Girls Who Invest vs. Mid-tier BB for Sophomore Summer

Hi! Not sure if this is the right place to post. I am relatively new here.

I am a sophomore and recently got offers from a mid-tier BB for their sophomore program and also from Girls Who Invest summer intensive program. It includes four weeks of finance training in Wharton/Notre Dame followed by a six-week internship with an asset management firm. Their partners include Goldman, TPG, Blackstone, BlackRock, D.E. Shaw, etc. Just to name a few. I am not so familiar with this program but seems like the previous classes have placed well.

I am not sure if my final goal is to break into PE after banking yet, as of now I am really interested in the corporate side so GWI seems to be a great opportunity to get some insights on buy-side work and see if I like it. I heard that GWI also has a great network that could be life-long and I can also meet a lot of others girls from all over the country. However, for GWI, it is definitely not as reputable as a BB as it is new. Also I have no control on the placement process so I might be placed in some firm that I do not like as much in some random cities.

For the BB Sophomore program, I have the chance to return for junior summer, and it should be more established with training program/placement. But I lose the chance to experience the buy-side work.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

Think you will learn a lot from the internship over the program. Placement for sophomore interns tends to be lights out if you do decide to switch firms after the summer, prepare and network hard with female/alum advocates at your target firms.

You meet at TON of people in a BB internship too so I hope this mitigates your concerns over having a smaller network.

ALSO, I am certain that a GWI alum would be more than willing to help you out or speak over the phone with you regardless if you went through GWI because they tend to be grateful and willing to help another girl learn/get to finance.

 
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Lol I was LITERALLY in the same exact situation as you - BB and GWI offer. Really difficult decision but ended up taking the BB for multiple reasons (1) BB has higher chance of a return offer (2) GWI internship is only 6 weeks (3) You would be spending 4 weeks in a classroom with only girls. I felt like that environment would just keep me sheltered from the real world - in which most of the people I'd be working with are guys (4) The placements range drastically - you could end up working anywhere from Blackstone to some school's endowment (5) I like large-firm corporate culture and I knew I wanted to experience that. Many hedge funds/buy side firm placements for GWI are small (6) While the GWI network is great, networks at BBs are also great (7) People who did the GWI program ended up recruiting for BB's the next summer anyway. Buy side firms prefer you have BB experience for a couple years before you work for them That being said, GWI is still a phenomenal program for all the reasons you mentioned, and this was a really difficult decision for me with the tight reply deadline. But these are the reasons why I personally ended up signing with the BB. Anyways, congrats and good luck with everything!

 

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