constantly pull 80 to 100-hour weeks at work while consistently delivering top-quality work. To be an analyst at a bulge bracket firm, you need to be exceptionally intelligent, motivated, and hard-working.</p>
<p>kids at top school worked hard in HS, and they will be more likely to work harder in college than Average Joe at State U. Besides, if it was just GPA, than someone from South Dakota Tech State with a 4.0 could do ibanking over someone at Harvard-does that make sense to you? of course not. Going to an ivy or ivy-esque school is like getting the pole position in a NASCAR race-it doesn't mean that you are automatically going to win, but it sure doesn't hurt to have that head start.</p>
<p>You CAN make it in Ibanking coming from a low/non target. However, it is VERY VERY VERY VERY difficult. You don't have a) the same alumni network and b) the recruiters. Ibanking is really in a world in itself, when it comes to importance on the undergraduate education. Unlike law/med school, it really does matter where you go, as those schools generally attract the top recruiters. Sure, there are a lot of kids, say, from Rutgers or TCNJ (No offense to either school) at a firm like Goldman Sachs, but a majority of those work in operations (which is really considered the worst sector to work in, as the upside is not nearly as high as working in the Investment Banking Division). GPA is important, but recruiters won't necessarily sweat between someone who comes from a target with a 3.7 and another who has a 3.75. They'll both likely receive an interview, and what really matters is how you perform in your interview, as well as the things you do outside of the classroom. </p>
<p>If I were you, I'd focus on succeeding in high school before I think about Ibanking. During my sophomore year, I was "completely" sure I wanted to be a doctor, and now I want to do Ibanking. In 2 years, it may be law school. The point is, don't put all your chips into landing an ibanking job, because it really is a huge time commitment. </p>
<p>p.s. With the recession, you may want to rethink Ibanking. Although I think that everything will be fine in a few years, no one really knows what to expect. Many of the bulge bracket firms are cutting MASSIVELY, and the analysts (basically kids who come straight out of underground) are being hit worst.</p>
<p>Would UC Berkeley be considered as an ivy-esque school?</p>
<p>also do IB firms look at your overall gpa or major gpa? what if major gpa is almost 4.0 while overall gpa is significantly lower than that, such as 3.5</p>
<p>The top graduates from UC Berkeley's Haas school can make it into the NYC offices of top i-banks. </p>
<p>They look at both overall GPA and major GPA.</p>
<p>Be aware though, the "top graduates" from haas would've likely been smart enough to have been admitted to Ivy-caliber schools. They probably elected to stay in state for financial reasons. Therefore, I'd argue that it's a lot tougher to make it to a BB from a UCB than it is from a Brown, Cornell, or any other similar school, just because of the sheer number of very intelligent people at UCB (don't mistake this as a diss on brown/cornell, just that those schools have much smaller class sizes, yet they still yield great offers).</p>
<p>It's true you don't need to be that smart to actually do an IB job well. The reality though, is that there are way too many applicants for these jobs and setting very high academic requirements happens to be a convenient way for banks to reduce the volume of potential candidates to a more manageable level.</p>
<p>I have a friend at Rice University who recently got a full time position at Goldman Sachs. He didn't have the highest GPA at the school but he was invovled in many other activities and was a gymnast. As the previously people have said, you need to be able to perform well while maintaining your involvement.</p>
<p>While the study all day/4.0ers can get Ibanking jobs, I feel that they also look at the still smart students who can maintain great grades and multitask.</p>
<p>How about as an Economics major at UC Berkeley and not Haas</p>
<p>you'll be fine..econ at Berkeley is pretty damn good.</p>
<p>Wall Street needs to remain selective so people there will face little competition and can charge obscene amounts of money.</p>
<p>Do you think a CS degree from UIUC would be bad for I-banking? UIUC is in the Top 5 for Engineering so would it be like a good university to get offers from BB?</p>
<p>Overall rep is what counts, not subject rep. Harvard isn't top 5 for engineering, but I doubt engineering students from there would have any problem getting BB positions.</p>
<p>You might be able to get a position in the tech department of a BB. But that's not really investment banking...</p>
<p>I'm only interested in the I-Banking Division at the BB. You don't think UIUC is good for IB?</p>
<p>I'm 90% sure I'm going to Rutgers for iBanking. What is "operations"?</p>
<p>If I do Computer Science + Applied Math + Economics at Brown, is there a good chance?</p>