Internship Acceptance Rates 2026: How Competitive Is Each Industry?
Last updated: April 2026
The most competitive internships in 2026 accept fewer than 1% of applicants. Goldman Sachs received 250,000 applications for 2,900 summer internship spots (Wall Street Journal), JPMorgan saw 630,000 applicants for 4,100 roles, and McKinsey maintains an acceptance rate of roughly 1% across 200,000 annual candidates. But competition varies enormously by industry, and knowing where you stand changes how you should approach your search.
Here is a complete breakdown of acceptance rates by industry, what the data means for your strategy, and how to improve your odds.
The Overall Picture: UK Graduate and Internship Competition
Before diving into industry-specific data, the baseline helps set expectations.
UK employers received a median of 140 applications per graduate vacancy in 2025 (ISE Student Recruitment Survey), more than triple the 38 per vacancy recorded in 2002-03. The mean was 89 applications per vacancy, a 13% increase year-on-year. In total, 155 ISE employer members received over 1.8 million applications for 31,000+ early careers roles.
At the same time, graduate hiring fell by 8% between 2023/24 and 2024/25, with a further 7% decline forecast for 2025/26 (ISE). High Fliers Research reported that applications at Top 100 employers rose by 27% year-on-year, while the number of vacancies at these firms hit their lowest since 2012.
The result: more applicants chasing fewer spots. But the severity depends entirely on which industry you are targeting.
| Industry | Acceptance Rate | Typical Apps Per Role |
|---|---|---|
| Investment Banking (Bulge Bracket) | 0.4% - 1.2% | 60 - 150+ |
| Management Consulting (MBB) | less than 1% - 3% | 30 - 100+ |
| Civil Service Fast Stream | ~1% | ~96 |
| Technology (FAANG) | 1% - 3% | 30 - 60+ |
| Law (Magic Circle) | 2% - 5% | 20 - 50+ |
| Big 4 Accounting | 2% - 4% | 25 - 50+ |
For the full picture on graduate hiring trends, see our State of Graduate Hiring 2026 report.
Investment Banking: The Most Competitive Internships in the World
Investment banking internships have acceptance rates lower than the NASA astronaut programme, which sits at around 4-5% (Fox Business).
Key statistics for 2025-2026:
- Goldman Sachs: 250,000 applications for 2,900 summer internship spots, a 1.16% acceptance rate (Wall Street Journal)
- JPMorgan: 630,000 applicants for 4,100 intern roles in 2025, an acceptance rate of 0.7%, down from 2.8% just two years earlier (eFinancialCareers)
- Citadel and Citadel Securities: 0.4% acceptance rate for combined internship positions (eFinancialCareers)
- Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Barclays each broke internal application records in 2026 (Wall Street Journal)
The application surge is partly driven by AI tools enabling mass applications. When candidates can apply to dozens of firms in minutes, every firm sees inflated volumes, which pushes acceptance rates even lower.
Spring Weeks: The Gateway Programme
A spring week is a one-week insight programme run by major banks during the Easter holidays. They matter because participants get a significant head start in the summer internship cycle.
In 2025, 31% of spring interns received summer internship offers at their bank, and a further 38% were fast-tracked for the summer recruitment process (eFinancialCareers). That means 69% of spring week participants gained a meaningful advantage.
Applications typically open in October and close in November the year before, involving an online assessment, HireVue interview, and a human interview.
For a detailed breakdown of finance pathways, see our summer internship in finance guide.
Competing against 250,000 applicants through a portal is not a winning strategy. Whali helps you reach bankers and hiring managers directly with personalised cold email, so your application does not disappear into a pile. Start your free trial ->
Management Consulting (MBB): Under 1% at McKinsey
The Big Three consulting firms are among the ten most selective employers globally.
- McKinsey receives approximately 200,000 applications annually and has an overall acceptance rate of less than 1% (CaseCoach). That makes McKinsey roughly five times more selective than Harvard.
- BCG and Bain have slightly higher acceptance rates at 1% to 3%, though competition varies significantly by office and practice area.
