Last year, Goldman Sachs, the sixth largest bank in the United States, received over 315,000 applications for the upcoming summer internship cycle. Out of this pool, only 2,600 were chosen — an admissions rate of 0.8%. This jarring statistic is on par with the rates boasted by other top banks in the country, such as J.P. Morgan Private Bank and Morgan Stanley.
It’s no secret that investment banking is competitive and demanding. Students pursuing a career in investment banking must engage in a strenuous internship process that demands preparation and applications and begins over a year before the internship start date.
The pressure is high for students looking to break into this career. Obtaining an internship at a top bank is often seen as nonnegotiable for starting a career with such high earning potential. Yet, it is essential to question whether the high level of pressure and sacrifice expected of students should be normalized. Or if, instead, the investment banking internship search is becoming a cutthroat process that shows no mercy for mistakes.
Most summer internships start sometime in late May or early June, and pre-internship preparations often begin a year before. Students network, talk to recruiters at campus events, attend resume workshops and send hundreds of cold emails, trying to get a chance at a coveted summer internship. Many banks fill in their internship spots on a rolling basis, which pressures students to begin the process as early as possible.
“Every single year it is moving months and months earlier, applications opened [earlier than] winter break sophomore year,” sophomore Jonathan Hunt said. “First interviews kick off, you don’t get a Christmas break, you work all through Christmas break just applying to places.”
After hundreds of applications and networking hours, many established banks have one day in which applicants can expect up to six or seven back-to-back interviews, known informally as “Superday.” These interviews are often panels of employees firing questions to applicants over multiple hours.
“I applied to 150 places, [got back] maybe 10 interviews,” junior Nate Zweig said. “I had two Superdays … six back-to-back interviews from 8 a.m. to noon. I spoke to 20 people that one day.”
Internship applications, networking calls and “Superdays” often happen in the middle of the semester – a time when students have a multitude of other academic and extracurricular responsibilities. Other responsibilities often take the back burner as students dedicate their time to getting a job. The time-consuming application process, coupled with the competitive atmosphere, rewards only the students who prioritize their careers above everything else.
“You wake up every day and that’s all you care about,” Hunt said. “There were multiple nights where I just didn’t sleep, didn’t work out, didn’t socialize and ate unhealthy — [the internship search is] the only thing you care about.”
There are benefits to learning the skills of hard work and dedication at a young age, something that the investment banking internship process undoubtedly grants. “If you actually have a goal and work hard for something, it is possible to achieve it,” Zweig said. Persistence and dedication are important qualities for achieving success.
However, the stress placed on college students so early in their career and the immense sacrifices required to land a top internship is unfair. The competitive nature of finance internships isn’t going away, but companies have the ability to make the process less daunting. Decoding interview expectations, shortening the recruitment timeline or providing meaningful feedback could help level the playing field and protect the mental health of students.
