Curriculum Outline, Built by [Anonymous Analyst]., Goldman Sachs
As the mentor, your role is to help the student develop clear, conversational answers to high-frequency technical questions over the course of weekly mock interviews.
This curriculum outlines the most critical technical concepts and questions to emphasize with your student. While the Breaking into Wall Street materials provide broad coverage, not all content carries equal weight. We’ve consulted analysts across top firms to distill what matters most in interviews, so you can focus your time on refining the most relevant topics.
The table below summarizes the core topics covered across the next two months. Students will complete one assigned Breaking into Wall Street PDF per week. The structure is designed for progressive technical development, but you may adjust based on the student’s proficiency — skipping topics they’ve mastered or condensing sessions as appropriate.
This is a pilot version of our technical training curriculum. We’re grateful for your support and welcome any feedback to improve the structure or experience.
| Week | Topics Covered | Key Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Introductions | Getting to know each other, Overview of the next 7 weeks |
| 1 | Core Valuation Concepts | Discount Rate, WACC, DCF Basics, IRR, NPV |
| 2 | Accounting: Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet | Financial statement line items and their interrelations |
| 2 (Continued) | Accounting: More Advanced Accounting | Relationships between IS, CFS, BS, and key accounting concepts |
| 3 | Introduction to Debt | Debt Fundamentals |
| 4 | Equity Value & Enterprise Value, Metrics, and Multiples | Differences between Equity Value and Enterprise Value, valuation multiples, calculations |
| 5 | Valuation and DCF Analysis | DCF walkthrough, terminal value, discount rates, public comps, and valuation methods |
| 6 | M&A Deals and Merger Models | Accretion/Dilution, Enterprise/Equity Value in M&A, deal modeling concepts |
| 7 | Leveraged Buyouts (LBO) and LBO Models | LBO concepts, IRR calculations, purchase price, debt projections, and exit strategies |
| 8 | Final Interview | Full interview covering key concepts from prior weeks |
This technical program will follow a 1-1 structure between a student and a dedicated lead mentor who will serve as the core guide throughout the eight weeks. The student will be required to complete pre-readings before each session. Each session will be divided into two key components: a review of the assigned materials to deepen the student’s understanding, and practice interviews to apply concepts and build technical proficiency. Each week, we expect the student to put in at least 5 hours.
Each session is designed to be approximately one hour long and can be divided into two components: