Internship advice needed - Am I cooked?

Hello everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to read my very first post! I am a Junior attending a non-target college, I've applied for 20+ internships at the time I have written this post and spent a couple hours daily, including weekends, for the last two months applying for internships and haven't gotten anything except for two hire views which I never heard anything back from. 

More about me:

I've been active as a youth, participating in my high school soccer team and attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. I also went to one of the top 5 best public schools in Pennsylvania, which is where I'm from. I have the SIE, BMC, certifications from LSE, CPR/AED certified, and I'm working on a certification from the CFAI. I have skills in excel, Bloomberg, and Refinitiv (now LSEG workspace). I've held the same two jobs for four years and I have a good GPA. I've also been active at my school, with me being an analyst team lead for the student investment club.

I don't know what to do anymore, I have genuinely done everything I can think of. Networking, referrals, handwritten letters, cold emails, certifications, resume workshops, interview practices. I even have parents that work in the industry that helped me throughout the process.

Literally nothing seems to be working on top of that everyone around me is getting offers for the exact opportunities I've been applying to, while not being half as qualified. Like I mentioned above, I have parents that work in the industry so I've been learning about finance since I could walk. I even have a disability, so I count as DEI.

I feel like no matter what I do, nothing works. I know I'm not supposed to complain but I truly don't know what else I can do and I'm starting to lose hope. If you have any advice to offer me, that would be greatly appreciated.

- Lost monkey

2 Comments
 

20 applications is nothing

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Voluptatibus vel laboriosam cupiditate non rerum laboriosam temporibus. Necessitatibus blanditiis libero quia. Voluptatem aut voluptas eveniet nobis id cumque.

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%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 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 (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $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
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”