The silver lining: once you pass the resume screen, your odds improve considerably. The offer rate among candidates who reach the interview stage is typically 15% to 30%. Most filtering happens at the CV and cover letter stage, not in the case interview.
What is changing in 2026: McKinsey plans to hire 12% more staff, while BCG has hired 1,000 new employees specifically for AI-related roles (MBA and Beyond). However, BCG is simultaneously limiting generalist MBA hiring, prioritising candidates with engineering and AI backgrounds.
For cold email strategies tailored to consulting, see our cold email templates by industry guide.
Technology (FAANG): Quietly Competitive
Tech internships do not generate the same headline-grabbing application numbers as banking, but they are similarly competitive at the top firms.
- Google receives over 125,000 internship applications annually, with an estimated acceptance rate of roughly 1.5% to 2% (Interview Query)
- Meta accepts approximately 1% to 2% of internship applicants (EduAvenues)
- Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft are estimated at 2% to 4% acceptance rates, though none publish official figures
The tech internship landscape in 2026 has a structural quirk: major firms posted applications between August and December 2025 for summer 2026 roles (Levels.fyi). If you missed these windows, off-cycle opportunities and smaller companies may be more viable paths.
Unlike banking and consulting, the tech industry has a strong culture of hiring based on technical assessments rather than university prestige. A candidate from any university who demonstrates strong coding skills in a technical interview has a realistic shot at a FAANG internship, which is less true in banking or consulting where target school lists still dominate.
For a deep dive on tech pathways, see our summer internship in tech guide.
Law: Training Contracts and Vacation Schemes
A training contract is a two-year work-based programme required to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. Securing one at a Magic Circle firm (Clifford Chance, A&O Shearman, Linklaters, Freshfields, and Slaughter and May) is one of the most competitive graduate outcomes in the UK.
Key data points:
- Training contract acceptance rates at Magic Circle firms are approximately 2% to 5% (LawCareers.Net)
- Over 80% of training contract offers go to vacation scheme alumni (Chambers Student Guide)
- Trainee retention rates (the proportion offered a newly qualified position) typically range from 85% to 95% across the five firms
The vacation scheme is effectively the interview for the training contract. Without a vacation scheme place, the chances of a direct training contract application succeeding are substantially lower.
Most firms recruit two years in advance, meaning you apply in your penultimate year of university (or during the GDL/SQE). Applications for 2026 vacation schemes had deadlines in December 2025.
For a comprehensive overview, see our summer internship in law guide.
Big 4 Accounting: AI-Driven Cuts Are Making It Harder
The Big 4 have historically been a more accessible entry point than banking or consulting, but recent cuts are narrowing the funnel significantly.
Current acceptance rates:
- EY: 70,000 applications for 2,000 hires in the UK, a 2.9% acceptance rate
- PwC: 304,000 applications globally for 7,400 positions, approximately 2.5% (eFinancialCareers)
- All four firms reduced graduate intake in 2025-2026
The cuts in detail (The Tab, 2025):
| Firm | Graduate Intake Cut | Current UK Hires |
|---|---|---|
| KPMG | -29% | ~1,000 |
| Deloitte | -18% | ~1,400 |
| EY | -11% | ~1,600 |
| PwC | -6% | ~1,500 |
The driving force: AI is replacing entry-level tasks. Accountancy Age reported that the Big Four now favour graduates with AI skills, as generative AI tools handle the administrative and data-processing work that graduate trainees traditionally performed. Candidates who can demonstrate AI fluency alongside core accounting knowledge have a clear advantage.
Civil Service Fast Stream: Record Applications, Record Competition
The UK Civil Service Fast Stream is a competitive graduate leadership programme that rotates participants across government departments. It hit its lowest success rate on record in the 2024-25 cycle.
- 72,691 applications (the highest since records began in 1999, up 11% from the previous peak of 64,697)
- 754 places available (the smallest cohort in over a decade)
- Acceptance rate: approximately 1%, or roughly 1 in 45 applicants (GOV.UK)
On a pure acceptance rate basis, the Fast Stream has become more competitive than most investment banking programmes.
