Big 4 vs. no-name boutique

First of all, what year are you and are you at a target school? I am going to assume you are a rising senior... If I were in that situation I would go for the boutique for several reasons: You'll probably have the opportunity to work more closely with a senior team that will know you in a professional capacity and will go on to help you with recommendations etc. Second, unless you think you want to go into accounting, I would chose the internship that will give you more relevant work experience. In the case of an internship setting the groundwork for a full-time offer, the experience makes more of an impact than the brand-name. Focus on your grades and using the internship to really learn the industry. What does everyone else think?

thanks amb05, that was actually my exact thinking. I am a rising senior at a target school (think umich, uva, texas), with an ok gpa of 3.5. My GPA physically can't improve much in 1 semester, so that really isn't a factor. I figure any IB experience beats no IB experience, but please everyone let me know your take on it.

i would do boutique. Will look much better than big 4 b/c boutique will hire 1-2 ppl for summer and big 4 will hire thousands each.

when you say tiny boutique i-banking i imagine something smaller than WR Hembrecht and there's no opportunity to get hired full-time after the internship. i think you should go with Big 4 because the name will be very recognizable and respected come full-time recruiting. a red flag is raised with the small boutique (ie you couldnt get anything else and had to settle for the boutique for the summer). if the boutique is unpaid you should definitely not do it because i know i wouldnt give an unpaid intern substantial responsibility or 'real work' on a deal.