<p>I am a high school junior, and have always been interested in investment banking and business in general. Through certain connections, I have obtained an opportunity to work as an intern in London at GS for the summer. How prestigious does this look? Especially to HYPSM, UChicago, Rice, etc.? I'm doing this because I love doing it, so please don't tell me that prestige doesn't matter; it is merely another factor. Thanks</p>
<p>It looks incredibly prestigious. all that I have on my internship is a resume with an economist at the local university! </p>
<p>Way to go dude do it!</p>
<p>GS is a powerful investment bank (see: one phone call to the right gov’t official got them billions of dollars they needed in order to stay afloat) and 9/10 admissions staff would recognize the name. That being said, something else that will be obvious to admissions is that your parent’s connections got you the internship. That in itself isn’t criminal, but what might balance out the “elitism” is doing something more in line with a typical high school job. It would show hard work, that you can function without your parents hookups (albeit sweet), humility and that you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Very prestigious. Take full advantage of the opportunity- you are light years ahead of your peers who are interested in finance.</p>
<p>Even my bro in UC Berkeley getting two degrees in Econ and Business would gladly have such an internship. It’s an awesome one even college undergrads would kill to have. He didnt get the GS, but he did get Deloitte accounting internship, one of the best accounting firms in the nation.</p>
<p>I would die to have an internship @ Goldman Sachs.</p>
<p>Hook me up bro ;)</p>
<p>You lucky ■■■■■■■</p>
<p>To be honest, when it comes to top-college admissions, the “prestige” of this internship is really quite irrelevant. </p>
<p>What IS relevant, is how you obtained the internship. “Through certain connections” doesn’t exactly sound like there was much effort on your part in regards to actually being qualified for this “prestigious” internship. </p>
<p>I mean, you have to be real here. What are the chances that a firm like GS is actually seeking high school juniors because of their potential value to the company? </p>
<p>From the perspective of an admissions committee that sees a lot of impressive applications, your internship would be more a reflection of your “certain connections” rather than your hard work or ability to succeed.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, a great opportunity is a great opportunity and I wouldn’t turn down my nose at a GS internship. Just make sure you don’t gloat about how impressive this accomplishment is in your app…I’d talk more about what you actually learned and how the internship benefited you.</p>
<p>Have fun in London!</p>
<p>GS is a definite ‘wow!’ factor, especially on a high schooler’s resume. However, if you write about your internship in an essay or bring it up in an interview, make sure you have solid anecdotes about what you did with your time there. Once the words ‘I got it through connections’ and ‘I made/got coffee’ come out, the ‘wow’ factor is gone. Whatever you do there, do it well, and try to make an impact.</p>
<p>With all that said, have fun in London!</p>
<p>thank you all for your feedback, i will gladly take the opportunity</p>
<p>Colleges are not going to question how you got the internship. They know all about connections. They will still be very impressed by the knowldege you gained through working at Goldman Sachs and how it will hopefully be a stepping stone for you to take advantage of other opportunites that may arise from this.</p>
<p>I would certainly emphasize the experience and what you learned on my resume and in my essays if applicable.</p>
<p>I would try to tie what you experienced in high school in classes and organizations with the real life experience of working in London and what you see for yourself in the future.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Colleges do indeed question how you got the internship. When an applicant has one that surprises an admissions officer, they consider context-if the student is from a background that doesn’t suggest connections and explains how they landed at GS, say by being noticed having won a contest, it’s seen one way. If the student is the child of bankers and/or from a top NYC/London/HK prep school or other background that suggests connections, no officer gets too excited.</p>