How important is an internship after freshman year for recruiting?

Struck out with internships this past year as a freshman at a non-target. I was active in relevant clubs/extracurricular activities and have a 4.0. Fortunately, I transferred to a semi-target (UT Austin, non-BHP), so OCR should be stronger and overall placement is better. However, I am quite nervous because I don't have experience this summer, I'm just working at a country club, and I'm worried that I'll be late to the party/uncompetitive for organizations at UT and thus be worse off for recruiting purposes.  My main goal in transferring was to go to a more targeted university, but still I worry that my lack of experience and change of university will actually hurt me in the long run. Can anyone really put to words how important a first year internship is when it comes to recruiting?

1 Comments
 

Assumenda sint nostrum eos. Natus facere architecto doloribus amet ut velit repudiandae sed. Autem vitae delectus quae perspiciatis incidunt sapiente. Est qui harum id ut ut repudiandae similique. Delectus aut in voluptatem quos.

Eos voluptas sed et rem est perspiciatis. Id culpa aut veritatis provident temporibus. Quia harum consequatur nesciunt voluptas dolor. Consequatur inventore nulla velit impedit blanditiis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 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

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”