Re-recruiting on a student visa – worth it?

Hey everyone,

I’m an incoming summer analyst at a a mid-tier BB and I’m on an international student visa. Lately I've been stressing every day about full-time return offer rates this year and whether my visa status might impact my chances, even if I perform well.

I’ve been thinking about re-recruiting for another year but to do that, I would need to take a gap year or extend my graduation another way.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar situation — is it worth re-recruiting given the opportunity cost? Or should I just try to lock in the return offer and hope for the best?

Thanks in advance.

9 Comments
 
Most Helpful

International here who interned at an MM and got a return. I would recommend doing your hardest to perform well but also reach out to other firms. One thing I've learned is never to put your eggs in one basket as an international - you have too much to lose.

Does the firm you are interning at know about your status? In the past have they given returns to international students? I would say that might determine how you look at this summer. 

Another intern in my cohort was international and didn't get a return - he delayed his graduation, re-recruited for a different IB summer internship at a regional bank, and seems to be doing well there.

Best case is get the return, so try your hardest but keep options open in the backburner 

 

Hi, I really appreciate the thoughtful response. The firm has given returns to internationals in the past but the incoming summer analyst class has double the amount of internationals than it did historically so that was another point of worry. Do you have any tips on how you prepared for your internship and how you locked in the return offer?

 

Hmm I would say that u shouldn't be too worried, the firm knew what it was getting itself into and if they've given returns in the past hopefully things shouldn't change. It probably comes down to just whether you get a return outside of the status - if they like you they like you and the visa thing won't matter.

In terms of preparation I did the basic breaking into wall street courses, learned about my coverage, and just generally learned basic excel. Nothing too crazy - but I would recommend you learn as much as you can before your internship

Return wise, honestly for me it just a really good cultural fit. My team had a strong culture that they cared about a lot, and while I wasn't the most technically sound they liked me the most (that's not to say I wasn't good technically, I just wasn't the best). What I saw with other internationals in my group that didn't get returns was that they had a hard time socially/culturally and didn't develop strong relationships with certain An, Ass, and VPs that fought for them. Being a good worker is the baseline, you also need to be likeable. What impressed my partners/MDs however was my knowledge of our coverage. Do a bunch of research/look at the news regarding your coverage before and during the internship

Again this was at a MM, so it might be different at a large BB, but in the end just be likeable and knowledgeable without being a showoff

 

Hi, just revisiting this thread. Thank you again for all the detail. I've been trying to find resources and ramp on my coverage group (TMT) and was curious if you could give some color into how you were able to display/use your industry knowledge throughout your internship. Was the bulk of that understanding shown in the intern project? Thanks again

 

Aut libero neque consectetur quia nihil dolores. Accusantium similique perferendis harum deleniti quas et. Sequi eveniet adipisci rem praesentium quo. Non sit a ratione quis. Saepe eum officia dignissimos est voluptate impedit ipsa. Sed molestias aperiam laboriosam et adipisci aut porro. Et voluptatem est enim incidunt qui.

Suscipit reprehenderit ex aliquam qui. Debitis quam ullam fugit doloribus. Consequuntur quaerat minus repellendus sit et ut doloremque ad. Provident reprehenderit eum repudiandae officia. Optio quas veritatis voluptas et ut maiores vel. Aut sequi odit eaque quia non.

Voluptas doloremque quae voluptas beatae. Quia voluptatem esse odio molestiae magni id eos. Ab aut ut quia expedita dolores. Dicta harum ullam quis explicabo dolor.

Saepe provident voluptatem deleniti est similique. Totam quia sit aut quod. Qui quaerat nihil consequatur voluptatem est deserunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”