How to get into Harvard and other Ivy league schools from 2018 Harvard Valedictorian Chris Egi
Chris Egi (@chrisegi15) was the valedictorian of the Harvard University 2018 class and captain of the Men’s Varsity Basketball team. He is currently an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in the Special Situations Group - Private Capital Investing. He was also the captain of the Canadian Mens’ U-19 national basketball team. He is the founder of No More Names, an organization committed to criminal justice reform and ending Police Brutality.
📺 Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/8Q2QWkUinHU
Atila Tech’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/
No More Names - 10,000 voices: https://10000voices.nomorenames.co
Finding Michael Brown at Harvard, Article by Chris Egi: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/basketball-christopher-egi-michael-brown-harvard
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atilatech1/posts/836734463481812
Twitter: https://twitter.com/atilatech/status/1258786166117187590
If you want to learn more about the best Universities for getting jobs at Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, Pfizer and more, check out our Atila Schools and Jobs Guide.
Chris’ advice on how to get into Harvard and other Ivey League Schools? [24:50]
Chris: “It’s a transformative experience... I feel like you should set your goals on being the type of person that you think would get into Harvard. I feel like Harvard tries their best to cultivate a class of special human beings and I think your focus should be less on getting into Harvard and just focus on being a better person. Whether that’s learning more, focusing on your academics, become a more well rounded by academics, sports, extracurriculars, giving back to your community. I think if you do all that stuff with the right intentions and the intention is not necessarily going to Harvard but just being a better you”
How did you get jobs at Bain and Goldman? [1:12:15]
Chris: “They both came about through campus recruiting. So Goldman was funny because I was actually looking for a summer job in Toronto. I didn’t really know much. I didn't know what Goldman was, a few of my friends had applied. So I was looking for a summer job in Toronto on the school campus page. And I thought ‘Oh, Goldman has an opportunity in Toronto. I go through the application process, I get an interview. I remember after hearing that I got an interview for an investment banking role, I called my cousin who had worked at Goldman previously and was like “So What’s investment banking?” [laughs]
I had no clue. It was a real period of… I had to learn quick. I ended up being fortunate to get the offer. Then when I got the offer I realized it was a New York position. I was like “Oh It’s not in Toronto. I remember being on the phone with my mom, I don’t think I’m going to take this. She was like what do you mean you’re not going to take this. You’re going to take this. We can figure out the basketball later. This is a special opportunity. I wanted to be in Toronto to be with my trainer. I’m grateful I made that choice.
The Bain opportunity. It’s a program called BEL and it’s basically an opportunity to do a weeklong summer program during your sophomore program to learn more about consulting. I really enjoyed my experience, I worked in the LA office for a week. I found out about it through friends, I applied. Similar thing honestly. I had no clue what management consulting really was until I applied. I learned that they do these things called Case interviews, I learnt how to do a case interview a day before the interview. I’ve been fortunate, God has blessed me, I’ve been lucky, hard work meets opportunity. Whatever you want to call it.
I’ve been fortunate to get those two internships. Once you get them, it’s a grind and you just work hard. I was training for basketball this time. I was getting up at 5:30, work out from 6-7:30. Get into the office from 8:30-9. In the office from 9-midnight. Up at 5:30 the next day getting your basketball work and doing it again. I was also doing two-a-days, so I was working out at night. It’s definitely a grind.
If you want to learn more about the best Canadian Universities for getting jobs at Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, Pfizer and more, check out our Atila Schools and Jobs Guide.
Chris’ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisegi24/
Chris’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisegi15/
Chris’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tademidun/
Tomiwa’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tademidun/
Tomiwa’s website: https://tomiwa.ca
Jacob’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-munene-4561a4153/
Atila LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atila-tech/
Tomiwa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomiwa1a
Tomiwa’s twitter: https://twitter.com/tomiwa1a
Jacob’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/munenejr
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Chris Egi is the valedictorian of the Harvard University 2018 class and captain of the varsity basketball team. Currently an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in the Special Situations Group. He was also the captain of the Canadian youth ...
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