Im currently a freshman at Baruch majoring in Finance. My Gpa is a 3.7(should be 3.75 by the end of winter classes). I have great club involvement and have been selected for some prestigious club programs. I have 2 private equity internships and will be doing a third internship at a small investment bank in the summer. My composite Act is a 30 and a 31 super scored. My only major downfall is my abysmal Hs Gpa, which stands somewhere between 2.8-3.0 My career office has been useless in helping me and Im seeking advice on where to transfer and what should my strategy be(transfer after 1 year or 1.5 years). Im looking to transfer into a better business school price is not an issue.
Thanks in advance for your help and consideration !
Im very ambitious and would like to get an Investment Banking internship at a respectable firm my sophmore summer. From the people Ive spoken to on Wall Street it seems my college is holding me back a little when it comes to on campus recruitment and getting interviews. Also Baruch has no social life and the kids in my class have been generally very unfriendly . Commuting to the school from NJ takes 1 hour each way which is another big reason I guess.
Big firms do not recruit here or show interest for our students(other than diversity). I had to work my ass off to get my internships(3+ networking calls a day and hundreds of emails) and I would have to work even harder just for a chance to interview at Bulge Brackets or Elite Boutiques. Going to a better school would make this whole process a lot easier.
One of my D’s friends wanted to change colleges. Our HS guidance counselor told her that she needed to have 2 years of college under her belt if she wanted to wipe out her HS grades/ACT scores.
Thats kinda the question I came here to ask. Im not delusional about my chances, but at the same time I feel I would have a chance at schools like BC or Colgate.
Yes Ive heard similar stuff as well, but I cant stay for 2 years due to the accelerated recruitment in Banking id need to get out 1.5 years at the latest.
You haven’t answered blossom’s question about what school will make it easier for you. And a soph summer internship isn’t nearly as important as the one after junior year.
If you want to transfer now, your HS record will still be an important piece of the admissions decision.
What is your budget?
With that said, do LACs appeal? If so, look at Trinity and Connecticut College. I think BC and Colgate could make sense, but both are reaches. If you are certain you want to transfer you will also need an affordable safety. Marist does well placing students in banking and finance in NYC, and would probably be a highly likely admit for you.
I think I mentioned before that budget isnt an issue. Im looking to transfer into a strong finance program. Trinity, Conn and Marist all place worse than Baruch for banking so It wouldnt make sense. Location doesnt matter either im just looking for recs on strong finance schools that I would have an chance at getting into. Also in finance soph internships are crucial when you begin recruiting, but junior year is most important as the place you intern junior year is most likely where you will receive your full time offer from.
What source are you using for banking placement? Are BC and Colgate better than Baruch?
It seems like you have more criteria than just banking placement by college, or you wouldn’t be considering transferring. You need to prioritize your reasons for transferring, and then go from there.
Have you considered Fordham? SMU (really good banking placement, although some/maybe much of it not in NYC)?
My take-away is you are looking to transfer to a high prestige school because you want to go into one of the areas of banking that hires almost exclusively from prestige schools. Even if you manage to transfer to a high prestige college, the IB programs will be looking at numerous applicants from each of these colleges. If you don’t have any semesters under your belt from that prestigious college, won’t you still be at a disadvantage with the IB recruitment?
I’m tagging @privatebanker to see if they have any recommendations for you.
Thanks for the suggestions. I go off of school reports, linkedin and I also know recruiters at banks. SMU does not allow external transfers into the bschool and fordham places the same as Baruch, but costs triple the price. My biggest criteria is career placement anything else like (social life, cost campus) is just an added bonus.
1- Figure out “what do I bring to the college”, not “I want you to help me get a job at a prestigious bank”. These are colleges you are applying to- not apprenticeship programs at Goldman Sachs.
2- Identify the schools “within range” of both your HS and college stats- and figure out which of them are better/worse/similar to where you are.
3- Create a Plan B- what happens if you apply to transfer, don’t get in anywhere, what’s your move to optimizing your time at Baruch?
forget grad school for now. You’ll have solid work experience under your belt, you’ll have GMAT scores (which you will study like crazy for). Different ballgame entirely.
If you were my kid (and I’ve recruited for top tier financial institutions in my past life, although not right now) I’d advise that being one of the top three finance students at Baruch is a better “platform” for a career than being in the middle of the pack at NYU (not clear that’s a realistic target for you, just giving an example).
I -bank hiring is not a cakewalk for anyone; the banks are not hiring the college, they are hiring the student. The only exception to this is if you are a quant where coming from two handfuls of colleges is pretty much a guarantee. Not that you will get offers from every place you interview, but that you are highly likely to end up at one of your choices.
But you are not a quant. And most banks and boutiques are going to ask your SAT scores (yes, they will follow you) and they are going to be looking for a ton of leadership and innovation and all that jazz. So it seems to me that you’ve got better chances of breaking out of the pack at Baruch.
But you need a strategy of what to communicate- and “I want to get a better job on Wall Street so I want to attend your college” is not a winning strategy.
Shoot your shot. Take a look at UVA, Michigan, GT, Georgetown, UNC and other targets/semi-targets at that level. Maybe even NYU. The Ivies plus Duke are not realistic.
Thanks man, totally agree I having nothing to lose by applying. Will def try GTech and Gtown. I dont think Uva or Umich allow direct bschool transfers. I was looking at Cornells ILR or Hotel school what do u think about my chance for those?
Of course you can give it a try but I think you might have a better shot to transfer as a junior. Once you have two years of college grades/activities etc. your HS grades/ACT will be way less important.
Hotel School is not a feeder to banks except for narrow roles in real estate valuation. So you’d face the same challenges of trying to get on the interview schedule as you have right now- made much more complicated by being in Ithaca and not in NYC.
Take a look at the courses in ILR- do any of them interest you?