This really is pretty typical in a lot of environments in college - frats, leadership positions at clubs, internships, etc. I think the theory behind it is that most college kids are somewhat cocky and really think they are hot shit (myself included). When people "bully" you, like during your SA stint, it tends to break you down a little bit, and as you actually prove yourself on the job, you get gradually get more respect. Looks like you got through it just as (probably) your superiors did, and that may be a true test for fit.

I honestly think the hazing process is silly, but I guess it does actually work sometimes, build confidence, etc. Congrats on the offer.

Congratulations on receiving a FT offer - you should be proud! You can always accept the offer and pursue other options while knowing you have an outstanding safety net.

You are asking the right questions. You should answer them yourself. Follow your gut.

Depends on what happened. I have thick skin, but one thing I will not tolerate is low levels of personal integrity. If you have a solid internship on your resume, you may want to scope out other opportunities when on campus recruiting starts up.

Doesn't sound like a place I'd want to work. You'll probably get treated like shit your first year too to make sure you're ready for your second year

These guys are assholes, and, fortunately for you, there is generally an inverse correlation between success and being in a group filled with assholes.

Examples of how badly they treated you? Was it typical hazing?

I take it you're already branching out. Worst comes to worst, you have this on the back burner.

How exactly did they treat you like shit? Were they messing around or did they actually do some messed up stuff?

Get mommy on the phone asap and tell her about your problems

Do you have self-respect? If yes, decline the offer.

Otherwise, "get your fucking shine box.".

I think you should consider all options. You can always fall back to that option if nothing else falls through.

It seems pretty obvious to me that all the guys on here that are giving OP crap have not actually done an internship in investment banking. Every decent place I networked with and the place I ended up people were way respectful of each other including the interns, and even me while I was networking for an internship. I don't think it gets lower than that. Not to say that they didn't pile on the work, but they weren't douchebags. There are enough bright hardworking people trying to get into this industry that you don't have to hire the ones you don't like and there are few enough bright hardworking likable people that you don't have work for the ones you don't like either.

find out when's the latest you can accept your offer. i would pursue opportunities available from on campus recruiting while the offer is still on the table

Captain Murica:

If you were in my situation, would you go back?

No, I would not.

No these guys are dicks. Some light/funny hazing is fine as long as its actually amusing to everyone involved - but being a general dick to you all the time by not answering questions or having conversations with you is just fucking stupid. I can tell you first hand that the only thing that will keep you sane during the 100 hour weeks is being tight with your analyst comrades. If you can't take a 5 minute breather at 1am to shoot the shit in the bullpen you're going to lose your mind.

accept.. go interview elsewhere. if u find something better then reneg on the SA group's offer and make your reasons clear.

Guaranteed you were never in a frat. You clearly didn't have the balls to call them on it while they were doing it.

in the past few months, i've been strangled with a scarf (while talking to a colleague, noone batted an eyelid), had a knife held up to me 3 times, and had the back of my chair kicked so hard on many occasions that it broke and i needed a new one.

please let me know how many assholes are in your team. :)

Funny thing about how people quote the "shine box line" all the time in finance

.....the dude who said that got shanked on the spot. With a pen. In front of other people. By a shorter guy. In his place. And he didn't fight back. And his 'friends' didn't help. And nothing happened to the guy doing the shanking.

True story.

I'd suggest looking elsewhere.

Some people are just, kind of assholes. Reminds me of my last summer in a different way. Had an analyst who seemed to like me; took me to lunch, spoke with me about what I wanted to do, encouraged pursuit of CFA, etc. Then when I tried to get back in touch with him during recruiting season and later in school year, he never ever answered even one of my emails. Have not heard from him since.

Anyways, the people you described seem to be the worst kind. Passive aggressive coworkers make for very hard working atmosphere, and I'd rather have a hard ass analyst who ran me into the ground but respected/liked me as a person than these sneaky bastards.

LOL I really like that Santoro gets it in the end

Unless this is a top shop and you'll benefit from an exit op perspective and you can't do better, shop around with the offer and go elsewhere. I can't stress enough how much work culture and how your future colleagues (and how they act) makes a huge difference - especially in a job where you're working 80-100+ hours per week.

I agree with Anihilist, passive aggressive / sneaky / two-faced coworkers are terrible to work with. Banking will be brutal anywhere, but it should just be because it's the hours and hard work. If you have to deal with people that act like douches unnecessarily or out of arrogance or some deranged idea they are holier than thou, it makes life infinitely worse.

Look somewhere else, the way they treated you in SA will be how they treat you in full-time... you could put in all the hours in the world and if their mindset is that they are better than you, you will never earn their respect. The only reason they think that is because they are probably ignorant and insecure assholes... Treat others as you want to be treated, that's what I believe, if we all tried to stop faking one another and quit playing games, we'd be a lot better off...

There are two roads for this. If they are doing it to be dickheads and simply pushing a shitty day onto someone else to make them feel better, then this is a major red flag. I have found in personal experience that those who have given me the most shit generally do so because they had interest in my development. While annoying at first, this is something a lot of people fail to grasp, and in this business someone who has time to bust your balls or takes the time to yell at you for being a moron is far more interested in seeing you succeed than a total yes man who will nod approvingly at all your actions. Most juniors tend to flock toward the "yes man" because it is comfortable and easy, but really that is the wrong choice.

First, you need to determine whether their "hazing" is part of the top-down culture at the firm. If yes, you might want to look for alternative offers as a negative environment can really do some damage to you, especially early on in your career when you're relatively jaded.

However, bear in mind that as you progress through your career, you'll encounter people far, far worse than some FT hooligans asking you to order coffee or schedule virtual meetings. There are people in this world, who hold inflated amounts of power in comparison to their functioning titles, that can literally kill your entire progress (more so in developing markets/economies - I've witnessed first how a few prospective IPOs went bust because they didn't schmooze the politics correctly).

So with that said, you can also view these jokers who like to haze as your first lesson in dealing with assholes in the real world, because trust me, these amateur pranks don't hold a candle to the true darkness that you may very well face someday.

My dear Captain, please come visit one of the old school trading desks where real bullying happens.

I personally wouldn't return, not because they treated you badly, but because after spending time with them, chances are you'll be forced to do the same to other interns. It's a matter of culture and you won't change the culture by yourself.

All depends on your other options. If you can get another offer, take that one instead. If it was me and it was my only offer I would probably accept it but leave as soon I found something better.

If I were you (my situation this summer was nearly identical, sans return offer, thank god) I wouldn't do it. In my office, the people clearly hated each other and used the "lowest ranked" person as a scapegoat for their own problems. I don't care if they call if hazing or "building character" or whatever title they want to give it -- they can't solve their own, personal problems, so they bring it into work and try to cover it up with a fake smile and an offer at the end (as in your case). The place is toxic, and will hurt you more in the long run, and may even lead you out of the industry. I'm sure you can get a much better offer through OCR.

Good luck, and keep us posted! Sorry you had to go through this.