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Prospective / Incoming Students

About the IBG
With over 500 first- and second-year members, the IBG is the largest student group on campus. We are especially active during the recruiting season (fall quarter and early winter quarter), as we try to bring new students up to speed on the banking industry, what to expect from the recruiting process, and how to best prepare for interviews and recruiting events. Please browse this site to learn more about what we and the GSB have to offer with respect to careers in banking, and don't hesitate to contact us at ibg-cochairs at chicagogsb.edu should you have any questions.

Joining the IBG
The IBG is open only to full-time GSB students, and our activities (including Bank Week and conferences) are open only to IBG members. Students join early in the fall quarter, with two-year memberships costing $100 and one-year memberships costing $60. These dues go toward funding our conferences and events (which are free for members to attend) and toward subsidizing professional training seminars the IBG arranges for members.

Preparing for the GSB
Many incoming students have questions about what they can do over the summer to prepare for their classes and for recruiting for jobs in investment banking.

With respect to courses, most students pursuing Corporate Finance complete concentrations in Accounting and Finance while those interested in Sales & Trading take concentrations in Analytic Finance and possibly Economics or Econometrics and Statistics. You can explore the GSB concentrations page to learn about the required courses and their descriptions for each concentration, and also see the Courses page on this site to get a feel for the kinds of classes you may be taking in your first year to prepare for summer internships.

The best thing you can do to prepare for recruiting before coming to the GSB is to read the papers. The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Economist are good places to start. Those interested in Sales & Trading should focus on understanding what's going on in financial markets and the macroeconomy, both domestic and international. You should have a good idea who Ben Bernanke is and what he thinks. For those targeting corporate finance, read The Deal and Financial News Online to learn about the latest deals, movers & shakers. Other periodicals worth looking into include Business Week, Fortune, and Barrons.

We also recommend getting yourself familiar with the investment banking industry and what a career in investment banking entails.  You can do this by reading industry guides by Vault and Wet Feet, as well as the IBG website.  Recommended summer reading includes Barbarians at the Gate, Monkey Business, The Big Deal, and The Predator’s Ball (additional recommendations can be found in the Resources section of the IBG website). 

And most importantly, enjoy your summer vacation!