Freshman internship: Which one should I take?

Hey guys,

I'm currently a freshman at an ivy and I have a couple of offers for internships for this summer and I wanted to know which one would be best.

1) Small PE shop: I'd be working on scouring news sources for potential deals, learning a bit of modeling, working a little bit with a new startup (with one of the founders of ESPN), and possibly sitting in on meetings with larger PE firms and boutiqe i-banks.

2) Real Estate Investment Banking: Not too sure if I'm interested in real estate, but the guy I talked to made it sound like an awesome gig. He said he'd work me and that I'd undoubtedly learn a lot. Culture at the firm seems awesome. The thing that most interests me is that he said he's sent interns internationally (korea, maldives, etc) before...and that it may be possible for me to do some traveling if I'm interested and do good work, and get paid for it.

I'm currently leaning towards the real estate banking gig mostly b/c the MD i talked to seems awesome, and the possibility of traveling as an intern and getting paid sounds great.

Just curious as to what would be best to set me up most appropriately for sophomore programs next year and such. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks.

12 Comments
 

e-mailed a bunch of firms cold with a cover letter and resume...PE guy went to my small high school so that helped a bit. RE IB guy decided to give me a chance because of my college. i have previous finance experience on my resume (PWM, for whats it worth).

i will say that I was only given a chance at the firms I interviewed at because of my school (ivy...not known for banking at all really so i guess you can figure out where...but still helped tremendously)

 
Best Response

This is ridiculously impressive - like you, I am a fresh(wo)man, and I would kill for either of these. If I were you, I'd take the PE shop; a few frosh and sophs might be able to get ibd on their resumes through connections, but how many will have PE? It also depends on whether you want to be a career banker or just want it for the exit opps.

Also, if you have a chance, could you PM me with where you went to high school and/or college? I want to beat myself up for not going there :) I also have a BB PWM internship from last summer, but I haven't gotten anything like this.

 

I'd talk to the RE MD and see if you could be put international. Preferably somewhere cold and rainy so you would appreciate the weather when you get back to the states.

Not to mention be in range of someone else amazing... :P

 

Ut ipsa vel ut laboriosam corporis repudiandae. Fugiat aut odio quidem itaque est expedita nostrum. Explicabo temporibus aut eos nostrum id saepe. Explicabo non ullam ut dolor quia necessitatibus et odio. Nulla aliquam nisi delectus vel sint et quis.

Et recusandae quisquam voluptatibus porro. Ut ut et est et omnis alias aut. Exercitationem omnis hic est.

Aut expedita architecto numquam. Dolor excepturi nisi nam iste sit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
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

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...”