Hey everyone, I’ve been interning at a BB(Bulge Bracket) in their Investment Banking Division in my country for the past month. How significant is this in terms of my chances at t20 schools?
Thanks in advance!
Just to put this in context, the firm had rejected college juniors and grads to intern but I got it.
No way to know without looking at your entire application.
If you just list this as an EC, it’s interesting but not something that would guarantee admission or necessarily even be super impressive, so wouldn’t change your chances at a T20 one way or another.
Colleges like T20s that do a holistic review will be more interested in what this internship shows about you as a person. How did you get it? What did the investment firm see in you that caused them to choose you? What are you learning there, how do you interact with others, what impact have you made, how does this relate to your interests and knowledge, does this give any clues as to what you’ll do and be involved with at college and beyond… things like that are what the T20s are looking for in your app.
Thanks for replying! @millee30
I was very lucky to get this, a lot of cold emailing and cold calling. I was told by everybody that I’m too young to be interning at an investment bank let alone a Bulge Bracket one. The amount of work I do there is insane, its a very steep learning curve. I was just worried that I would be spending so much time on an activity that wouldn’t be that impressive. I don’t want to paint the impression that I’m doing this just to pad my resume bc Im deeply interested in finance and I’ve spent countless hours trying to master my trade. I turned down other opportunities to do this like interning with college profs to publish research on untouched topics in finance.
Anyways, thanks again.
“a lot of cold emailing and cold calling”
“very steep learning curve”
“spent countless hours trying to master my trade”
Those are things colleges would be interested in because of what they show about you. It’s not the internship itself or the fact that it’s with a fancy firm. Colleges care about how and why you’re doing this, what you’re learning, how it’s changing you, how you’re making a difference, how you interact with others, etc. See how it’s the same internship on the surface but how and what you describe will be what makes it helpful (or not) on your app?
PS - my son did something similar and I think how he described it helped him greatly on his apps. He’s starting at his #1 choice school this fall. Good luck - hope you’ll have the same results.
Thanks for the advice @milee30
Won’t the fact that the internship itself is very selective help?
I was told on my first day there that there had been a lot of applicants and I was the one of the few they took in.
“Won’t the fact that the internship itself is very selective help?”
I don’t know for sure but my guess is - probably not. Most people will know it’s unusual for someone your age to get an internship at an investment firm, so they’ll know this indicates some positive things about you. But many top applicants for T20 colleges will have top level ECs and I don’t think something like this is in the category of “so amazing we have to have this person” like a Nobel prize is.
I’m not in any way implying it’s bad. But IMO it’s just one of the many of the great ECs out there. It’s not the EC or title itself that will sell you to the colleges; the EC is just the way you show the colleges how awesome you are - through your descriptions and essays.
“Won’t the fact that the internship itself is very selective help?”
Yes, it will absolutely help - but for T20 schools your grades/GPA, rigor of your classes, test scores, LOR, essay, etc. also have to be top notch.