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Both. Most sessions are online, and in-person sessions can be arranged on request.

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A parent or guardian arranges any paid programme and is welcome on the first call. We keep written records of every session.

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No, and anyone who does is not being straight with you. We make sure students apply to the right places, at the right time, and walk into every stage prepared.

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When do spring week applications open, and who can apply?

Who each programme is for, and why applying early matters.

In brief

In the current cycle, spring week applications opened between August and October 2026, and October was the busiest month. The larger point matters more than the exact dates: most employers review applications as they arrive, so the working deadline is weeks before the published one.
Spring weeks are short insight programmes for first-year undergraduates, usually a few days to two weeks, run by investment banks and other financial firms. Applications for each cycle typically open in late summer, as the new university year starts.

Published 8 October 2026 · Updated 8 October 2026

Who can apply

Most spring weeks are open to first-year undergraduates on any degree course, not only economics or finance. Some firms run parallel insight programmes for school leavers and sixth formers, and a few accept placement-year or second-year students. Each firm's own page sets its rules, so check before assuming.

When they opened in the current cycle

Our timeline tracks 96 apprenticeship, spring week and summer internship programmes. In the 2026-27 cycle, summer internship applications began opening in August 2026, with 33 firms live that month. Spring week applications clustered in October, alongside Goldman Sachs and HSBC apprenticeship openings, and Morgan Stanley's apprenticeship opened in November. Expect a similar rhythm in the next cycle, but treat next year's months as a projection from this one, not an announcement.

Why applying early matters

Finance employers mostly do not wait for the closing date. HSBC's live vacancies state that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and ask candidates to apply as soon as possible to be considered. J.P. Morgan's postings say the firm will be filling its classes on a rolling basis. UBS's careers site says applications are accepted and considered on a rolling basis. Goldman Sachs' apprenticeship page carries no closing date at all. In practice the effective deadline is the point at which the class is full.

How competitive are spring weeks

Firms do not publish spring week acceptance rates, so no honest figure can be quoted here. What is public is the trend for degree apprenticeships: 11.3 applications per advertised place in England, up from 2.8 three years earlier. Spring weeks sit in the same early-talent competition. The sensible response is not to apply to everything - it is to prepare properly and apply early to a shortlist.

What to do now

Write a CV that is not a school template, with two or three things you have actually done and can talk about.
Do one practice psychometric test, so the format is never a surprise.
Shortlist five to eight firms whose programmes fit your year and target area.
Apply in the first week each programme is open, not the last.

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Related guides

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