Adventis has built a strong presence at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where several campus organizations encourage, and in some cases require, members to complete the Financial Modeling Certification® (FMC®) Program. Tej, a rising junior, discovered Adventis through those campus connections early in his college career. Since then, he has built a track record spanning a private equity internship at Water Street Healthcare Partners and an upcoming investment banking internship with J.P. Morgan's M&A group in Chicago.

Finding Adventis Through Campus Connections

As a freshman, Tej didn't know exactly what a career in high finance looked like, but he made it a goal to say yes to every opportunity in front of him. That mindset led him to a professional business fraternity, a social fraternity, and an introductory investment banking club, where upperclassmen mentors became models for the career he wanted to pursue. It was through those same campus circles that he first heard about Adventis. "I know U of I has a pretty decent connection with Adventis, and we have a couple of clubs on campus that highly suggest, or even require, you to do the certification." Heading into his sophomore year, he saw the FMC® Program as more than a resume line. 

"Adventis was a one-stop shop to connect everything for me, from the modeling experience to understanding how the numbers connect to other resources like the 400 Questions Guide."

Turning Time Pressure Into a Competitive Edge

Tej had done some modeling on his own before enrolling, but the FMC® Program's timed exam structure pushed him further than he expected. 

"Only having 90 minutes and not being able to make any major errors puts you in a real-world situation. When you're on the desk in banking, you have to be dialed in and get things done in a timely manner." 

That preparation paid off in recruiting. Before starting his sophomore summer private equity internship, his firm asked incoming interns to complete Adventis in advance. "I had already gotten it done, so they said I was ahead of the game." The certification also became a natural conversation starter in interviews. 

"They would see that this kid has passed a three-statement model and the multiple-choice that goes with it, so he has certain credentials. It helps you settle in and meet the person across the table, rather than jumping right into technical questions."

From a Chicago PE Internship to J.P. Morgan

That preparation carried Tej from a private equity internship at Water Street Healthcare Partners in Chicago to an incoming investment banking internship with J.P. Morgan's M&A group, also in Chicago. Along the way, he leaned on a broader community of Adventis peers and alumni on campus. 

"Even if I had a modeling question I didn't fully understand, there were so many resources, both older students who had completed the program and people going through it with me. It was nice having that community on campus." 

His advice to freshmen considering Adventis is to start early. Tej's experience reflects a pattern seen across top investment banking candidates who take financial modeling early: the sooner students build the skill, the more time they have before recruiting ramps up. Tej's path from campus organizations to J.P. Morgan shows how early preparation through Adventis can shape a competitive finance career.