Is Wall Street Prep worth it?

I'm a rising junior without any internship experience. I was wondering if something like this would boost my resume and show I have some financial modeling experience. I'll get the basic package for about $200.


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WSO Admin note 2: Wall Street Prep vs Wall Street Oasis

 
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NEW WSO Financial Modeling & Valuation courses are here.  Read more about the announcement here.  We take online financial modeling courses to the next level with top instructor teams from elite firms delivering a world-class curriculum across Excel, financial statement modeling, valuation, M&A, LBO modeling and more.  See all of our courses here.

 

TTS is Better Than WSP. I currently work at a middle market PE firm and I have used both Wall Street Prep (WSP) and Training the Street (TTS) products before. WSP is ok for a basic introduction to topics, but don't really go into the necessary detail. I find Training The Street (TTS) to be a far superior product. TTS goes into much more detail and you come away with a much stronger understanding of the topics. They do an excellent job of applying the theory to recent real world applications. Great for both buy and sell side. If you do consider taking a live seminar, the instructors not only have a ton of relevant experience, some of them are also top MBA program professors, so the lectures are interesting as they have a lot of experience lecturing on the topics.

 

I'm currently completing the Premium Package in my own time, about to start the M&A module.

I can say without a doubt this is the best value financial modeling course I've learned from. I paid $1,800 AUD two years ago for a financial modeling course from an Australian university, and whilst it was useful, WSP is light years ahead in the expertise taught to students.

I'm not finished the course as I mentioned, so I can't comment on all of the premium modules.

 

No point really for any of them.

All they offer you is a watered down version of what ytou will learn in training. For example...WS Prep is a 90 hour course...training is usually 8 weeks.

You have to pay $500 for WS Prep and you get PAID in training.

Therefore, Why waste your money?

I think those courses would be good for upcoming interns who have little finance knowledge b/c their training is usually less than a week. I worked for a law firm that would pay for us to take it just so we would have a basic understanding of modeling when we spoke with i-bankers....If you are an entering full-time then you might as well wipe your ass with 5 $100 dollar bills before you buy one of these courses.

 

Doesn't help you too much in terms of recruiting. I find it on a few people's resumes. It doesn't substitute for relevant internship experience.

though if we had person A and person B:

Person A 3.5 GPA Somewhat relevant internship Active on campus Good interview

Person B 3.5 GPA Somewhat relevant internship Active on campus Good interview Took Wall Street Prep or Dealmaven

We'll take person B.

 

Hmm.

A friend of mine who's banking full time is going through training right now, and uses Dealmaven, paid by her firm. Obviously, she'll go through it and such.

She gave me her login info, and i've been using it to work through on my own. I guess I won't be officially certified, (because i didn't pay the $500+ to get the actual package), but would it be legitimate for me to put it on my resume, stating that i've been "dealmaven-trained?"

and for those who have interviewed - have you ever asked for proof of certification from dealmaven / TTS/WSP?

 

It'll be fine for you to write DealMaven. You're now obsessing about this too much. I'm taking DealMaven currently also - and I just intend to write it down. It's not a big deal, I know that. It's just another thing to add w/out banking experience.

You'd get asked if you put down FRM, CAIA - That I can gurantee, but they won't care about DealMaven. If they ask for certification (which would mean you got in), use "student" as the discount code, pass the quiz, take the exam for 75 and no worries.

 
thirdallnighter...:
It'll be fine for you to write DealMaven. You're now obsessing about this too much. I'm taking DealMaven currently also - and I just intend to write it down. It's not a big deal, I know that. It's just another thing to add w/out banking experience.

You'd get asked if you put down FRM, CAIA - That I can gurantee, but they won't care about DealMaven. If they ask for certification (which would mean you got in), use "student" as the discount code, pass the quiz, take the exam for 75 and no worries.

Why the FRM and the CAIA? Those tests don't have anything to do with banking?

 

Worked for me. The material was helpful during both the job interview and at work later. They have also added a lot of new material as compared to a year ago. You can also get a substantial discount. I used the following coupon for a 15% discount on my order: REF91303930

 

I did WSP's program and then did the BIWS Advanced Program. I found BIWS easier to follow along and understand what was going on. BIWS seemed to teach me the concepts whereas I felt WSP was just telling me concepts. Maybe just my learning style, but I'd recommend BIWS over WSP.

