Sophomore Summer - definite non-target

Here's my situation; hope for some input. I attend a definite non-target, but not awful (think top 50) with a 3.7 as a sophomore in Finance & Accounting. I have talked with a VP at Lehman in their IM division. He has said that he will pass along my resume and implied that I had a good chance at getting an interview. I assume that he is talking about in his department or PWM. (would be curious to know the difference between the 2, as well) In addition, I have been in contact with a VP at RBC doing structured products. He seemed willing to help land me an interview, but had to run before we could iron things out. Lastly, I have someone sending my resume to some regional offices (southeastern) for a couple of BB's and MM's, as well as one PE shop.

I am trying to position myself strongly for a SA position after junior year at a BB. Here are my questions: Would you agree that the usefulness of the possible opportunities as far as getting my foot in the door next summer is: Lehman, BB regionals, RBC/MM regionals/Smaller PE Shop? If not, what order? And, which would be most likely?

7 Comments
 

Lehman, BB Regionals, RBC/MM regionals, smaller PE shop. All of these also depends on what you want to do. IM is good for opps. next summer (summer 2009) in S&T. PE obv. good for IB. I don't know you so I can't say what your chances are for getting a job but if you are smart, you've read the vault guides and you can explain you are mature and also you have a passion for finance, you could have a good shot at getting a summer job. Lehman would give you the best leg up btw for an SA position next summer.

 

It is incredibly hard to get in as a sophomore. Incredibly hard. I know this from personal experience. You might want to look into things like Risk Management (credit, market, operational, doesn't really matter) which is not glamorous, but it gives you a solid feel for the organization as a whole. It will also do well for your modeling ability and understanding what it's like to work at a big bank. A lot of the BB looking for summer analysts would like to see you working at a big financial firm. However, just working at a big firm is not enough...you DO need to do some kind of work that is substantial and helps you learn.

Cheers,

 

Incredibly hard, really? I was operating under the assumption that alot of these non-formalized internships for sophomores were more discretionary than the official summer analyst program. Am I really that far off-basis?

"I'm not sure what the four 9's do, but the ace, I think, is pretty high."
 

Something you might want to look at is working at a F500 in Corporate Finance or Corporate Development. They are usually far more willing to have sophomores come on than banks, and you'll get good modelling experience. Plus, if you do CorpDev the guys there usually meet a ton of bankers during pitches so they'll have more contacts for you to connect with.

 
Best Response

Thanks gomes3pc. Makes sense to me. I have (and will continue to) pursue F500 opportunities. I am just trying to make sure that I don't get myself stuck in a "corporate finance" internship studying a monthly budget for janitorial services...

I am curious though about the following. The person I talked to with Lehman is in the IM division. He manages portfolios for family foundations. To me this strikes me as a pretty close function to PWM. As a poster above said, IM would be good to set up a S&T for next summer. I'm curious about the differences between IM and PWM, and why IM makes for a good segue into S&T while PWM internships are considered (around here at least) pretty useless?

"I'm not sure what the four 9's do, but the ace, I think, is pretty high."
 

Velit voluptatem eos est exercitationem. Tempora dicta saepe consequuntur quo. Ex impedit id voluptas sit facere deleniti. Laboriosam ut aliquam et et enim sit. Aut praesentium aut qui qui.

Aut voluptatem eius ut aut quia dolore molestiae. Nemo ea voluptatem sit consequuntur asperiores nesciunt sed. Voluptatem possimus sed dolores consequuntur architecto a enim. Sint consectetur voluptas ab iusto eum inventore. Harum quia assumenda ipsam consequatur voluptatem consequatur temporibus. Eos accusamus dignissimos ut iure maxime dolores rerum. Sunt numquam nisi voluptas placeat reprehenderit voluptatem. Et sit esse deserunt.

A in et non ipsam. Quibusdam commodi enim cum molestiae. Itaque asperiores autem autem ut et est. Eos quia nostrum beatae consequatur mollitia quas.

Autem qui voluptatem sunt. Minima sit adipisci sed provident. Sequi et ab delectus sed delectus qui. Accusamus hic quasi non provident quisquam. Ut eligendi sapiente sint adipisci quam modi et.

"I'm not sure what the four 9's do, but the ace, I think, is pretty high."

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 No 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...”