Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 17:46     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
I think both of these things are probably true (Middlebury as “second tier” tier NESCAC and also very good w/ finance recruitment). At least I’m hoping it’s not first tier, as it’s my DCs top choice this year and seems hard enough to get into without getting lumped into WASP territory.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 13:30     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Anonymous wrote:Middlebury is several steps behind Williams and Amherst and a step behind Bowdoin.


Not sure who the Middlebury hater is but if people are serious about IB or Consulting Middlebury is very strong. The "Middlebury Mafia" is a real thing.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 13:26     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My DC is at an Ivy playing a sport. It seems like a great conversation starter for her at fairs and in interviews.

I think the athlete network thing is overhyped. At least she has not seen it. She really does not have time to network, not like how the kids in finance clubs at her school do.

For the best finance jobs, they just want the smartest kids with quantitative skills. They’ll take a physics major over a tennis player any day.

For her, her sport continues to teach things that will carry forward. The biggest are accountability and time management and drive. But when you drop your resume at JPM they want to see first and foremost your GPA and the classes you are taking (the more math the better).


This is accurate.

Have a relative who was an athlete at Duke. Close friends with many of his teammates. One Dad heads up an IB firm. While Duke places well in finance, relative got nothing, but math is his weakness.



Wildly inaccurate. You need some baseline math skills but they aren't hard. If your hypothesis was the case significant numbers of Humanities majors would not be hired out of the Ivy League and NESCAC schools into IB and MBB year after year yet they are. A math major might have an edge but except for the very niche area of qant trading it isn't necessary at all.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 13:20     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Anonymous wrote:I do want to acknowledge that lax bros, golf, & tennis players do well and hiring folks state that the three or four week course given by the firm teaches one everything that they need to get rolling, but I suspect that this leeway is just given to a few recruits while the others have substantial math/physics background.

Each Wall Street firm sets their own recruiting methods; some use tests (mostly math) as a screening/interviewing device. Not sure how widespread this is.


That assumption is wildly incorrect for most banking jobs. The banking is pretty easy and the math very straightforward which is why they have no problem hiring humanities majors. The firms are serious when they say that they can train the "banking" part. It is the drive, grit, and soft skills that win the day in the end. Athletes from elite schools are so successful because they have all of the baseline material in terms of education and resilience.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 08:57     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
I do want to acknowledge that lax bros, golf, & tennis players do well and hiring folks state that the three or four week course given by the firm teaches one everything that they need to get rolling, but I suspect that this leeway is just given to a few recruits while the others have substantial math/physics background.

Each Wall Street firm sets their own recruiting methods; some use tests (mostly math) as a screening/interviewing device. Not sure how widespread this is.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 08:52     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Anonymous wrote:My DC is at an Ivy playing a sport. It seems like a great conversation starter for her at fairs and in interviews.

I think the athlete network thing is overhyped. At least she has not seen it. She really does not have time to network, not like how the kids in finance clubs at her school do.

For the best finance jobs, they just want the smartest kids with quantitative skills. They’ll take a physics major over a tennis player any day.

For her, her sport continues to teach things that will carry forward. The biggest are accountability and time management and drive. But when you drop your resume at JPM they want to see first and foremost your GPA and the classes you are taking (the more math the better).


This is accurate.

Have a relative who was an athlete at Duke. Close friends with many of his teammates. One Dad heads up an IB firm. While Duke places well in finance, relative got nothing, but math is his weakness.

Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 08:50     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
depends on the sport
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 08:45     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Anonymous wrote:My DC is at an Ivy playing a sport. It seems like a great conversation starter for her at fairs and in interviews.

I think the athlete network thing is overhyped. At least she has not seen it. She really does not have time to network, not like how the kids in finance clubs at her school do.

For the best finance jobs, they just want the smartest kids with quantitative skills. They’ll take a physics major over a tennis player any day.

For her, her sport continues to teach things that will carry forward. The biggest are accountability and time management and drive. But when you drop your resume at JPM they want to see first and foremost your GPA and the classes you are taking (the more math the better).


The emphasized parts explain themselves.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 08:38     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Anonymous wrote:Middlebury is several steps behind Williams and Amherst and a step behind Bowdoin.


The correct ranking for Wall Street/finance placements among LACs is:

1) Williams
2) Claremont McKenna
3) Middlebury
4) Amherst



5) Bowdoin
6) Colgate
7) Wellesley

The top 4 are close together; the next 3 are a good bit below in their Wall Street placements.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 08:09     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Anonymous wrote:Middlebury is several steps behind Williams and Amherst and a step behind Bowdoin.


We’re talking about getting jobs in finance, not USNews rankings. Bowdoin isn’t close to the others in this respect.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 08:06     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
the only alumni help from a sport will be from the lax bros and maybe 2 or 3 SLACs - Williams Amherst and W&L
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 06:49     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
UF—you can easily get jobs throughout the state and will never be without a job during your working career.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2025 02:34     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Former ACC / T25 non revenue athlete.

Frankly, it doesn’t open any doors. That’s all a bunch of garbage. However, what got you there can take you where you want to go.
Anonymous
Post 10/03/2025 23:38     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DC currently interested in a career in finance - will being a top athlete on a Patriot League team open doors? or just potentially with alumni from that school? thx!


Patriot League includes West Point and Annapolis. Besides Wharton, I really can’t think of a better launch into finance and consulting than being an Army or Navy athlete. That is a deep network.

But being an athlete at BU, Holy Cross and elsewhere definitely helps too. A football player at this level has grit, discipline, teamwork - all the things the corporate world values.

Being a D1 athlete in the major team sports is a huge advantage in corporate America.


How does this work from Army or Navy? the kid does his service commitment (4 or 5 years at say the Pentagon or in Germany (we know both right now) or wherever...) and then goes straight to Wall Street?
Anonymous
Post 10/03/2025 23:33     Subject: How much does being a D1 athlete (mid tier athletics) help w/
Middlebury is several steps behind Williams and Amherst and a step behind Bowdoin.