The "Am I good enough for Investment Banking/Consultancy?" Thread

But my High School Grade conversion from my Home place according in line to US grade is AAAAA. If it not had been the case I presume my application would have been rejected in the initial screening stage for this summer application. just my thought

Tends to be first sitting... Banks want intelligent people, and BCC makes you look average. I mean, anyone intelligent can get a B in A level by just turning up to lessons etc then doing the exam.

But my High School Grade conversion from my Home place according in line to US grade is AAAAA. If it not had been the case I presume my application would have been rejected in the initial screening stage for this summer application. just my thought. I am also planning to take extra math modules in my 3rd year. I guess need to network even more this year.

In that case I don't think your grades are that much of a problem. If you were getting numerous interviews then it is not that which is holding you back. I noticed with some firms I would often get interviews for intern/grad positions (mainly American) whereas other firms were just not interested (mainly French and Swiss) - I think it may have been my course.

Do u think I shld still go for the intern role next year or try to improve my interview skills and compete in the grad scheme. I am thinking applying half places for intern and half for grad scheme.

thing is I have already did my A levels equivalent in my home country before I did it again in England. the grades I obtained in England where all in first sitting but I did not take it seriously as I was just filling up my 3 yrs time. because I had the choice to work full time for 3 yrs or go college do A level. as i thought taking 3 years break from studying would put me off getting back to education just wanted to continue the study rythm. do admit i did not take the whole thing seriously but i can just put down my A level grades from my home country rather than the one I did it in England.

Do this - apply for grad roles at what you consider Tier 2 banks, and intern places at what you consider Tier 1 banks.

I got 11A*s at GCSE, 45 points at IB and have an unconditional offer from Cambridge to do History. I started my own business at 13 and made a reasonable profit.

However for every gap year program or work experience scheme in the city I've applied for in the last two years I haven't even made it past the first stage - including Deloitte and a few others. I'm currently plagued with self doubt - did the fact I didn't do Higher Maths or Economics count against me and will I still find it hard getting internships etc. at uni?

I understand this may sound whiny and I'm going to get negged for it but if anyone could give me some advice I'd be very grateful.

A history degree from Cambridge is perfect unless you apply for very mathsy roles. you should check out your CV and how good you are at u99nterviews. If you don't mind saying what is your business that you've started?

Selling language courses. Thanks for the reply. Do you think I would need to have a sound grasp of economics to be considered for internships?

you will need a good grasp of finance, not economics.

People not having a good grasp of economics is one of the reasons the financial crisis happened

I agree. But right now the OP is trying to get an internship, not fix the economy. Financial knowledge is what they need.

Well, currently i am studying a-level Maths,chemistry, Geography, English and General studies and i was just wondering what course at uni i will need to do that would help me become an investment banker? even which uni to go to would be a great help.

Thanks

What would the possibilities for someone with a decent (probably not outstanding) BSc in MechEng from ETH Zurich be concerning Graduate Programs at the "prestigious Unis" etc. ?

This.


I have already now read most of the popular science economics books (Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner, Nicholas Nassim Taleb, Tim Harford and the likes) but due to being a bit unsure about my further career have opted to first study Mech Eng. in Zurich. also because of the possibility to (hopefully) finish with a M-TECH Masters...

Any rough guidelines or informations for me?
For me this is more along the lines of "What if I were to decide to do this rather than something else and if so, could I actually pursue this career path", rather than "I absolutely need to be an investment banker"

To add:
I have just finished with my German Abitur and only so far sent out the application to Zurich, but am confident that I will pass the entrance exam. But since I am still a bit undecided about my future career as you may have noticed, i thought I may as well ask if this still is an option for me.

What would a person finishing 1st year of a medicine degree w/o any EC or WE related to finance have to do to secure an internship. This is a 5 yr course btw, can be 6 year if i want it to be?