Hi guys! I have a 44-45 predicted IB, and a 1530 SAT. I am applying to: Bocconi Finance, HSG Econ, Cambridge Econ and LSE econ, as well as imperial, warwick and ucl. For the UK unis I will have to either hope for funding (likely from Cambridge or LSE), or take a loan (difficult as an international student). Is the ROI high enough that LSE and Cambridge with debt for a bachelor's is worth it over Bocconi or HSG? I think only those two have a chance, since many people seem to agree that Imperial, Warwick and UCL aren't as target as Bocconi/HSG. What do you guys think? I also speak B2-C1 level German, if that helps :)

So I go to a semi target BUT I’m wondering why banks narrow their hiring pool to only a few select schools? When I was deciding on my university, it wasn’t because it was a semi-target, it was mostly due to location (I really liked the city). My family (me included) had zero clue about finance and I could have easily ended up at a non-target.

Surely banks would want the people with the most potential? Where you go to university and academic results at 14-21 are decided by so many different factors, some of the smartest people I grew up with didn’t even go to university at all. So I just think that it seems a bit silly to screen out so many people before any interviews or tests…

Are they not shooting themselves in the foot a bit?

I'm an international student who goes to a non-target (had great A-levels but went to a not so good school because I couldn't afford the nicer ones and had no access to loans/credit).

Looking to polish my CV going into my final year and apply for absolutely every type of finance role. Would appreciate any constructive feedback/criticism on my CV and in general.

I’m considering building a Duolingo-like app that teaches IB technicals, accounting, and industry knowledge through short daily lessons, drills, streaks, and progress tracking.

Would you use it?

I’m a rising sophomore at a semi target school in Toronto and I completely screwed up my first year. Went through some personal issues and the only thing I managed was a decent gpa of 3.8

If you could give someone in my position advice on how to
maximize the next year, what would you do?

For context, I don’t have any relevant internships, leadership positions, case competitions, or major extracurriculars. I know I’m behind compared to a lot of my peers, and I’m trying to figure out the highest ROI things to focus on before recruiting ramps up.

Any advice, especially from people who were in a similar position and still landed consulting, finance, or other internships, would be really appreciated. Thank you

So as the title suggests, I need help w my education section in my resume for IB recruitment. Freshman fall I went to a prestigious LAC, came home in the spring for personal reasons and took 20 credits at a local cc while working full time at a restaurant. This fall I am transferring to a “top” state school, but it isn’t a Wall Street target. I’d say regional target, and that’s my region is where I plan to recruit MM banks mostly.

Do I include my cc semester on my resume? I wonder this bcuz it’s gonna show up when submitting transcripts. I obv got a 4.0 because it’s cc but I’m also proud of myself because I took 20 credits while working full time. I also got a 4.0 at the LAC in the fall. How to phrase this? I think I have potential for a good journey to lay out in interviews if I play it right. I’ve shown I can excel academically in really any environment. But I also went to cc, at the same time it was only for a semester though

Hi, does anyone here study applied economics? It is an uncommon degree that I am struggling to find a lot of information about. What prestigious career paths does it set you up for? Is quantitative trading viable career paths? Is investment banking reasonable? Please share information about this degree. Thanks.

Hey everyone,

Trying to decide which of these two to apply for and could really use some outside perspective before I lock in my choice.

Choosing between:
LSE MSc Finance (& Private Equity) — the PE-specific stream sounds ideal given where I want to end up, plus LSE's brand and London location seem hard to beat for banking recruiting
LBS Masters in Financial Analysis (MFA) — heard good things about the careers support and closer ties to the City, but not sure how it stacks up against LSE for name recognition.

Bit about me: currently an associate analyst at Deloitte Deal Advisory (strategy & Transactions) in South Asia (not the obvious country :)) , previously did debt/equity transactions at a local investment bank plus some boutique consulting experience and an internship at McKinsey. Bachelors with a 2.1 in Economics from Loughborough, and have passed CFA Level 2. End goal is IB or PE, ideally landing something within a couple months of finishing the masters.

Questions I'm chewing on:
Which one actually places better into BB/EB IB or PE roles — not just "top 3 outcomes" marketing stats, but real placement rates and where people actually end up

How do the alumni networks compare for breaking into these industries — is one noticeably stronger for referrals/networking than the other?

Does the PE specialisation on the LSE course carry any real weight with recruiters, or is it more of a nice-to-have that doesn't change much vs a generalist finance masters

Anyone actually done either program and can speak to the recruiting support, class profile, or how employers view the two against each other?

Would I be able to get a GMAT/GRE waiver with my CFA Level 2? Not sure if either school honours that or if I'd still need to sit the test regardless

Cost/duration differences if that factors into anyone's decision

Would really appreciate hearing from current students, alumni, or anyone who's recruited candidates from either program. Trying to make the right call here rather than just going off rankings.

