Breaking into WallStreet- Excel & Modeling Fundamentals or Advanced Fin. Modeling?

get the excel modeling & fundamentals.

That itself will suffice for interviews, make sure to take notes.

thx

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I'm saving up right now to get the full package.

$97 dollars for a networking guide is a little ridiculous though

I'm going through summer associate recruiting and I would say hold off until you actually have a job. No one is going to ask you an Excel question. I get that it's a valuable skill etc but your time and money are best spent on things to prepare for actual interviews. When you have an offer in your hand you can start worrying about prep.

Others feel free to disagree .

I agree you probably won't get asked an Excel question in interviews but the financial modeling series of the module is one of the best things you can do to prep for interviews.

Get the fundamental modeling, the advanced course is overkill.

Respectfully disagree with Cartwright.

True, interviews usually do not ask you for any detailed modeling / excel questions, but when the questions come up, you can be sure to know the basics, drivers, and even short-cuts after building a couple simple models. There's also some positive spillover effects into answering other questions, in understanding what the question is probing for and how the answer will be used in the overall valuation / transaction process.

Personally, the program tested my interest with IB. If you can't stand learning the details on how to model, then chances are you won't like the job.

Lastly, the price is reasonable. Sure, for a college kid $400 (I don't know what price it is nowadays) might seem a lot, but think of this as an investment in yourself, because the knowledge you receive can be used anytime, anywhere. Besides, compared to the $$ you make even as an analyst, it's just a drop in the bucket. You'll really regret it if you get a question and later found out it's been covered in the program. I know I did.

This sounds awfully like an ad, but the program really helped me (especially the networking guide). A much better purchase than blowing through bottles.

My only issue with BIWS is that the program thinks it can teach you concepts from nothing. I really don't think you can learn from 100% scratch (i.e. no clue what accounting or finance even is). The "explanations" of some of the fundamental concepts, e.g. basic accounting, TVM, are very high level.

However, hopefully most people have taken acct and fin 101, or at least have read through a good textbook. If you have done that and feel good about your acct and corp fin, then you should be fine, and it is a good program. Pretty time consuming, I'd say. The advanced course is a BEAST.

With regards to prepping for an interview, I strongly recommend that you download Damodaran's webcasts for Corporate Finance and Valuation (http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/). Just listen to the them on your IPOD on your way to class, you'll find them immensely helpful.