<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>Here's the situation. I'm a sophomore at UMass Amherst and have been considering pursuing a career in investment banking. I came into the school as a comp-sci major, decided it wasn't for me, and managed to transfer into the business school on campus following freshman year. I would've been content to finish out my four years at UMass, graduating with a finance degree, and jump into the job market. But after doing some research, I get the impression that investment banking is fairly hard to break into if one does not attend certain target schools. </p>
<p>This brings me to my predicament. UMass is not even close to being one of those said target schools. Obviously a transfer to a UPenn or Columbia would be ideal. But thanks to some slip ups Freshman year, my GPA is a shade under 3.6, leaving much to be desired. My extracurriculars are decent. I'm TA'ing this semester for a business course, won an accounting competition put on by PwC last semester, and actively participate in a handful of clubs affiliated with the business school. However none of that screams "extraordinary" which is what it seems to take to get into these hotspots of I-Banking recruiting. </p>
<p>Any thoughts on what I should do? Which of the I-Banking target schools would I have the best shot of getting into? Would applying for a transfer to some of these schools as an econ major (instead of going for direct admission to the business schools) give me a better chance of getting in? Should I forget about a transfer and make the best of what UMass has to offer?</p>
<p>I apologize for the deluge of text. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.</p>