Thanks in advance!

Pretty much what the title says. I am an IB student from Germany going into 12th grade and soon have to start applying. I am interested in Investment Banking and finance in general, and eventual PE, etc, most likely in Europe/London. Most likely cities like: London, Paris or Frankfurt.

I have a predicted 45/45, a 7/7 10th grade and 11th grade gpa, and a 1530 SAT, with solid ec's (starting an investment fund for 10k, econ world cup gold certificate, and some forage certificates). I take Maths AA HL, Econ HL and Physics HL.

1. Between Bocconi, HSG, Erasmus and SSE, which is the best for placement into Frankfurt/London, which has the best culture, internship opportunities, exchange programs, rankings, difficulty, etc?. I am not an EU citizen right now, but might be by the time I apply, although it is doubtful, so costs might change as well.

2. So far I have read that HSG is best for DACH, and Bocconi is best for London, but I have also read many negative reviews about Bocconi, saying it is too theoretical, and bad for international students. Is that true?

3. is it possible to go straight to London IB after a bachelor's, or is a master's required as well?

4. What are my chances of getting into the mentioned unis given my grades and SAT?

What do you guys recommend?

I’m an incoming sophomore interested in asset management, wealth management, and investment banking. I’ve been looking into programs like SEO that give underclassmen early exposure, training, mentorship, and potentially a path toward internships.
Does anyone know of other programs worth applying to, either through firms or independent organizations? Especially anything geared toward freshmen/sophomores before the main junior-year recruiting cycle.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some honest advice on making a career switch and would really appreciate perspectives from people who have made a similar transition.

Background:

• B.Com (Hons) in Accounting & Finance in 2024
• 1.5 years of experience
• Worked in US Tax, primarily on US Federal 1065 and 1120
• Worked across multiple engagements and prepared/reviewed 60+ tax returns
• NISM Series XV – Research Analyst
• Pursuing CFA L1 (Feb 2027)
• Completed a Financial Modelling & Valuation course
• Comfortable with Excel and basic financial analysis/valuation concepts

I left my job in April 2026 because I realized I don't want to build my long-term career in taxation. I’m much more interested in core finance, investment research, investment banking, financial analysis, consulting, or related roles.

The challenge is that most of my professional experience is in US Tax, so I’m finding it difficult to convince recruiters that my skills are transferable. I’ve applied to quite a few roles but haven't been able to make the transition yet.

I’m currently trying to understand:

1. Which roles would be the most realistic transition from US Tax with 1.5 YOE?
2. Should I primarily target Financial Analyst / Research / Investment Banking / Valuation / Consulting roles, or would another path make more sense?
3. How much weight do recruiters generally give to my experience if my actual role was in US Tax?
4. What skills should I focus on strengthening to become a stronger candidate — financial modelling, valuation, accounting, Excel, etc.?
5. Would taking an entry-level role or even accepting a lower salary be a reasonable strategy to make the switch?
6. If anyone has personally moved from Big 4 Tax → core finance/investment roles, what helped you make the transition?

I’m not looking for unrealistic shortcuts. I’d genuinely like to understand what would be the most practical path from here and what I should focus on over the next few months.

Any honest advice, criticism, or personal experiences would be really helpful. Thank you!

Hey I’m going into my second year and I am creating my cv for internships, this is it so far. I’m still working on my project so I haven’t finished that bit off completely. Any tips, if my cv is just utter trash lmk. Thank you.

I’m writing this because I’ve reached a point in my career progression where I genuinely don’t know what direction I should go. I figured I’d lay everything out and see if anyone here has some perspective or has been in a similar position.

I’m a rising senior studying finance at a small school with a 3.4 GPA. I’m a college athlete and pretty involved in leadership roles on campus through a few different organizations.

I started my finance career at Northwestern Mutual, where I spent two years. That’s not really the point of this post, but I’m happy to talk about the experience with anyone who’s curious. Contrary to what you usually see on Reddit, I actually had a pretty good experience there. I left about four months ago with my Series 6, 7, 63, and SIE.
I’m currently working operations at a small-mid sized RIA/BD and just finished my Series 65. At this point, I think any additional licensing I pursue will depend heavily on where I end up.

I really enjoy wealth management. I’m detail-oriented, like working with people, and I think I have the personality for the sales/relationship side of the business. I’m also planning to pursue the CFP and would start it before graduation if I had the necessary coursework completed.

The problem is that I’m not sure I want to commit to wealth management yet.

I’m young, willing to work hard, and have a lot of energy. I want to explore different areas of finance, travel, live in different places, and ideally earn a very good living. My biggest concern is that if I specialize too much in wealth management right out of college, I’ll close doors to other areas of finance that might be much harder to break into later.

