Rising Freshman -- Need Advice

Hey everyone,

I'm a rising college freshman at an ivy (top 5 for IB/PE placement), and I have been spending the past few weeks thinking a lot about my future career.

I've talked to some alumni/current students and found out that summer '23 internships are already being taken, meaning that applications open over a year before the internship starts. This means that for junior year summer internships, you can only put your freshman + 1/2 sophomore grades and activities and only your freshman summer internship on your resume when you apply. At my college, the freshman year schedule is pretty limited, so the courses I will be taking will not be very applicable to finance (maybe an econ course here or there).

The two questions I have are these:

1) Since the recruiting process is so early now, how can I stand out? I already have some pretty good finance experience (I started a fund that trades on a major stock exchange with a couple million in investments) and I am trying to get an internship at this asset management company this summer with around 900M AUM

2) Assuming I could land a top job, would you recommend I shoot for PE out of undergrad, a top BB group, or a top EB?

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

2. You need to figure out what YOU want from your career. You're quite young though, so it's going to take you time to figure that out. But I find it odd that you are asking strangers on the internet what job they recommend you get. It would be more appropriate to talk to a career counselor, but honestly, you need to do the research for yourself and determine what path is best for you. Since freshman year I changed my career choice 3 times & I know plenty of others who changed it more frequently. Your internships will help with that as well! 

1. Keep your grades up & get involved in your school. Join the Finance club and things of that nature & try to make a contribution/impact. That will be a good start for you. You're obviously smart and capable of doing the work. Make sure you study your technicals. Try to develop a good personality? I know that's weird to say but basically, try to be a person others want to be around. Hopefully, you already are. You're already ahead of the curve - you'd have to really screw up to not be successful. Best of luck & congrats on your Ivy acceptance! 

 

Qui sequi iusto voluptatem sint sequi voluptatem. Ut voluptas sapiente perspiciatis qui consequatur doloremque officiis. Et et qui ab consequatur qui autem. Consequatur sequi nostrum placeat velit ducimus commodi.

Quidem aut eius minus nisi. Dolore aliquam consequatur sed eum et et. Ut quas veritatis molestias et voluptates.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 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

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
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
numi's picture
numi
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...”