Cutthroat competition

I just read “The Running of the Bulls – Inside the cutthroat race from Wharton to Wall Street”. It is a fascinating book by Nicole Ridgway (now Senior Editor of SmartMoney) – that describes the life of an undergraduate at Wharton (arguably the best undergrad program in the US for finance). It outlines the intense competition, drive and hunger of the students in their 4 years at the school. The book takes us through the experiences of 6 students – as they go thru brutal interviews for the 10 week summer internship. Students work 100-120 hours seven days a week at firms like Goldman Sachs, Lazard Feres, Citigroup, McKinsey, General Mills, etc – just to keep up. The author then takes us into the interview process (case studies, quantitative technical questions, situational interviews, etc) with the jobs they land after graduation.

The author has selected the 6 students with enough diversity that their stories do not seem monotonous. One of them is Shreevar Kheruka (whose family owns Borosil group) - from my hometown, Bombay. It is an easy read that is sure to take you back to your school/college days.

The book also mentions Kellogg alum and the superstar of Lazard Feres - Gary Parr (Deputy Chairman). It outlines Gary mentoring one of the 6 students. Gary helped broker the $58 billion transaction that merged JP Morgan Chase with Bank One.