I plan to attend a top 15-20 M.B.A. (UVA, Duke, UNC, Cornell) in the fall of 2025.
I will be 25 without any professional leadership experience when the program starts.
Do most of the of the investment banking M.B.A. summer associate roles go to people who are on the older ends of their cohorts (28+)? If so, is it worth it to wait?
| +229 | Should My Intern Get a Return Offer? | 58 | 2d |
| +96 | UBS Accused of Favoring H-1B Workers While Cutting U.S.-Born Employees | 15 | 1h |
| +78 | Incompetent and annoying co-intern | 23 | 16h |
| +67 | Getting Laid in IB? | 28 | 2d |
| +66 | Intern keeps sleeping at work - what to tell them | 28 | 19h |
| +55 | Living in greenwich as an analyst? | 12 | 16h |
| +42 | NYC Associate Budget | 14 | 20h |
| +36 | Nauseous every morning for past 3 years in IB, anyone else? | 21 | 1d |
| +35 | Quick Thoughts on CVC AI Sale Process | 7 | 22h |
| +29 | Going out / social schedule as AN1 | 14 | 3d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
If anyone has anecdotes on this, please comment. I can't find much on this topic on the web.
Many of the "Summer Associates" I see on LinkedIn are usually over 30, and this makes it discouraging.
You see people over 30 because that's closer to the typical age of an MBA student. Banks won't be concerned about your age - you'll be 27 once you're in a full time seat so you'll be older than their A2A associates. If you have prior relevant work experience (e.g., worked at Big 4 or something) you'll be fine.
Thanks
They can’t ask for your age due to discrimination laws (age discrimination laws are tricky tho, technically if you’re under 40 you have no protection but I have never seen nor heard of someone having to list their age or be asked of their age in a professional interview), but they can probably infer from your resume. Unless you went straight into MBA out of undergrad there will be no concern, and even if you did go into MBA out of undergrad, it wouldn’t be that big of a concern, if at all
Thanks for the input. I was mostly concerned if younger 'MBA Associate' applicants would strike out in recruiting more often due to lack of experience. I think I should be decent enough with 3+ YOE
Started my MBA at 24 and started the FT IB Associate gig at 26 (technically I got the IB offer at 25) so it is doable but I was def the youngest in my class to go IB (disclaimer: I also worked at a bank pre-mba)
I am a Corporate Banking Analyst currently in my second year. Planning on going the MBA route once I finish the three year analyst program. Do you guys think I would be competitive enough with my background to go the MBA Associate route for IB?
Est nulla impedit et ut libero. Numquam nihil ex nisi. Suscipit est harum sunt vero dolorem. Provident ut non sint eos.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...