Morgan Stanley Internship 2024: Get Accurate Preparation, Ace the Online Tests & Secure Your Summer Internship

An investment banking (IBD) summer internship (summer analyst) is like an 8-10 weeklong job interview.

Your best chance of getting a full-time offer at Morgan Stanley is to secure a Morgan Stanley internship.

Problem is, it is not that easy. The acceptance rate for a Morgan Stanley internship is less than 2%. With tens of thousands of applicants per year, you have to stand out to get in.

If you score lower than the benchmark on the online tests, your application will be automatically disqualified.

But don’t worry, we are here to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Note: There is a Morgan Stanley Sophomore internship and a junior internship. Both have the same application process, but the deadlines are completely different. For juniors the deadline is usually around July and for sophomores it is around September.

Important note: Morgan Stanley ONLY uses online testing for the Investment Banking Division (IBD) summer internship. If you are applying for a different division, the application process relies mostly on interviews, and there are no online tests involved.

In 2019, Morgan Stanley started working with a test provider called Cut-e (AON).
They administer 4 online tests for the Morgan Stanley Investment Banking Summer Internship application process:

• Switch challenge
• Inductive Logical Thinking (ix) test
• Numerical reasoning test
• Verbal Reasoning test
• Situational judgment test

Note that in addition to these online tests, Morgan Stanley also uses an online pre-recorded interview platform called HireVue.

These tests are much more difficult than in past years, and the Morgan Stanley Switch Challenge and Inductive Logical Thinking test are two of the hardest and most confusing tests out there.

Note: Once you receive the invitation email you will have 48 hours to complete the tests.

Preparing yourself for the tests in 48 hours might be stressful, so you are advised to start your preparation prior to sending the initial application.

If you already got the email, no worries. Try clearing your schedule and dive into the preparation material.

The Switch Challenge is actually a specific and unique Logical Reasoning Test.
This is where most candidates fail, as the questions are both objectively hard, and nothing like you have ever seen before – which makes it that much harder.

In each question, there are 4 symbols that change position according to a specific rule. You need to choose the correct operator (out of three alternatives) to change the order of the symbols according to that rule.

Each operator consists of four digits. Each digit represents the previous position of each symbol before it was changed by the operator. The new order of the symbols’ position matches the position of the digits.

For example:

• On the real test, you will only have 6 minutes to answer as many questions as possible.
• The higher the level, the harder the questions get.
• You can get as many as 3 layers of operators in the same question.
• If you make a mistake, you will be dropped to a lower difficulty level, which is probably worth fewer points.
• This is not a typical test, and the question type is like nothing you have seen before.

Tip: When you are presented with a 3-layer question, your best strategy is to first work top-bottom to find the first operator and then work bottom-top to find the 3rd operator.

Once you have both, you can find out which is the 2nd operator (the one in the middle), which is usually the answer you are looking for.

Each question in the test consists of a row of nine objects. All objects but one conform to the same rule, and your task is to select the object that does not fit this rule.

There are numerous sets of rules that might be applied and you have to identify the rule quickly, as you will have only 5 minutes for 20 questions. That is 15 seconds per question.

See if you can handle the time limit in the following example.

• You have only about 15 seconds per question.
• Every question consists of 9 objects, that is a lot of information you must decipher in very little time – it could be very confusing and overwhelming.
• Points will be deducted from your score for every wrong answer.
• Rules are changed from question to question, and in some cases, questions seem very similar but are actually governed by different rules. If you know the main rules in advance, you will be able to quickly identify the correct rule without confusion.

Tip: If the rule is hard to discern, examine the objects carefully, focusing on one characteristic at a time. For instance, you can start by counting the number of shapes in each object while ignoring their colour.

If you do not find a rule concerning the number of shapes, you can examine their colour.

The numerical reasoning test assesses your ability to retrieve information and draw logical conclusions from numerical data presented in tables and charts. In this test, you will get 6 different documents with data, on which you will be asked 18 questions.

You will also get only 6 minutes to complete the segment.

• You will have 6 different documents with data. For each question, you will have to figure out which document is relevant and retrieve the right data.
• You will have only 6 minutes for 18 questions. It might not seem like a problem right now, but on the test, you will have A LOT of information to sort through in order to answer each question. You need to learn how to do it very fast.
• The cut-off score for this test is probably around 13 right answers. To stand out you need to score higher than that.

Tip: Before you even read the first question, look at the titles of the tabs (each tab contains one document filled with data) and very quickly scan through their contents.

Note the axis titles of the charts and the column titles of the tables. Do not spend too long doing this; it is only meant to provide you with a very basic knowledge of the information you have to sift through during the test.

This test is designed to assess how well you can extract information from written data and come to the right conclusions.

You will have six sheets of written data to analyze; each is filled with a lot of information that you must quickly absorb and understand.

Your task is to figure out for each of the 18 statements you are presented if it is true, false, or you cannot say. Each statement is regarding only one sheet of data, which adds another trickiness – you have to figure out which sheet is the right one.

Test yourself with this sample question.
In the real test, you will have about 20 seconds per question. 

• Six minutes for 18 statements. As I’ve said already, this means 20 seconds per question.
• Six sheets filled with data. This is a lot of information to go through to find your desired piece of data. Given the little time you have, this is very hard to achieve.
• You don’t know in advance which sheet of data you need, and finding the right one takes time.
• Vague statements. Unlike numerical data, texts could be ambiguous and misleading.
• It is difficult to determine you cannot say anything about a statement. This means you have to know for sure that a statement is neither true nor false.

This test is designed to see how you will handle yourself in a real Morgan Stanley work environment. You will have 30 minutes, during which you will be presented with messages from different authorities in the firm.

For each message you will have to respond, choosing from a list of options. You will have to imagine you are in an actual job situation, as an analyst, and respond as you would have in real life.

You will have to figure out what to do in various situations like an error you made in a report, a client complaining or your boss asking you to do something that you don’t have time to do.

It might sound easy enough, but the responses presented are really similar and the answer is not obvious.

• The dilemmas presented are unique to MS and must be familiarized to get it right.
• The responses are all in the gray area. It is hard to choose the right one.
• It seems that there are no wrong or right answers, but there are. You need to know what stands behind each response, and what personality trait it emphasizes in you.

Tip: For each character in the test you will have a sort of I.D. with important information.

This information might change the way you respond to each individual, so it is wise to read it carefully and know who you are dealing with before responding.

As you have seen already, the Morgan Stanley online tests are very unique and hard to get through.

You have only one chance to get it right!

Our foolproof 3-step method will make sure you improve and get a high score:

• Step 1: Practice with accurate questions, designed specifically to match the type and level of questions you will encounter in the real test.
• Step 2: Analyse your performance with a detailed report. It will show you exactly what you got wrong and where you need an extra push.
• Step 3: Get a full, detailed explanation for each and every question, including solving tips and strategies. This will enhance your understanding of the test, strengthen your weak spots, and ensure a high score.