Stock Trading and Other Things

Is it possible to become an Investment Banker without going to an Ivy League College?

I'm right now going to a Community College to save up money on school and I doubt that i will be able to transfer to Harvard or any Ivy League after i am done with transferring. But i have a strong interest in the Economy, Stock Markets and what's going on in Wall Street considering i spend a lot my spare time on the computer learning about Forex Trading, Day Trading, Wall Street, The Economy and the Stock Market. If I go to a Private or a State University, be involved with all my school Business associations and all other extracirriculuars, get 3.5+ GPAs, would i still be able to land a job at a Bulge Bracket firm like Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Lehman, JP Morgan/Bear Stearns? Or can i end up at a boutique? (NOTE: I am planning to graduate college in 2012.)

Public Comments

1. That's a big yes. Perhaps you will never be as successful, but you can theoretically earn a position at the big names in banking. The difference between Ivy grads and those who come from a state school is that the Ivy grads usually have a more cut-throat personality that lends itself to a higher degree of achievement.

If you can maintain well above a 3.5 GPA from a good school and get into a great MBA program, you could earn a position at a top firm (once the economy recovers). As the below answerer mentioned, firms aren't even hiring the most qualified grads right now. But hopefully things will stabilize by the time you earn your MBA.

Don't shy away from student loans. If you can get into a great school, bite the bullet and GO. In the end, it will definitely pay off.

2. Sure, you can but it'll be extremely difficult. I-banks love the Ivies and Stanford and this year they turned them away in droves. People I know with double relevant majors, internship experience, and over 4.0 gpas were still turned away. You might be better off aiming for a boutique, but keep in mind that personality and confidence are a HUGE factor.

Also, um, did you just name Lehman? Are you confused?

3. It's very possible to get into Investment Banking without going to an Ivy League College, but you should try as hard as possible to land at a Target School.

Northwestern, Cornell, Georgetown and UVA aren't too hard to get into as a transfer and they're targets for most, if not all of the Bulge Brackets. Other schools that don't recruited as well as the aforementioned, but can still help you land at a Bulge Bracket are Notre Dame, USC, Berkeley, UNC, Emory and Vanderbilt

Cornell Transfer Link...http://cornellsun.com/node/26216

4. The advantage of an ivy league college is connections/networking. The bottom line is it doesn't matter where you go to school...in the long run....just that you learn your subject.

Lots of people graduate from these schools every year and make nothing of themselves. Why? Lack of ambition, book smart but no depth, intellectual but without common sense.

You might not start out with the network in place, but if you are really ambitious and know your stuff, you can succeed in anything.

5. Yeah, get whatever GPA you need (really good, though) and by the way - Wall Street DOES NOT CARE if you were in the wrestling team. Really. They don't.

Show that you're an amazing banker.

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