emailing my Ivy League undergrad's endowment office about 2026 analyst positions as prefrosh?
At my ivy league undergrad's orientation for accepted high school seniors I somehow attended the endowment office’s talk for current students for summer 2026 internships. The application deadline is this summer, so if I wanted to intern there for my freshman summer, I would have to submit an application now as an incoming freshman.
Should I email the endowment office now to see if freshmen can even have internships? Or is this insane hardo behavior that would be received poorly. Should I wait to contact the endowment office when the first day of classes start?
This is more complicated when I consider that I want to graduate in 3 years due to financial reasons, so then in my first year I would be a sophomore. I assume this would make getting internships soon more important, and also completely screws up the standard recruiting timeline.
Before anyone tells me to touch grass (a truly justified take, tbh) I struggled a lot in high school and really want to be prepared in college, especially for recruiting for IB/PE/HF. Thanks for taking the time to read this post, and I really appreciate any opinions!
Insanely hardo - wait till you are at least involved in the main investment club on campus. As a high school senior you don’t know shit about fuck, respectfully, so you have no value add / demonstrated potential to add value.
Wait until you hit campus and reach out to someone on the team saying you are interested in the industry and would love to learn more. I can speak first-hand that they keep track of those that network / go to events (did they ask good questions, are they really interested in institutional investing, etc).
I second this, can use some interactions you will have on campus to reach out to them. Freshman year getting any internship is great, even if it’s not directly related to IB/PE/HF
Very hardo, but shoot your shot. I think instead of applying directly say you heard about the enowment internship program and that you're interested. Then, ask how you can best shape your profile so that next year you are in a good position to get the internship. Maybe even see if you can have a quick informational call with one of the junior people in the office just to chat and get the lay of the land.
Ignore the general consensus here, I'd apply. The matter of fact is you are going to a school full of hardos, join the crew. Additionally, for some reason it’s looked down upon for being a hardo (may be due to the ego that comes with it). If you stay level headed and show you want to learn, there is no issue with putting yourself out there. I will take a humble hardo over anyone, respect the hell out of it.
As someone currently working at a university endowment as a rising sophomore, what worked best for me was getting actively involved in finance-related clubs, researching endowment investment strategy, and showing steady/passive interest throughout my first semester.
I connected with a former intern, learned more about the role, and he offered to put me in contact with the investment team. Definitely take it slow and attend relevant events rather than reaching out directly to the CIO per se, especially early on.
So many people seem to be missing OPs point that the deadline is THIS SUMMER. This is the type of great opportunity to have on a resume for rising sophomore summer as it'll pretty much be the only experience they'll have when recruiting for the rising senior summer (offers generally are given out during sophomore year).
OP, if youre someone without family connections to make that rising sophomore summer internship happen, definitely reach out to the endowment office. I'm sure there are some junior employees you could reach out to, who would then put you in touch with senior employees.
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