When acceptance rates are under 3%, you need more than a strong application. Whali helps you research companies, find decision-makers, and send personalised outreach that gets you noticed before the application pile is reviewed. Try Whali free ->
How Networking Changes the Odds
The statistics above reflect formal application channels only. The picture changes dramatically when networking and direct outreach enter the equation.
- Referred candidates are 15 times more likely to be hired than those applying through job boards (Wave Connect, 2025)
- Referrals make up just 2% of applications but account for 11% of total hires, a 10x conversion advantage (The Interview Guys)
- One referral is worth approximately 40 cold applications (LockedIn AI)
- An estimated 70% of positions are filled through referrals, internal hiring, or unadvertised pipelines (OpenArc)
This is why cold outreach and networking are not optional extras but essential components of any competitive internship strategy. When you email a hiring manager directly with a personalised message referencing their work, you bypass the portal entirely and enter a pool with fundamentally different odds.
For strategies on building these connections, see our guides on how to cold email for an internship and building a professional network from scratch.
How to Improve Your Odds (Regardless of Industry)
Given acceptance rates under 5% across most competitive sectors, a volume-based strategy of submitting 200 applications through portals is statistically poor. Here is what actually moves the needle:
-
Target 20-30 companies with genuine fit rather than mass-applying. ISE data shows that 45% of employers report hard-to-fill roles despite high application volumes, meaning many applications are poorly matched.
-
Combine applications with direct outreach. Contact team members, hiring managers, or alumni at your target firms via cold email. Even a brief connection dramatically increases your odds of progressing past the CV screen.
-
Prioritise spring weeks and insight programmes. In banking, 69% of spring week participants gain an advantage in the summer cycle. Similar feeder programmes exist across law, consulting, and tech.
-
Build demonstrable skills. With BCG hiring 1,000 people for AI roles and the Big 4 cutting generalist intake, showing specific technical competence (AI, data analysis, coding) sets you apart regardless of industry.
-
Apply early. Tech firms open applications in August to October. Banking spring weeks close in November. Consulting deadlines vary by firm but are often 12+ months ahead. Late applications face even worse odds.
Stop competing with 250,000 applicants. Whali finds the right contacts at your target companies, researches them automatically, and generates personalised cold emails that get replies. Get started free ->
FAQ
What is the hardest industry to get an internship in?
Investment banking has the lowest acceptance rates of any industry. Goldman Sachs accepted 1.16% of applicants in 2026, JPMorgan accepted 0.7% in 2025, and Citadel accepted just 0.4% (Wall Street Journal, eFinancialCareers). Management consulting at McKinsey is similarly competitive at roughly 1%, while the Civil Service Fast Stream hit a record low of 1% in the 2024-25 cycle (GOV.UK).
How many people apply for each internship?
It varies widely by industry. UK employers overall received a median of 140 applications per graduate vacancy in 2025 (ISE). At top investment banks, the ratios are far higher: JPMorgan saw over 150 applicants per role. At the Big 4 accounting firms, the range is 25 to 50 applications per vacancy, while tech firms like Google receive 60+ applications per engineering internship.
Do referrals really help with internship applications?
Significantly. Referred candidates are 15 times more likely to be hired than those applying through job boards (Wave Connect, 2025). Referrals make up just 2% of all applications but account for 11% of hires, a 10x conversion advantage. One referral is estimated to be worth approximately 40 cold applications (LockedIn AI). Direct outreach to professionals at your target company can serve a similar function to a formal referral.
What are spring weeks and why do they matter?
A spring week is a one-week insight programme run by major banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, HSBC, Citi) typically during the Easter holidays. They are critical because 31% of spring interns receive summer internship offers and 38% are fast-tracked in the summer recruitment process (eFinancialCareers, 2025). Applications open in October and close in November the year before.
Are Big 4 graduate schemes getting harder to enter?
Yes. All four firms cut graduate intake in 2025-2026: KPMG by 29%, Deloitte by 18%, EY by 11%, and PwC by 6% (The Tab, 2025). The primary driver is AI automation of entry-level tasks. The EY UK acceptance rate is approximately 2.9% (70,000 applications for 2,000 places), and competition is expected to intensify further as firms prioritise candidates with AI and data skills over traditional generalist profiles.