 

I come from a non-target and had the opportunity to make a conscious choice to pursue IB starting after my sophomore year. Fortunately, at the beginning of that turning point, there was a Training the Street course offered at my school. I would credit that class as being the foundation for the insight and wherewithal to continue the pursuit to fruition.

In short: any practice gives you an advantage over those who don't.

 

I and several classmates took the course. The material was helpful during both the job interview and at work later. They have also added a lot of new material as compared to a year ago. You can also get a substantial discount. I used the following coupon for a 15% discount on my order: REF91303930

 

If you're in the IB now, and don't know anything about modelling when you're looking for opps elsewhere, that's a sure fire away to experience a 7 minute interview.

It's a good program and would definitely benefit you.

"Cut the burger into thirds, place it on the fries, roll one up homey..." - Epic Meal Time
 

I got contacted by a guy from them wanting to a do a workshop at my school (at $499 a pop).

I talked to a few bankers, and they had never heard of the company and thought it was a scam. Safe to say, I didn't bring it before the dean to be laughed at.

Good luck though

 

WSO is partners with WSP which gets you a 15% discount. I've only heard good things about it

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

I have the full WSP course, and it has helped me very much.

I'm interning at a boutique in my home state right now and WSP really prepared me for some of the stuff I'm doing and the language I'm hearing. Also, I was told to base my models off of a couple of shells that the junior guys had brought from NY BB banks, and they are very similar to WSP's training.

 

easy answer...NO

Self Study programs of any kind (career training, degrees, minors) are fine as a complement to real LIVE training. For example you took general Valuation and modeling as a live course and healthcare as a self study option. But no interviewer will really take a self study program seriously since you are your own instructor. Try the analyst exchange. They offer payment programs and their instructors actually ask you questions to make sure you know. It's not cheap but you finish the course really knowing how to build a model from scratch....And no I do not work for them :)

 

yea i've had these group of ex-bankers come in to teach us modeling, it was really intense and they were really nice. I felt like i learned a lot from the live course, so I was wondering how much I can get out of the Wallstreet prep program.

So staying away from putting it on your resume, does it teach you enough to survive on the street?

 
BTbanker:
It's never too late to keep contacting boutique banks. Kids get internship offers into April.

This^^^

And your time at this point would be better spent networking. You have plenty of time to learn modeling, but it is never too early to begin building your network.

[quote=patternfinder]Of course, I would just buy in scales. [/quote] See my WSO Blog | my AMA
 

You can do the financial modeling stuff at any time you want. Do it now, if you have time - not that it requires a crazy amount of effort anyway. As mentioned before, people get internships into April and sometimes even May. Keep hunting.

To add to your resume, I think that a part-time internship over the summer (if you can't leave your job now) would be good, and if possible, definitely do one during the school year. This is great for networking.

in it 2 win it
 

This whole concept of "networking" and talking about it as if it takes up all of your time and prevents you from engaging in other activities is such bullshit. Are you so busy vacationing in the south of France with your supermodel girlfriend and going on benders in Cartagena that you dont have time to multi-task?

OP, If you have the time, money, and inclination it can only help and will put you at an advantage.

 
junkbondswap:
This whole concept of "networking" and talking about it as if it takes up all of your time and prevents you from engaging in other activities is such bullshit. Are you so busy vacationing in the south of France with your supermodel girlfriend and going on benders in Cartagena that you dont have time to multi-task?

OP, If you have the time, money, and inclination it can only help and will put you at an advantage.

I don't think anyone was implying that networking takes up all of a person's time.

Personally, I was implying his time would be better spent networking rather than Wallstreet Prep. And, in my experience, networking on a large scale can - at times - be time consuming. Sending out upwards of fifty semi-personalized emails can take up a decent amount of time. Also, being responsive to the availability of those you wish to speak/meet with requires some schedule flexibility. So, while networking is not inherently time consuming it can require a good amount of a person's time.

[quote=patternfinder]Of course, I would just buy in scales. [/quote] See my WSO Blog | my AMA
 

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[quote=patternfinder]Of course, I would just buy in scales. [/quote] See my WSO Blog | my AMA
 

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