High School Internships, How? Should I? Advice?
So let me preface this by saying that I'm a highschooler and new to this forum. I'm a junior right now, and want to pursue something in finance, probably IB or PE. I'm pretty set in terms of grades, 4.0/4.0 UW 4.5W GPA, rank 6/520 at my school, no Bs, 15 APs, and 2 IBs, Sat is 1560. I've won some business competitions on the national level, and taken some courses at local community colleges and UCSB. I really want to go to UPenn, and was wondering my chances? Also if a finance internship is good for applying. I'm planning to double major in Public Policy and Finance/Business, cause I do speech and debate, policy analyst positions, and other stuff. Also random background about enjoying it while it lasts- I have a GF(talked to women somehow), am a nationally ranked powerlifter, and do a bunch of local volunteering. Thoughts? Comments? Advice? How should i go about getting an internship? I also just want to see if I really want to commit to IB/PE.
Thanks!!
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's what you need to know:
High School Internships in Finance
Feasibility and Value:
Steps to Secure an Internship:
Enhancing Your Profile for College Applications:
Balancing Interests:
College Admissions
Final Thoughts
Good luck with your endeavors!
Sources: Advice for undergrads going into IB interested in PE, Is Harvard enough?, Q&A - Private Equity Internships, How to Get an Internship After Freshman or Sophomore Year, Rising senior looking for an IB internship for the upcoming summer - advice appreciated
No
wdym no 😭
Get an internship freshman year of college, fall semester if you really want to go for ib.
Idk your family situation but best case would be a connection from one of your relatives. Could cold email people in SoCal at small banks. Tell them you want to learn and try to get on a call. Then ask if you could do a project for them - could be anything finance related or market research. No one is likely to waste time or money on a high schooler so project is more feasible
Why even go IB or PE? Most of these guys are miserable and huff copium because it keeps them sane while they work their 100th hour of the week. If you actually LIKE finance then go HF, GE, VC or trading. In early IB you’re compensated for having no life outside of work and doing skill-less repetitive tasks so why would you put yourself through that when it’s not even the best option and you’re this early?
Really? IB to me seems kinda glorified- but then again my perception is kinda flawed. I want to commit to business/finance or big law. Any general suggestions?
IB is glorified because it’s so tried and true. It’s a lower risk career move with prestige so it can set one up pretty well for post IB. If you’re this early to an interest in finance I say go to every informational, sign up for every competition, and learn as much as possible. This way you can get a feel for what the people in various industries look, live, and act like. Think about who you want to be and find where those people work within the realm of finance, law, or whatever else. Apprenticeships, shadowing, and internships in finance are awesome moves to expand your knowledge base.
i did an internship at a small wealth management shop the summer before freshman year. i think it helped with getting into clubs once i got to campus, so if you can get something there's no negative, assuming you're still enjoying that last summer.
Yeah you have a chance at UPenn. GL!
If everything you're saying is true then you can do better than investment banking (most people in investment banking can do better than investment banking). It sounds like you'll be successful at whatever you choose to do, and you haven't fully committed to the idea of being a banker. You should ask yourself why you want to do it. There are many ways to make money.
But to answer your question, if I were a high schooler looking for internships without any connections then I would cold email small boutique shops and tell them about myself and my goals. Draft a small resume of your accomplishments because they're impressive. Look for people you have something in common with. If you're in a city then look for anywhere you can pop your head in, but be careful cause there's a thin line between being assertive and ambitious and an annoying pest. Read the room.
You don't really need to have high school internships though. It's not going to make or break you too much either way. If it's just the experience you want so you can understand the work better and truly decide if that's what you want to do then go for it. Even if you don't land something you'll learn a lot about networking with professionals and it will be an experience you can talk about and use in some way later on.
How exactly do you just walk into a firm and then ask for an internship? There's a Morgan Stanley regional branch near me that I've been eyeing, but it just seems so daunting like the people who work their are crazy, it just seems unapproachable.
Morgan Stanley seems unapproachable because it is. It's way too big to try something like this, but you can try talking to random people like the guy below did, it may work. However, when I say boutique I mean a firm with less than 100 people. Ideally, you would want to be able to bump into the Founder/CEO and have a conversation with them or at least someone who has a direct line of communication with them or a key decision-maker because the office is so small. Morgan Stanley has tens of thousands of employees and you're not meeting Ted Pick or anyone who has his ear. There's also way too much bureaucracy to try something like this.
For example, I just asked ChatGPT to give me a list of some boutique firms in NYS with less than 100 employees. I picked a random one, "Foros," and I went to their website. I found out they have all their employees listed on the page and there are 22 employees listed including their analysts and CEO. There's a small bio for everyone. I would look for someone I have something in common with. Some of them played sports, some have languages listed, all the ones I clicked are Ivy League graduates. Just look for something to give you an in. I would also check around linkedin or any public social media pages and news articles. You can look for news articles written about them when they were in college, maybe even the college paper. You can also get an idea about the type of people the firm is looking for when they're that small.
Then start emailing/calling. Really use your age, passion, and the fact you're a student to your advantage. People love to help young students and kids, especially if they see a lot of ambition, and you can remind them of themselves when they were young.
I mean if you're really good at researching find someone retired and old. Old people love to help because they're bored and retired, they have a lifetime of wisdom and information, and no one talks to them anymore. They also have a lot of contacts. If you can find the CEO's old retired mentor then that's a goldmine.
Again, none of this is guaranteed to work. It's a very bold approach, and you have to be charismatic to pull it off. Especially, if you're going to show up. Back before the internet people used to show up at places and ask if they were hiring or to talk to someone. You can talk yourself into a good position if you can get in the right room but not everyone can pull it off.
You're going to strike out a lot so I would start with firms and people you don't care about for practice. You also have to have tough skin because being this bold will elicit some strong reactions and not all of them so positive which is fine - just don't take anything personal and keep it moving. Some people are just dicks with no social skills and they'll forget about you just as fast. Also, don't email everyone at one firm with 22 people in it, you're going to look crazy. They're going to talk about the high school kid that's blowing up everyone's inbox. You have to have good judgment. Remember, there's a thin line between being ambitious and annoying.
I'm from Wichita Kansas so I didn't have many options in my HS summer, however, what i did that worked well is just.. walking into the WM shops.
I literally didn't have a resume so i just.. walked... into the wealth management offices and asked about internship opportunities. I had already been reading WSO for five or six months so I already had a lot of research under my belt as well as things to talk about.
All I did was just be passionate about WM, markets, walked in places and wore a Ralph Lauren Polo and just spoke to professionals. Worked.
Lmao banking is going to ruin your life, OP. You are better than that. Enjoy your highschool experience, get into a good school, and aim higher.
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