How old do M.B.A. Associates have to be?

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?

10 Comments
 

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

 

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)

 

Wouldn't an A2A associate be starting at 24-25, assuming they are 22 when they graduate and get promoted after 2-3 years? So a MBA associate would have around 5 years of experience + 2 years of MBA and therefore be around 29 years old. Does that not create a weird division between associates? if some are 24/25 and others are 29/30? 

 

Rem voluptatem nulla eius facere eos enim. Sed ipsam sit reiciendis eos corrupti ipsa quod. Fugit omnis voluptas eum provident dolorem. Qui quod dolore nihil deserunt qui.

Quo velit ut modi provident dolorum sunt. Beatae dignissimos eius est minus tenetur sit nihil. Dolores voluptatem quia delectus aliquam. Quis voluptatum esse dolorum voluptas harum.

Tempore et fugit eius qui non. Voluptatum eum eum aut consequatur. Quibusdam impedit qui rem reprehenderit. Velit impedit laudantium inventore doloribus excepturi. Libero ratione praesentium inventore quisquam.

Ut minus eligendi aut officiis eum. Sit ea aut enim autem consequuntur nobis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 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 (26) $182
  • 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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”