Sophomore Programs/Internships

Thank you.

I will answer with as much detail as you’ve given us: low.

Sophomores with a lot of AP credits can have junior status as a second-year student. If you interned at a boutique your freshman year summer, I think you will have the same chance as everybody else.

What kind of analyst program are you looking to get into and what is your background? Check out dBachieve.

Yeah I applied to that. Because I enjoy investing on the side and all things technology, I was hoping to apply to IBD/Equity Research gigs as a technology coverage (Semi Conductors or Electronics).

I'm not worried about Technicals (building/understanding financial statements, DCFs, Comps) and behaviorals could use work, but I wonder if I can at least get a summer analyst/ER associate position at a top MM or BB. If they generally don't take sophomores, I will only apply to select companies.

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nopeee- i heard mid feb is when they plan on getting back to people

Does anyone know what the difference is between the Citi Diversity Scholars and Citi Diversity Leadership Programs?

Citi is doing first-rounds this week for the latter, superday next Friday.

do you know around how many people get the first round interview and of which, how many get into the final round?

Mid-Feb. for which one? Citi? I thought JPM already started interviewing people?

i had a first round interview for the JPM program, and i thought it went well... apparently not. got a call that i didnt get past the 1st round. I'm from a nontarget school, and I heard they take a really small amount of people

if u havent heard yet for jpm or citi-does it mean a rejection?

Anyone hear back from Citi for second rounds yet..?

Has anyone been outright rejected for JPM first rounds? I haven't heard a single thing back from them since I submitted... Anyone at a target get a response yet?

Has anyone gotten a call from Citi yet? I haven't heard from them, which I'm guessing means rejection...

aquamarinee -- I'm at a target and all the people who were not selected for an on-campus interview were notified of rejections about 2-3 weeks ago.

if jpm still hasnt reached out to you, rejection?

yeah you're rejected. sorry bud.

is the diversity program for citi only for minorities or can any ethncity apply?

I got a first round interview and was placed on "on hold", the superday is this friday. didn't hear from them, rejection?

Most of the programs are posted on the company's website. Don't be afraid to put some work in yourself.

has anyone received a response from applying?

Some of these questions have already been aswered in other topics. Lehman has one too, though I've also known Sophomores to get into Lehman's START and IBD programs which are typically geared toward Juniors.

For mine the job was pretty much the same as juniors. In the end your offer is for the next summer.

Candidates are all solid. There's no "typical" candidate.

you wouldnt get in anyway, just find a PWN

Type of candidates? Cream of the crop

Morgan Stanley takes 10 for its IBD rotational program.

Lehman Brothers takes approximately 20.

You are are a summer analyst, so your work is the same as junior analysts. You just may be in a specific group or division for a shorter period of time.

Type of candidates? black or mexican.

I can back up KillerMike with respect to Lehman's program.

JPM's Honors program is predominantly for "diversity" candidates.

Citi's isn't. Goldman's isn't too, but importantly, this year, close to 90% of recruits were from Harvard which I think is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. I mean, it is okay to recruit from Ivy League schools but at least diversify your sample size a bit. Jeez!

From what I've observed about sophomore programs, the candidates are top-notch, super smart and sometimes even more polished and yes, knowledgeable than their junior counterparts. They tend to have a higher return offer rate than the general junior pool, (think 90-95%) but I'm not sure if it is a function of their being smarter or a function of the assessment standards being lowered for them.

When interviewing for sophomore programs, your most important skill sets I would say should be confidence, a sense of humor and a strong ability to sell yourself at the interview level. To get interviews, you either need an incredibly high gpa (but note, this does not guarantee you an offer- you need to couple this with confidence, humor and a sales-man attitude at the interview level) or an okay g.p.a and stupendously incredible leadership experience.

That being said, I'll say good luck to you. Sometimes, luck plays a huge factor as I have seen a lot of 3.9ers from M.I.T with maybe not great, but okay interpersonal skills not get into a lot of these programs.

At the end of the day, arm yourself with high energy, great interpersonal skills and a polished demeanor. Should help you stand out from the rest of the childish looking sophs and froshs.

are all of these sophomore programs in NYC or are there any in Chicago?

NYC

NYC

Anyone have any experience with the BofA sophomore program? I had heard there was one but couldn't find much information on the website.

Anyone have any experience with the BofA sophomore program? I had heard there was one but couldn't find much information on the website.

A lot of the programs are not listed on the site itself; however, if you enter the application, you are given the option to apply for them.

yeah, like citi's

anyone need prep help, pm me. I got into a couple this spring

Just do it through campus recruiting, pretty sure they all had separate listings on there.

btw goldman's program is a diversity one but still super competitive to get in..

It's pretty damn tough to get into these Sophomore Programs. I got a call from JP Morgan about their Honors program in February for this summer. I'm not at a target, but have a 3.8 gpa.

I didn't get another interview and I think I just got the call in the first place because the HR girl was from the same hometown as me and probably felt bored and realized what a coincidence lets call this kid for fun so we add something interesting to our day.

nearly all of these programs are diversity-focused. When my Lehman rejection came, for instance, it was sent from the diversity recruiting office. The only one I know that wasn't solely diversity-focused was BofA's. Yet, there was a diversity component to their program also. Everyone has to fill quotas nowadays...which in itself is a topic worth discussing.

The people who get these positions are definitely not necessarily top-of-the-class. I go to a premier school (think Harvard, Wharton, Princeton) and many of those who got offers had connections. Surely, the kids were bright but there were much brighter students that got rejected. On the same token, some very bright kids also did get offers. However, it is very naive to think that these programs are purely meritocratic.