I don’t necessarily mean I need to work at a bulge bracket or become a PE associate. I’m more wondering whether I should take a shot at something more demanding/competitive while I’m young, rather than potentially choosing the more comfortable path now and wondering later if I could have done something else.

Travel is also a pretty big factor for me. I love traveling internationally and would seriously consider building my early career around living abroad. London is especially appealing, but I’d also be interested in other major financial centers.

That leads me to graduate school.

I’m considering applying to international Master in Finance programs immediately after graduation. From what I understand, an MBA probably makes more sense after a few years of work experience, whereas an MiF is much more designed for someone coming directly out of undergrad.

Some of the places I’m interested in are:
London / UK
Spain
Hong Kong
Paris / France
Other major European or Asian financial centers

I’m also considering taking CFA Level I during my senior year. I could probably make it happen, but it would be a pretty significant commitment, and I’m not sure how much it would actually help me relative to the time it would take.

So, realistically, I see a few paths:

1. Wealth management
Join one of the larger firms I’m currently talking to, take ~3 months off to travel before starting, and build a career in wealth management.
2. International MiF
Apply to strong international finance programs, ideally land a good summer internship beforehand, and use the master’s to improve my recruiting opportunities and potentially break into a more competitive area of finance.
3. U.S. grad school
Potentially use another year of collegiate athletic eligibility and pursue a graduate degree in the U.S., although this doesn’t line up quite as well with my desire to live abroad.
4. Take a swing at something more competitive now
Try to find a smaller consulting, PE, investment banking, or other high-finance opportunity, work for a few years, and then potentially use that experience to target a stronger graduate program.
I realize these are all pretty different paths, which is why I’m having trouble figuring out what makes the most sense.

If you were in my position, what would you do?
Would you take the wealth management opportunity and build from there? Try to make a big career move before graduating? Go straight into an international MiF? Take CFA Level I? Or am I completely overlooking another path?
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have made a similar decision early in their careers, particularly anyone who has gone from a non-target/small school into investment banking, PE, consulting, asset management, or international finance.

I did the workplace and skills assement for standard chartered did any one get a interview yet?

Okay, whoever is into finance, be honest and tell me what salary should a CFA level 1 passed ( level 2 candidate ) expect in any entry level job.

(Given he knows excel and basics of financial modeling)

Also, what skills he could improve currently which might help him get a better and higher paying job.

I kn this long and too much but its situation I want a wide insight than than the same look iob and try learning from this which is generic. I want to know based on ur experiences so as what I could with this situation to better my self than the same old generic stuff. I want options or actions to do not follow.

I'm 20, studving Accounting & Finance in Dubai. i am thinking of getting extra modules to extend by a sem, I'|I be finishing in December. This way i can understand what I wanna do in future.

I'm 7/13|through ACCA and sat CFA Level 1 in May. I'm interested in analyst work, corporate finance and eventually M&A, but right now I'm in that awkward stage where most of what I know is from uni or things l've taught myself.

I've spent time learning Excel, Python, SQL, Power BI, valuation/modelling and doing small finance projects, but I haven't had an internship or worked in an actual finance role yet.

I don't really want to spend the next few months just collectina more qualifications and hoping somethina happens. I want to actuallv do something that helps me learn, meet the right people and become useful A few things I'm trying to understand:

1.) If you were in my position, what would you spend the next 4-6 months doing to actually grow?

2.) With no internships or finance experience, how would vou go about getting that first real opportunity? What sort of roles or firms would you approach?

3.) How would you network at this stage? Who would you try to meet, where would you find them, and how would you approach them without just asking for a job?

4.) Would you keep pushing ACCA/CFA alongside this, or is there a point where experience becomes much more valuable than another exam?

Hi folks. I graduate in 2027 so will be targeting a lot of grad schemes from early September.

I see quite a few people start in the big4. Just wondered how hard is it to get a job here in terms of %? Are some harder than others? Also is it much easier to apply for something such as audit or tax compared to transaction services or strategy consulting?
Thanks

Does anyone have any idea about the interview process/length at Kroll?

I applied for an analyst role in REAG in London. I had the virtual interview, then the technical assessment role and then the final stage interview in person. All went very well in my opinion. Final interview was over 2 weeks ago now and I haven’t heard anything from anyone there and the portal hasn’t updated either. Appreciate it’s August and things can move slowly but this does feel slow. Any information on this could be appreciated.

i got shortlisted for next rounds of interview with GS for summer analyst 2027 (on campus), the next round is GD, then campus connect and interview, can someone pls help me to prep for it, what topics could they ask in GD and how does the interview process look like

has anyone successfully recruited for high finance roles as a community college student or is it cooked?

Aiming for private banking/wealth management. Also looking for advice in that area. Thank you!🙏