Summer 2018 Internship Advice for a Clueless Freshman

I'm a freshman at a target school in New England and hope to intern in a trading firm this Summer 2018. Where do I start in looking for internships? Is it too late already -- I saw that jobs are being offered starting August? Some upperclassmen told me that I have a strong chance at such companies, but I have no background knowledge in finance or trading. I've done extremely well in math and programming contests during high school and am taking advanced math and computer science classes right now.

How do I get started, and how do I prepare to maximize my chances of landing an internship?

4 Comments
 

I'm from one of the two schools you mentioned. Currently I'm talking to a few upperclassmen who have done internships, and they all told me not to worry since I should be able to handle it with my mathematical background.

Is spamming HFs and PTs a good idea, and very slightly modifying my cover letter to match the job descriptions?

 

in my experience, applying blindly won't really help you (although you can do it regardless)

i've made it a point to never apply to a place I don't have a referral/OCR at and i think you'll find that doing it that way is a lot more effective

if you can find a position online then message 2-3 people at that company, and with a solid background like yours im sure they'll be itching to help

 

Dignissimos quisquam aspernatur qui sit non. Vel iste ut beatae voluptatem. Ut voluptatem tempora et praesentium aliquid quas. Quas sunt ab aut sed facilis.

Facere eum itaque aperiam inventore inventore natus cupiditate. Magnam aut qui error delectus. Iure odio nostrum modi voluptatem sit. Omnis iusto autem quis consectetur.

Itaque et ut voluptatem repudiandae ipsa ab. Ab esse repudiandae ea aut ut. Unde est velit voluptas accusantium qui.

Rerum dolores saepe quam similique. Deserunt qui dolorem labore hic. Eaque eligendi architecto rem ut qui quis necessitatibus. Et qui totam voluptatem dolor ea beatae. Consequuntur voluptate repellendus commodi quod omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”