And my experience is completely different from that. None of the sophomores were underrepresented minorities for my program.

that's kinda interesting. Guess I may have generalized a little too much, but I still think diversity plays a large role in these programs.

I think that totally depends on the bank

If I may ask, KillerMike, where do you go to school? Maybe I'm digging into this too deeply, but perhaps it also depends on the University.

FYI Citi doesn't do this diversity shit. granted everyone has to fill quotas but looking at the Sophomore Rotational Program resume book, i think Citi had like 5 colored kids out of 30. so there you go and they were pretty talented enough to be there.

GS. is a minority program but lots of ivy league minorities filled it up

Lehman is supposed to be a diversity program but looking at the resume book, you wouldn't think its a diversity with the number of non colored people

JPM is definitely a diversity program with just african americans and latinos

MS is a diversity thing but i haven't seen their resume book yet but i'll keep you guys updated

any other banks worth mentioning, isn't bofa just for tellers only :)

Not specifying where I work, but some of the sophomore's GPA's are low. I don't mean 3.7 low. I'm talking 3.25. No joke.

Not sure how they do it. I could have never gone to class and recieved better marks than that.

Mower could you post a link of the resume books if in fact they are online?

resume books aren't online..coworkers in other banks handed them over..

its so crazy how quickly and easy resume books fly around..i prob have about 13 in my posession

Will having a BB sophomore program experience be helpful? Seriously? Is this a serious question?

Short answer: Yes. Incredibly helpful.

haha sorry...i just tend to freeze up and freak out during interviews and the added pressure of technical questions for junior sa spots is a little intimidating. thanks though

Lol no problem.

Think of it this way if you somehow get an Sophomore BB SA offer and perform well you will get an offer for your Junior Year, and you can avoid interviewing with other banks.

That is what I did. PM me if you have any questions.

Yes it's very helpful. Plus not having to interview junior year is a pretty awesome thing

Yes. If you have a sophomore program on your resume at a BB or very good boutique, you will likely have a free shot at interviews even if your GPA crashed to 3.1.

Additionally, you "can" be hired without related experience. This also implies that you also could NOT be hired without related experience. In this kind of hiring environment, play your cards safe when it comes to qualifications. Obviously it tends to differ a bit by school, but candidates with work experience and lower GPA's (even if it's just a random boutique or hedge fund) often have a leg up on getting interview slots over people with better GPA's, unless the GPA in question is an exceptional one (3.8+). Ever little difference matters when there are ~800 resume drops and 30 interview slots.

What type of firms are you targeting for your Sophomore internship search?

I was in the placed desk program at GS as a sophomore and I can say with confidence that it was THE greatest learning experience I have ever had in my life. I do not think this can be said for the rotational programs (I think a lot of time gets wasted on networking and trying to get offers, both of which are far less important for sophomores), but any experience is better than none. I had a wonderful time and cannot convey the value of the knowledge I gained.

placed desk program?

Pretty self explanatory: You are placed on a desk from the start of the summer and sit with that desk for the full summer. Consequently, you work many more hours and have much more responsibility and in my opinion learn much more.

how did you get placed on a desk after sophomore? I read on the GS website that they recruit a few sophomores from their Spring Break program - is that how you got placed?

No. I was interviewing with another division for a different SA role and was then asked to interview with one of the securities division's desks.

"sophomore programs worth it?"

Not if it means they can figure out they don't like you earlier.

Prangs -Is this better than doing an IB internship sophomore year at a boutique bank if you assume that the amount of responsibility you are given is comparable

I would say that with boutique, you will usually have more responsibility than at a BB, especially as a sophomore. Also, if you do both boutique and BB, you get the feel for both, and a lot of times, one clicks while the other is significantly less appealing.

All the BBs hire sophomores (well, they did last year, but who knows what'll get cut this year)....google it, it's really not hard to find basic info on them. It seems to be a lot less formal/standardized than junior recruiting, though it seems to hold that if you're not at a target where they come to recruit, just an online app isn't going to do much for you.

The firms that have freshmen days/events (MS, GS, CS, JPM, and Barclays) use those as starting points for their applicant pools. Most focus on diversity at targets...if you're not at a target and/or not diversity then it's probably going to be a lot tougher, but since you're already at MS you can just contact one of the IBD recruiters and see what they have to say.

I've been told that at this stage it's as much about the name as the experience, so I wouldn't reason your way out of a BB program for a boutique on the basis of better deal exposure.

The thing is im not in a NY location, I'm in MD, and no one in this smaller branch knows IB analysts in NY. They know lots of traders and research guys, but not IB.

Have you heard of anyone getting in who is a non target and a non minority?

How would this be possible/where would one apply? I cant see a location on the website-clicking the sophomore links takes me to a broader location

The sophomores I know who have gotten IBD internships in the past got them through networking. Reach out to some people and hopefully you'll make a good connection who'll pull for you. You probably won't see many official postings for sophomore IBD internships, as they're mostly rotational programs; after all, the point of the internship for the banks is to have ten weeks to evaluate who to potentially give offers to, and it doesn't really make sense then to have sophomores. That being said, it's definitely possible if you have someone pulling for you.

...would rank at the top of the list.

Seriously, if you have more than one offer for those programs, then just pick one.

I wasn't fortunate enough to participate (I didn't even apply), but I actually like the look of JPM's program the best.

Most of them are directed at underprivledged/minorities

Bump. Anybody?