Two blocks, 294 hours

I am starting a new block at Colorado College (CC). However, I am transferring out of CC to UT Dallas, so frankly, this block and the next one aren’t worth much of my time. The ROI isn’t there for me.

That might sound blunt, but I study economics, and one of the first things an econ class teaches you is that the cost of something is what you give up to get it. Going all in on two classes at a school I am about to leave would cost me about two months that I could spend on finance instead. When I put it that way, the choice isn’t close.

If you don’t know the Block Plan, CC students take one class at a time, and each class runs three and a half weeks.

So what am I going to do with my time? Study a lot of finance, and hopefully land an investment banking internship for summer 2028. “A lot of finance” means financial modeling and valuation through Wall Street Prep (WSP), the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam, CFA Institute’s Investment Foundations certificate, and a lot of interview prep.

Summer 2028 might sound far away, but banking recruits early. For summer 2027 internships, the biggest banks opened applications in December 2025 and January 2026, a year and a half before the first day. If that pattern holds, applications for summer 2028 start opening this winter. I want the technical work done before then, so recruiting season can go to networking and interviews instead of catching up.

I say “hopefully” because these are some of the most competitive internships a college student can apply for, and no plan guarantees an offer. What a plan can do is make sure that if I come up short, it is not because I was unprepared.

Here is my plan: 294 hours over seven phases, from today through November 15. Every phase ends with a finish line, something I have to build, finish, or pass before it counts.

Phase 1 starts today.