Financial modeling is a key part of investment banking, particularly at analyst/associate levels. It would serve well to start preparing well ahead of time, as learning modeling techniques outside of your 100-hour weeks will be tough, trust us. Being able to model fast and without errors will not only reduce pressures at work, but also give you a leg up on your fellow analysts/associates during bonus and promotion season. All in all, it’s a worthy investment, compared to bonuses at most investment banks.

There are various financial modeling programs online, with the more reputable ones being Wall Street Prep, Wall Street Oasis, Corporate Finance Institute, and Breaking Into Wall Street. The pricing is comparable across the program, but you shouldn’t be picking based on pricing anyways, it pales in comparison with your potential earnings. We think the most important attributes are the following:

• Are they reputable with the banks? (if you drop the name in the interview, will it be positive or negative)
• Are they of good quality? (are they providing you with good quality training that is transferrable to actual bank environment)
• Are they exhaustive in their scope? (will you learn all you need with one program, so you don’t have to get another one)

Based on this selection criteria, we thought Wall Street Prep is best in class, hence our partnership with them (use our link for 15% off!). They are used as training material in most reputable investment banks and funds since 2003 (see list below). Additionally, their program has more courses than the other programs. Definitely do your own research, but we do think that Wall Street Prep is the best choice out of the comparables.