Should I prioritise prep or rest before SA?

Have a few months left before summer analyst stint. I've went through an excel course and currently going through a modelling course, but I'm curious about how much effort to place into these. I.e. should I be spending this time trying to perfect technicals, excel/ppt skills. Or should I spend some time on this but mainly prioritise rest and relaxing so I'm fresher for the summer. I study a demanding course so don't have much spare time regardless.

Basically I've not done an SA before so curious about people with experience having done SAs, if you could go back and were in my position what would you do? Many thanks.

1 Comments
 

Sed sit architecto sapiente magnam voluptatem. Omnis deserunt atque temporibus natus consequatur dolore ratione omnis.

Ullam vitae id eos dolor suscipit possimus molestias. Qui nam quas consectetur quae illum non.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $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

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...”