Pre-MBA ER Internship and MBA Advice?

Hi Guys,

I was hoping someone would have some insight it ER recruiting. In regards to pre-mba internships, what's the general consensus on this topic as it relates to ER recruiting? I've seen many people state that pre-mba banking related internships would provide a massive leg up for those looking for a career change into IB via an MBA program, but I wasn't sure if thats the case for equity research. What are peoples thoughts on this?

Also, in the same breathe, it might just be me, but i've noticed that the need for a target school program isn't as critical for equity research recruiting as it is for investment banking.. have people found this to be true?

409 WSO Academy Equity Research Session Reviews: 4.83/5

Class of '25 Nov 2026 Cohort

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Equity Research Career Roadmap (optional)

“Chris was very easy to talk to and made the session feel relaxed and genuinely useful. He gave me clear, actionable tasks that I can go away and work on straight away to expand my network. I hope to reconvene with him at a later date to discuss the progress I have made and get his feedback on the work I have been doing.”

Springfield College

Class of '29 Sep 2026 Cohort

4.85/5

Equity Research Mock Coffee Chat

“Craig gave me a really clear picture of how sell-side equity research actually works. The biggest takeaway was that research is a service business built on trust, not on picking stocks, and that analysts are paid on rankings rather than on whether a call is right. He was honest that even a 60% hit rate is excellent, and that it matters more to understand where you went wrong than where you were right. I also liked his point about not being “unintelligently wrong”: own the mistake and explain it well. On the practical side, he told me to start now by running a blog, posting on Seeking Alpha, using Koyfin as a cheap Bloomberg alternative, and using AI to draft commentary so I have more time to think deeply and explore other sectors. He also explained that research recruiting is much more targeted than IB, since sector teams are fairly autonomous, so I should reach out to senior analysts in specific sectors and recommend based on fit. His own path from no finance background, through China, to Wharton was encouraging. My one suggestion would be a quick walkthrough of what a strong first report looks like beyond the core pieces (recommendation, risks, summary, price target).”

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2 Comments

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Hi bryan7495, any of these threads helpful:

EQ Research internship, want switch to IBD the USA that I should look into 2 how difficult would it be for me (decent B-school MBA, average gpa, ... I am doing a research internship at a BB in HK. However, I am more interested in IBD (I dont mind ... background etc) for an EQ Research intern to find a full time IBD offer (at preferably a BB). I think my goal ...
MBA Consulting Preferences at B-school you guys noticed at your school? business school mba ... Hey everyone, With MBA internship recruiting over, I am curious to see if anybody noticed any ... business schools. For example, at my school (top 15 on west coast) and when talking to one of my friends on ...
Columbia B-School NEW Masters program- Opinions? Is it worth it? in NYC during and post graduation Thanks guys, appreciate your views. Columbia Business School ... Hi guys, So, I've been admitted into this very new Masters program at Columbia Business ... School- Masters of Science Accounting and Fundamental Analysis. 2017 would be the program's first ...
Developing My Story for B-School I am a strong candidate. MBA mbb business school ... have trouble bringing it all together for MBA. 1) Consulting at IT Healthcare for internship 2) Work ... something that makes sense, would be a contribution to the business school community, and help show that ...
2 year B-School or Combined MD/MBA? business school with no internship time. Would it be more worthwhile to apply out to a two year top ten ... self-taught and picked up by banker buddies. My school has a 5 year MD/ MBA program, but it is 3 semester of ... finishing up my first year at a top ten ivy league medical school. While I love learning about ...
Undergrad B-School Bonanza: Tulane v. UT Austin v. Boston University Hey Guys, Recently I have been accepted to the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin, the ... Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, and the School of Management at Boston University. ... of America, Ernst and Young or JP Morgan for two years then go back to school and get my MBA /JD and ...
Does it matter what B-school I attend for investment banking? I have conducted a 5 week M&A internship at a very strong boutique bank. This internship made ... I want to be in investment banking long term. I want to study for an MBA and join investment banking as ... an associate. Does it matter where I do my MBA to get into investment banking if I already have ...
Path to Private Equity Post-MBA without Pre-MBA Banking Experience guys who worked in Corp Dev prior to b-school and were able to spin their experience to be semi IB / PE ... without Pre-MBA Experience Our users shared that it will be difficult to break into Private Equity after ... getting an MBA if you don't have experience working in private equity before going to business ...
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