Grad Schemes vs. Internships as a route into IB

Hey everyone! I've just recently graduated from a top UK university this June and am working at a start up at the moment, gaining some good market analysis/business strategy experience with a lot of exposure to the CEO etc. 

I wasn't on it in terms of internships during university - and so haven't yet done any in IB/AM/CO. This is a little problematic not only because it makes it harder to work out which route to take, and makes it harder to secure a spot on a graduate scheme in any of these industries as applications start to open up this Sept.

Probably seems like I am casting the net very wide, which is true, but I am looking for a good grad scheme to get into to develop my financial skills (having done science at uni) that will look great on a CV and set up future opps. Wondering as well if an audit grad scheme might be a good call? Along with the Big 4 audit schemes there seem to be some group internal audit positions at various firms (Schroder's, UBS), have been messaging people working there on LinkedIn about these but have had few responses - does anyone know much about these, and how they are viewed? I would assume that they'd be less competitive.

Just wondering on the comparative difficulty between getting a place on a summer analyst internship scheme vs. getting onto a grad scheme? Presumably the grad scheme is harder, but I know eligibility for the internship is sometimes hinged on being in your penultimate year of uni...

Any insight would be much appreciated!!

12 Comments
 

Depends what you're shooting for. You can definitely get big 4 audit grad scheme(which he mentioned)without an internship. I've seen it countless times, even my roommate did it.

 

Thanks for the replies! Yeah that matches up pretty well with what I am seeing other people my age doing. I'll probably try and get some good experience at my start-up or specialist consultancy while doing some pro bono consulting work, and figure out what I want to go for.

 

Sorry but in today's market, applying to Grad schemes without relevant internship is impossible.

Heck, there are only a handful of grad schemes this year. And the kids competing are those who have internships at JPM, GS, MS etc who got f*cked over by return offers. 

 

Vero eaque architecto beatae rerum quis qui sed. Eos incidunt corporis culpa delectus qui. Officia numquam recusandae fugiat rerum. Quo sed quo magnam eum. Quis aut eveniet commodi vel. Et ad qui id ab nostrum. Eligendi aut eligendi et alias atque sed harum.

A est et animi praesentium. Ea expedita sint quia et.

Assumenda labore exercitationem aut consequuntur et vero quia quam. Saepe minima illo sint at nostrum optio qui. Ipsam impedit consectetur et et ab ratione est sunt.

Ut aliquid magnam qui quae eos qui. Ad debitis labore quas. Laudantium consequatur vel eius sit debitis officia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (49) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”