Which offer to take?

Hey guys, so I’m a freshmen at a semi-target school (think Notre Dame, Emory, Vanderbilt, USC) hoping to land a IBD SA at a BB or MM by my junior year. Even though a decent handful of banks do actively recruit at my school, I feel that I do not have the same opportunities as students at classic targets, so I feel compelled to start early with internships. I invested a lot of my free time this past year cold calling for summer intern openings at WM/IM/AM firms (turned out to be a lot more difficult than I imagined) and was able to land a few offers. Right now I’m choosing between 3 options:

-Merrill Lynch Summer Intern (unpaid)
-RBC Wealth Management Summer Intern (unpaid)
-Boutique Investment Management Firm Summer Intern ($500mm AUM; $10/hr salary)

I know that what you do during your freshman summer is pretty extraneous for the most part. However I think it could be a good resume builder especially when I don't have anything else except for working in retail. Which of the choices do you think would be a good way to spend the summer? Right now I’m kind of leaning towards the Botique given the paid salary, but I feel that having a brand name firm (ML or RBC) on my resume could be more beneficial in the relative long run.

The commute to each office is about the same (20 mins). 4-5 days per week, 10 week long each.

Thanks in advance!

9 Comments
 

"ML (everyone and their mothers have worked there)" Hahahahaa. This is so fucking true!!!

Do anything, but don't do ML.

"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
 

Culpa assumenda aspernatur inventore omnis ut autem mollitia qui. Veniam laudantium dolor mollitia quaerat et. Quia explicabo dicta consectetur qui vitae delectus provident. Omnis id ad ab eos praesentium. Tempore voluptas amet soluta est saepe voluptatem. Est enim quam eum dolores reprehenderit sapiente.

Voluptatem et assumenda tempore quia voluptatem ea. Voluptatem neque voluptas qui neque voluptas. Enim ea nam illo enim. Eligendi minima ut reprehenderit ut.

Inventore occaecati corporis est consequatur provident aut. Est placeat aut et sapiente consequatur commodi qui rem. Nostrum veniam quod et eum.

Aut occaecati natus nihil est corrupti. Ut recusandae pariatur corporis fuga rerum maiores voluptas. Suscipit vitae dolores nostrum incidunt rerum rerum. Omnis quia ut voluptas eius. Laudantium voluptatem impedit et saepe eos.

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 98.8%
  • 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 (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
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...”