Wall Street Exchange Program

Celebrating 50 years of preparing summer interns for careers in finance.


The Wall Street Exchange Summer Program (WSE) is a career development program designed to augment the summer internship experience of select qualified rising college seniors.


The program consists of a series of weekly events hosted by top financial services firms and focuses on professional and personal development.

2025 interns celebrate the completion of their program.

Enhance your finance-related internship this summer with WSE!


For 50 years, Wall Street Exchange (WSE) has opened doors for driven college students seeking to launch careers in one of the world’s most competitive industries. WSE is not an internship—it’s a career accelerator designed to complement and amplify the value of your summer internship.


Designed for ambitious rising seniors, WSE provides a behind-the-scenes look at the financial industry. Weekly events, including dynamic workshops and interactive discussions hosted by leading firms, will strengthen your skills and prepare you to execute a successful full-time job search within finance and other related fields such as technology, engineering, or analysis. 

You’ll gain practical insights from industry professionals and develop the strategic perspective required to make confident career decisions.


The 2026 Wall Street Exchange Program session will be primarily virtual. If circumstances permit, we will host select in-person events in New York City, offering participants the chance to connect directly with industry leaders and fellow program members in the heart of the financial world.


Apply Now


Acceptance to WSE is competitive. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and candidates are encouraged to apply early. We will continue accepting and evaluating applications until capacity is reached or May 21, whichever occurs first.

"The Wall Street Exchange was a highlight of my summer. The program provided a perfect balance of expert mentorship and peer networking. I loved hearing from industry leaders and applying their insights directly to my daily work, all while building a community with other young professionals driven by a shared interest in FinTech and finance."


- Ishaan Makhija, University of Maryland, Intern at Broadridge, 2025

Benefits of Participating in Wall Street Exchange


  • Strengthen your job search strategy through workshops focused on building and communicating your unique professional brand
  • Cultivate leadership approaches and essential interpersonal skills that support long-term career growth
  • Expand your professional network by connecting with fellow participants as well as interns and professionals from our sponsor firms
  • Continue building momentum beyond the summer by joining the FWA community for networking opportunities, professional development, and industry engagement as you begin your career


Important Information:

THE WALL STREET EXCHANGE IS NOT AN INTERNSHIP AND DOES NOT PROVIDE INTERNSHIPS FOR STUDENTS. It is designed to complement and elevate your existing summer internship experience.


The program is open to students of all genders, and there is no cost to apply or participate.

Applying to Wall Street Exchange


Program Prerequisites

Applicants must meet the following criteria:


  • Rising senior enrolled in an undergraduate program
  • Preferred GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • A paid summer internship with a financial services firm or a finance-related position within a non-financial organization


Students who are still interviewing for a summer internship are encouraged to apply. If selected for the program, your summer employment status will be confirmed when the selection committee contacts applicants during the review process.

Applications

To be considered for the Wall Street Exchange (WSE) program, each candidate must complete an application that will be reviewed by the FWA Wall Street Exchange Committee.


Application materials include:


  • Completed application form
  • Unofficial college transcript
  • Current résumé
  • Personal statement (maximum 500 words)


Personal Statement Prompt

In your personal statement, please describe your expectations for participating in the Wall Street Exchange Program and how the experience aligns with your professional goals. Share how your background, perspective, and ambitions will contribute to the overall success of the program.


Please limit your response to 500 words.


Authenticity Statement

Your personal statement should reflect your own ideas, voice, and experiences. Applicants are expected to submit original work created independently. Reusing previously written submissions or relying on templated responses is strongly discouraged.


While outside resources can help with proofreading, the committee encourages applicants to write their statements personally rather than relying on AI-generated content or heavily assisted writing tools. We value authenticity and are most interested in hearing directly from you - your perspective, your motivations, and your goals.


Questions? Email [email protected]. 


The 2025 WSE Program Schedule is provided here for reference. The 2026 Schedule will be posted when available.

The FWA’s Wall Street Exchange (WSE) program was formed in 1976 for upper-level college students working in the New York area who will soon be joining the workforce. Since this program’s inception, over 1,000 WSE participants have been hired upon graduation after completing weekly sessions during the summer. The informative workshops provide information on the presenting firms, professionalism, leadership, and career management techniques.

What Former and Current Summer Participants Are Saying About the Wall Street Exchange

"The WSE program redefined my view of the financial world. Beyond the fantastic networking, it showed me that being a 'woman in finance' isn’t just one path. Seeing so many leaders use different skills across various industries was both inspiring and a great reminder of the many opportunities available to us."


– Brooke Turner, Cornell University, Intern at Stern Brothers, 2025

"The WSE program provided something truly unique this summer: a dedicated space to connect with fellow interns in NYC. As a Wealth Management intern at Mercer Advisors, I found this level of peer engagement to be the standout feature of the program. It offered networking opportunities that weren't available anywhere else, making it the definitive highlight of my summer."


– Victoria O'Tool, University of Alabama,  Intern at Mercer Advisors, 2025

"The Wall Street Exchange Program sharpened my approach to strategic communication and networking while deepening my interest in advisory work. Beyond the skills, the real value was joining a driven community united by ambition, insight, and professional purpose."


–  Mary Maung, Baruch College, Intern at NASDAQ, 2025

"The highlight of the Wall Street Exchange (WSE) program was connecting with a cohort of like-minded interns navigating the same professional path. Our weekly meetings allowed us to compare our experiences and realize that, while our firms may differ, our challenges and successes were remarkably similar. This peer support, combined with the opportunity to learn from established professionals each week, provided the perfect roadmap for starting our careers on the right foot."


- Alyssa Lomangino, Rutgers University, Intern at Brightwood Capital, 2025

Past Class Highlights


Participants in WSE 2025 joined us from 41 universities and colleges and were employed by 40 different companies.


Participants in WSE 2024 joined us from 41 universities and colleges and were employed by 18 different companies.


Participants in WSE 2023 joined us from 44 universities and colleges and were employed by 28 different companies.


Participants in WSE 2022 joined us from 57 universities and colleges and were employed by 20 different companies.


Participants in WSE 2021 joined us from 45 universities and colleges and were employed by 17 different companies.


Participants in WSE 2020 joined us from 52 universities and colleges and were employed by 22 different companies.


Participants in WSE 2019 joined us from 30 universities and colleges and were employed by 23 different companies.


Participants in WSE 2018 joined us from 25 universities and colleges and were employed by 15 different companies.