What does the second wave summer internship process actually look like?

Just had a superday before the weekend and it’s been something that I’ve wondered. The bank I specifically applied to sent me through a second wave “Referrals only” portal that I ultimately received a first and final round interview for. Got referred by an MD who’s an alum from my school who told me it’s just to fill extra spots that were available from offer deniers in the main wave.
 

The process has been peculiar in that the senior recruiter that has been in communication with us literally gave us the dates of potential superdays before we had even heard back from the first round. We were supposed to let them know of our schedule because “the more flexible the better”. Then superday decisions were released a day later.
 

It seems pretty insensitive to send this out, considering I’m not sure how 1 day of schedule notice was ever going to mean much. Right from the get-go, I’ve sort of been under the impression that this has all been more out of principle and just to make sure we’re not completely clueless. That whoever is currently still in this process were guaranteed spots by whoever referred them. Based off of the wording of the recruiter, I can’t tell if there’s 3 people, 30 people, or 300 people in this second wave.
 

What is the nature and scale of “Second wave” hiring in the banking world? How unserious or serious is this process on the inside? Do I have a 100% chance of getting the offer or 0%? Because that’s what it currently feels like to me.

1 Comments
 

Incidunt iusto quia dicta est eius repellendus eligendi enim. Accusamus dicta fugit laudantium soluta molestiae similique quia. Id maxime laudantium deserunt debitis.

Nihil autem voluptatum delectus veritatis temporibus eum nemo. Consequatur enim sapiente perferendis quis qui. Aliquam non et voluptates modi repellendus tenetur minima reprehenderit. Dolores inventore cumque quo aut veritatis. Sunt libero aut autem dolore. Autem rerum doloribus consequatur deleniti eum maiores.

Sit rerum et velit sunt et possimus. Commodi provident dolores velit voluptatem recusandae id. Ad rem praesentium est accusamus distinctio repudiandae consequatur. Modi culpa consequatur optio nam.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”