bluevelvet

I’m planning on studying a whole year abroad during my junior year at the London School of Economics' general course; however their school year begins in October and ends July 4th. While that is sweet for this coming summer (because my current institution gets out in May and begins in August) so I’ll have a five month long summer, I’m concerned about the summer after the year abroad where I’ll have less than 2 months off (from july 7th to August 25th). I’m very interested in doing a summer analyst program at either JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Wachovia or UBS, and I’m aware that these programs are usually about 10 weeks long. My question is would they accommodate the fact that I don’t have the full 10 weeks available during my junior year summer or am I for the most part screwed if I plan on going to London? Any input would be well appreciated, as these are two things I’m equally interested in doing, and I sincerely hope they can both be accommodated.

dpa38d2u

I know that some firms have internships tailored towards people with that dilemna, so as long as they know beforehand or you are applying to an internship that is catered towards people with shortened summers you should be fine. Otherwise, I highly doubt that they would accomodate your leaving early, since the 10 week internship is pretty standard. The learning period usually invovles the first 6 weeks and then the bank simply works you the last 4 weesk while judging whether or not to offer you a position. Leaving early will definitely not suit well.

Also, if you are positive you are going into ibanking, if you do somehow get into a 10 week internship at a buldge bracket such as ML or GS, i would recommend putting your priorities first and staying hte full 10 weeks, then going to LSE late (yes yes i know it sounds bad). First of all an internship like that is so prestigous and difficult to obtain that it basically guarantees your job out of college. In my opinion an internship at those banks > study abroad.

bluevelvet

Thanks for the input dpa, I will investigate further as to whether the banks I'm primarily interested in offer the truncated internship. Just for clarification, my year abroad at LSE is going to be next year (my junior year), the issue pertains to the summer after my year abroad where i'll be returning late (July 7th). Furthermore, I can't leave LSE early because one must sit for the final exams especially considering that they are cummulative over the course of a whole year. This pretty much sucks, because I'm completely reluctant to give up my year abroad, yet I understant how coveted and crucial these internships are with regards to a career in finance.

bluestar7

You'd be missing a big chunk of the 10-wk program - most start immediately after Memorial Day, with very few starting the first full week in June (at least that was the case this year). You'd be missing half the program, so I doubt they'd be very accommodating -- especially when there's tons of other kids with great credentials who CAN be there the entire 10 weeks.

Something for consideration / worth looking into: A lot (if not all) of these bulge brackets have big offices in London. These offices and their summer analyst programs will also generally be more in line with the college class schedule (most schools in London have that October - June/July plan) -- maybe you could stick around in London and work there for a month / until you need to be back at your home university.

K J

I know of many Americans who got internships with i-banks in London after spending a year at LSE or Oxford. The experience will be very similar, the salary will be higher, living costs in London will be through the roof... In any case, LSE is definitely a target school and you shouldn't have a problem lining up interviews.