Advice for target freshman struggling to land internship

Hey all, freshman here at a lower tier target with a 4.0 GPA, 1590 SAT and previous consulting (PwC) and PE experience. Over the last few days, I have sent out more than 70 emails and reached out to almost every IB boutique in my area either offering to work for free or trying to network with VPs. In spite of my strong CV, all I’ve gotten is emails telling me I have an impressive resume, but to come back next year or calls that have more or less lead to the same outcome despite going well. Not that I’ve reached out to almost every shop in my area, is there anything more that can be done to find an IB internship for the summer? Is it worth reaching out to boutiques outside of my area. Just feeling a little lost, particularly since I was able to cold call my way into my last internship (PE)with no experience as a high school senior. My CV and emails have been reviewed by a number of people, so I know nothing is wrong on that end. Fortunately, I’ve got a return offer with pay at the shop I worked at last summer, but I really want to get some IB experience on my resume so I can be competitive for BB sophomore internships. Does anyone have any advice on what more can be done/ what could be done differently to land a boutique internship? Thanks!  

10 Comments
 

Good after the fact suggestion lol I landed a PE internship  in KSA (in person) for the first half of the summer and used that to get my way into an MM PE shop for August . Super excited for it. Ended up with 7 offers 

 

Et voluptatem sint repellat rerum. Dolore amet odit et rem et eum itaque quisquam. Maiores soluta eius voluptas fuga voluptas veritatis et.

Et rerum laborum neque. Et nesciunt assumenda architecto id non similique. Et vel libero fugit quisquam tenetur suscipit.

Qui est perspiciatis in laborum magni perferendis neque. Nesciunt recusandae velit nihil sunt quaerat non quas. Et voluptatum praesentium perferendis. Minus eaque iste sed dolor aspernatur sit. Non vitae provident pariatur. Repellendus et mollitia ea sit est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 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

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...”