I'm a rising sophomore that attends a target in NYC. My cumulative GPA is a 3.4/4.0 [3.378, to be more precise]. I had a summer internship that lasted through July (now ended) at a non profit healthcare startup company in a big city that is not NYC. They basically had a project to raise 20+m in the form of grants for outreach purposes, and I basically worked on a few budget models, expense reports, and a huge spreadsheet that specified all the metrics and outreach of their network for their project--- counties served, estimated population of uninsured people per county, even used a few vlookups to improve my efficiency. I don't feel like I learned much, but can definitely mention all this in my resume and talk about how i even worked 60+ hours during my first two weeks (I know this is just for two weeks, but I figured it may sound somewhat impressive, given that I was expected to work only for 20 hours).
I've read a lot about investment banking, tasks, lifestyle, and have even learned the basics of modeling dcfs, comps, etc and have become proficient on excel on my own, and im certain i'd like to at the very least try IBanking out (i find valuation interesting, so yes, i spent a lot of time reading about it). I'd like to intern next summer at a BB or an elite boutique. First, I'm unsure as to which group I'd like to work with -- how did you all decide which group to work for, be it services or industry, TMT or M&A or Restructuring. Secondly, should I be worried about the GPA? I may sound paranoid, but it seems as if a 3.5 is a requirement, or else you won't even get a call. I was thinking of grabbing a fall internship, as I just saw an opening at a F500 company that has a MM IB division, but I'd be worried my GPA would go below a 3.4. Also thinking of applying to Inroads / SEO, as I am Hispanic and would be an idiot not to use that to my advantage when it comes to the competitive process of recruiting.
Any advice as far as what I can do in regards to choosing groups / finding more about them, the fall internship given my GPA, and maximizing chances to break into IB, in general?
Sorry about the post being long, and appreciate and welcome any answers / feedback / advice.