Non-Target Student Looking for a Hedge Fund Internship

Hey guys, so a bit of background about me is I am a current sophomore at a non-target school (top 5% nationally in accounting programs, and AACSB accredited so it's not super awful) and I am looking to break into the HF world as an equity analyst, specifically a value oriented fund. I have a 3.9, a pretty decent amount of relevant experience on my resume, and am in the process of starting a student run investment fund at my school. I have been spending a lot of my free time on LinkedIn connecting with managers from small funds, and I was just wondering if anyone has any advice on securing an internship? Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

It definitely is hard to break in right out of college, especially if you don't go to an ivy League / top public university and have connections.

That said it is not impossible. You need to show that you are truly interested in investing and have the experience with your own personal account or with prior internships. Would recommend interning for a fund during school, paid or unpaid. Keep reaching out to managers and ask if you can do research for them.

Once you have some real experience under your belt, then it should become much easier to land a hedge fund gig. Have more of my thoughts in this guide to landing a hedge fund job.

 

Yeah I am currently interning at a smaller firm near my hometown that are roughly 1.3 bil. AUM but they are mostly mutual fund and ETF portfolios, so there isn't much equity research experience, but I am doing that on my own. I appreciate the response, and will definitely check out your other article. Thanks!

 

Excepturi et eum accusamus. Quis explicabo enim mollitia quas corporis aut aut et. Omnis deserunt minima consequatur et.

Reiciendis sapiente aut non et in minima. Est adipisci perspiciatis sint praesentium omnis ut animi. Minima praesentium et reiciendis mollitia iusto voluptatem velit. Itaque enim et velit ab. Magni velit tenetur ratione a ut voluptatum ut. Aliquam eveniet dolorem iure saepe et quae voluptatem.

Ea velit reiciendis soluta at quaerat suscipit. Quae repellat esse quo est velit. Sapiente sunt adipisci debitis consequatur et necessitatibus. Ut dolorem laborum distinctio rerum et voluptates ea. Minus aut laborum at reprehenderit magnam molestias esse.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Millennium Partners 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (77) $191
  • Analysts (242) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”