Taking 5 days of leave during IB SA at a BB in London

I am currently a medical student at a UK university with a SA offer at a BB in London for IB. However, the start dates for the SA period coincide with my medical exams which are happening in-person in a different city. These exams are basically non-negotiable with the medical school. Each exam will probably take the whole day as I need to travel from London back to my University city to sit them in person. 

I was wondering how badly taking this level of leave is going to impact return offer chances, how best to approach asking for this leave, and the likelihood they will accept this leave. 

11 Comments
 

Yeah it's pretty much over.

Teams are looking for reasons to cull interns and not being there for 1/9 of the time is an easy reason to do so.

 

Ignore the other commenter. Speak to the HR first and figure out, they will connect you with the team if necessary. You’re not the first person that has this issue 


Also don’t you have training? The first week of SA it’s usually just training. We had a summer intern which had to take exams and she just agreed with HR to skip the first week (we gave her an offer btw). 

Provided the team you are joining is reasonable, everybody understands that you’re a student and sometimes commitments don’t line up perfectly. This will be a non-problem assuming you are good enough to get an offer

 

Second this. From my experience, HR is much nicer/understandable after you've gotten an offer than when you're still recruiting. 

 

Going to add that we had an intern leave midway through their summer internship for 1.5 weeks due to 'personal reasons', and given how strong the overall class was, they were culled as a result.

OP might be able to get away with it if the cohort/team intern-intake is weak, but most likely this will be a negative stain on their overall performance.

 

Did they request that leave in advance/would that make a difference? I know my exam dates already so I can give at least 6-7 months notice of the exact days I will not be available before the start of the SA period. 

 
Most Helpful

Comments like above are ironically part of the reason IB struggles to attract strong grads today. Unfortunate timing, but these are mandatory exams which count towards classification - seen very differently from discretionary leave. 

Any serious London BB understands these commitments and treats them as authorised absence. Been through something similar - be fully upfront, and make you sure you communicate to HR first/respective team-lead etc. well in advance, and as other commenter has said, this should not impact return-offer chances. 

 

Totam doloremque est aut ea. Ducimus reprehenderit laborum id dolor a molestiae cupiditate. Sed sint et et. Dolore nisi molestiae ut molestiae dicta dolores fuga. Quia architecto ullam perferendis et adipisci. Dolor et hic quia aut placeat fugiat quis. Officia nihil nesciunt vel eos iure.

Reiciendis voluptas magni aut ab voluptatibus sapiente. Qui saepe quod dolorem omnis consequuntur voluptate. Quas consectetur doloremque id aspernatur dolores pariatur. Est eos numquam natus illum.

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%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 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 (79) $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
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”