What Investment Banks Really Look For in Your Application (Top 10 Factors)

📌 What do investment banks really care about when they screen your application?

Here’s the priority list 👇

1. A-levels (AAB minimum at BBs and BCC at Boutiques)

2. University (Target/Semi-target)

3. Degree classification (2:1 or First)

4. Relevant internships (IB, PE, AM, Big 4 CF) — the number one differentiator

5. Technical knowledge (DCF, LBO, M&A) — the skill that converts interviews

6. Leadership (societies, sports, business)

7. Networking and referrals (the cheat code ☕)

8. CV presentation (1 page, quantified impact)

9. Extracurricular achievements (case comps, projects)

10. GCSEs (basic filter only — usually 7/A in Maths and English)

💡 Takeaway:

Most students will only ever get 1–5 interviews in their entire life. 

Blow them, and the door closes.

That’s why our October Program is designed to give you the technical mastery banks test for. 

Even better — it replicates the experience of an internship, so it counts as real experience on your CV.

👉 Fill the eligibility calculator to see if you qualify for our October Part Time program:

Banking Eligibility Calculator

Take the Banking Eligibility Calculator