Freshman Summer Internship — when to start reaching out?

Hi guys. I’m a freshman at Stern and I’m planning on getting some sort of finance internship over the summer. Obviously, I’ll get whatever I can as a freshman; no need for it to be anything crazy. My question is when to start applying and reaching out. I assume I’ll be cold emailing, so when should I start? Is there a timeline for smaller firms, or is it unstructured? Since the internship would probably be for a small local firm, I’m guessing  October would be a bit early to start cold-emailing and applying. Let me know if I’m misunderstanding the process.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

3 Comments
 

Hello! I would say that it's never too early to start the process. Since you're a freshman you have all the options in the world when it comes to a career path. Don't stress on it too hard, literally any finance or business-related internship would suffice for a freshman. I'm a sophomore now and I worked in business analytics at a rando business last summer haha. Just take finance-related courses, get good at excel, and lever personal connections and ask if introductions can be made before starting the cold email process. Most places aren't seeking freshman but if you show enough ambition and passion, you could seek out opportunities through family members or friends. I'd say the most important thing for freshman year is to have fun and not to worry about having some crazy investment banking internship just yet haha.

 

Great, thanks for the reply. Yeah, I’m trying to have as much fun as I can— this stuff doesn’t last forever lol. I always like to plan ahead though, so maybe I come across as a bit anxious. Really appreciate the advice though. And yeah, I’ll talk to some personal connections before I start shooting emails. 

 

Autem ut debitis non sit. Possimus non aliquid officia eveniet qui minus. Ullam quia nihil ea velit tempore.

Sed vitae delectus repudiandae cumque quidem. Repellat dicta ducimus minima et eum dolore. Debitis pariatur adipisci sit ullam harum. Non maxime accusantium sequi et adipisci deserunt explicabo. Molestias distinctio quasi et libero. Quaerat dolor consequuntur nostrum magnam sint qui.

Nobis qui temporibus vero a dicta. Omnis sit odit iure nulla ratione sed. Aut incidunt est sit autem. Cum est sapiente dolor tenetur.

Assumenda ratione optio eos non et consequatur esse animi. Quia voluptatem minus recusandae unde. Commodi suscipit non sequi.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 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

August 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

August 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

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”