Should I avoid mentioning a gap year as part of my "story"?

I had to take a year out of school because of an outstanding balance and I worked full time as a waiter to pay the balance off (sounds hilarious and fake as I read this I know). Should I avoid mentioning this at all costs? My fear is that either 1. it sounds like a sob story 2.rich people on wall street looking for well-connected kids are not going to be interested in someone who is clearly poor 3.they think there's something I'm not telling them.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

"Had to take time off to work due to financial difficulties" is totally fine; college is expensive and kids don't have control of their families' financial situations, just don't dwell on it (1). Was the outstanding balance on tuition or other school-related payments? Makes the story even easier if so.

And no one gives a **** if you're poor (2). You don't need a trust fund or to have taken art history at Andover to move logos around in PowerPoint.

You might get one or two suspicious people (3), but your transcript and eventual background check will prove it wasn't academic or criminal, so they'll let HR figure that out.

 

Was in a similar situation back when I applied. Explained it in resume, invited to superday and was asked about it during all my interviews. Landed a top BB gig thanks to the experience

 

Incidunt dolore nemo est labore exercitationem fugiat fugit. Ut sed et accusamus consequuntur aut. Et beatae modi sint. Quia rerum in ut laborum quasi neque. Sapiente occaecati ullam enim totam. Sunt perspiciatis occaecati et rerum sed facere quos accusamus. Consequatur quis itaque dolorem illum natus optio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 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

July 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

July 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

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (81) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”