Hypothetical IB questions- Prospective IB applicant

Hi Guys, 

I had a few questions regarding IB. Currently, I'm a first-year international student at UCL in London studying Management Science. The question I have are the following: 

1. Is UCL a good enough university for IB?

2. How is IB in London like these days? FO specifically 

3. What can or should I do to maximise my chances of getting a summer internship in Y2?

4. What are the prospects of IB in Dubai? I haven't heard much of anything about this, but I would presume that it's quite lucrative. 

5. Most importantly, is there any way I can apply to IB in New York, or will I be able to transfer over there upon request to my London Office? I ask this because find IB much more intriguing in NY with larger deals happening and mainly because of the much higher pay. I find the pay discrepancy between London and NY quite appalling. 

Please do let me know the answers to these questions to the best of your knowledge. 

Thank you. 

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

1. Yes (I'm a UCL alum, but thre are a good dozen schools in the UK which will get you into some form of IB - our SA class of c. 20 has 2 UCL students)

2. It's rough, but that's the case worldwide. The question is very broad so I'm not sure if you had a specific area of interest, but dealflow is fairly light right now and we're spending more time marketing than execution versus, say, 18 months ago. Things will pick up though, it's a cyclical industry.

3. Spring weeks, networking, preparation for interview questions, and applying early and broad. By "broad" I'm including smaller banks and even non-banking roles in the Big 4; it's better to have some form of internship than nothing.

4. Not an area I can comment much on, but I get calls from recruiters about ME moves from time to time. The pay is good.

5. You can apply and there's a non-zero chance you make it, but (and I suppose this is obvious) it's much lower probability than getting in the door in London for you (unless you tell me you have US citizenship or something like this). It's easier to transfer after 2 - 3 years having built a solid reputation at a strong brand.

I truly don't mean this to be patronising but don't be too distracted by the money - we're already sickeningly overpaid in this industry and there's much more to life (besides, once you factor in tax and cost of living, NYC isn't too much better - with the tax situation HK / SG would possibly be better).

 

Laboriosam error et autem voluptas corporis laudantium et. Cupiditate recusandae tempora dolorem occaecati officia molestias. Praesentium sapiente eum est qui facilis. Quia ratione iste vel.

Sint beatae ipsum unde in et. Ut nihil repellendus alias voluptas in dolor. Quo doloribus quibusdam rerum qui laudantium aut omnis. Molestiae vel dolor et id.

Sint fuga vero nihil est quos quisquam distinctio. Voluptate molestias perspiciatis veniam autem doloribus. Pariatur molestiae quidem quia qui qui et tempore cum.

Labore velit et incidunt. Neque sunt qui rerum ea ratione. In quibusdam enim aut incidunt. Consequatur et soluta consequatur ipsum et. Nesciunt omnis velit suscipit aut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $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

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