How do RO discussions work?

Currently wrapping up SA internship and have had friends wrap up theirs (with and without offers). Just confused on what these processes look like on the other side of things (obviously varies by bank, but would imagine some consistency across the board)

Heard generally it looks like: full-timers on your deal teams fill out review forms about you, if there's any negative feedback then it all gets hashed out in a conference room, and then offers are distributed. But it seems to be more complicated than that: How does the school and recruiting pipeline come into play? Are there people who are not even worth discussing (i.e. definite noes)? 

For example, a friend just finished in a generalist program and the people they worked with said they were "hoping" he'd be there next year. What does this mean? Aren't they the ones directly deciding if he does or doesn't, and wouldn't they know for sure whether or not he'd be there? 

3 Comments
 

First of all, your school doesn’t matter once you’re in the internship. I’m sure there are some exceptional cases, but generally the internship recruiting process acts as a filter and it would be stupid to make return offer decisions based on someone’s university.

As to why people say they “hope” their interns come back, it’s probably because they don’t know if there will be headcount available. Usually HR has the final word on headcount for generalist intake programs; desks will submit their “recommend for hire” decisions but if there isn’t room in the program you might be out of luck.

 

Rerum deleniti amet aperiam similique optio aut culpa. Repudiandae consectetur quia sit quia sapiente eligendi repellat. Autem placeat minima ut optio ut. Illo mollitia praesentium odio eveniet repudiandae qui. Laboriosam consectetur ut excepturi eligendi voluptatem quia explicabo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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...”