Need help deciding audit v. IB

Hi all,

I apologize in advance for making any mistakes on this post since its my first one. So I'm a junior at a non-core school and I recently finished an audit internship with a Big 4. I see myself going into investment banking as a career. However, last semester my GPA fell to a cumulative 3.5 so I was a little discouraged and decided to extend my graduation by a year so I could work on my GPA. Other than that, I'm good in the work experience and extra-curriculars aspect. Now I have a full time (and a second internship) offer from the Big 4 I interned at. I'm not sure how much I want to do the full time but it would be nice to have another internship with them since I have one more summer before I apply to the IB's interview process. The problem is - my second internship is contingent upon me signing a full-time offer with the firm. I would like to clarify that I am an international student and finance internships are hard to come by for international students. Do you think I should (1) take up the risk of letting go of this offer (and thus the second internship) and continue finding a finance internship for next summer or (2) should I take up this internship and towards the end tell them I won't be coming back for a full time (which would be my least preferred option considering how unprofessional it is and would result in burning bridges with them) or (3) take up this audit internship and switch to IB a few years later into my career considering I don't have a guarantee for an IB internship. What do my chances look like? Also, one more thing I'd like to add is that I tried to request an internal switch to the firm's TS or FAS practice for my second internship but that didn't work out. I don't want to end up in a situation where I end up burning bridges with the firm and not even have an IB internship and have to go back to my country without a job. I'd appreciate any guidance. Thanks!

4 Comments
 

Ut nulla rerum deleniti aliquid. Omnis sunt sint quos. Laborum nesciunt unde in beatae.

Rerum eos ex soluta et autem quo. Similique vel veniam suscipit non. Non quos dolores exercitationem.

Perspiciatis et voluptatem quo doloremque. Quia maxime maiores iusto molestiae est architecto quasi. Occaecati quae amet ex est molestiae iste.

Nisi explicabo perspiciatis est. Et eius voluptatem nihil sint voluptas neque ut. Sit rem accusamus enim nemo dolore qui perferendis consectetur. Doloremque omnis minus facilis quis. Dolores consequuntur repellat natus quas explicabo sunt. Minima incidunt et ea porro dolorem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (47) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (74) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”