A guide to preparing for a Goldman Sachs Classifications Summer Analyst application in London from a non-target university, using the ECS framework suite.
About This Guide
This guide sets out how ECS approaches preparation for a Goldman Sachs Summer Analyst application in the Classifications area described below, from a non-target university. ECS is independent of Goldman Sachs. Programme names, teams and processes change between cycles; check the current details on Goldman Sachs's careers site before relying on anything here.
Read it as a parent or candidate evaluating whether the approach suits your own situation.
What is Goldman Sachs Classifications
ECS's understanding is that the Classifications team sits inside the Operations division at Goldman Sachs. The work is technical: it covers the regulatory classification of financial instruments under MiFID II, Dodd-Frank, EMIR, and other global regimes. The team works closely with Sales, Trading, Compliance, and Engineering. The role offers exposure to the firm's product taxonomy, regulatory change and front-office workflows.
What ECS prepares candidates to show
Goldman Sachs does not publish a scoring rubric for this role, and ECS has no access to one. ECS prepares candidates to demonstrate four things:
1. Commercial awareness specific to regulatory and operational risk. Specific knowledge of how regulatory change creates operational risk for a global investment bank is more persuasive than generic knowledge of "the markets".
2. Structured analytical thinking under time pressure. Classifications problems are ambiguous by nature. ECS trains candidates to reach for structure first, data second, and conclusions only after both are in place.
3. Communication that translates complexity into plain English. Classifications work involves explaining technical regulatory concepts to non-technical stakeholders across Sales and Trading. Candidates should expect to be asked to do this.
4. Motivation that is specific, credible, and evidenced. Generic answers give an interviewer little to work with. The candidate must be able to articulate why Classifications, why now, and why Goldman Sachs specifically, with evidence drawn from prior work or research.
ECS does not infer how Goldman Sachs weights a university name from public evidence. A candidate can control the quality of the evidence and reasoning they present; the firm's actual decision remains its own.
Preparation as the lever
ECS has no view of Goldman Sachs's panel scores and makes no claim about how non-target candidates score against others. What ECS does see is that a non-target candidate who has built an application methodically, knows the firm's commercial position and has practised each stage is better placed than one relying on brand or generic advice.
Karam Kahlon (University of Exeter) is one of a small number of ECS clients publicly named with written consent. Over a multi-year paid ECS engagement, his documented outcomes were the HSBC 2026 Investment Banking Internship and the Blackstone 2026 Spring Insight Programme. The approach described below is the one ECS used in that work.
The application: STAR-3 for the written stage
In the applications ECS reviews, the written stage is where many candidates fall short. The competency questions ("Tell us about a time when you handled a complex problem under pressure") produce answers that are too generic, too narrative, or too focused on what happened rather than what the candidate did and why.
The STAR-3 framework was developed by Hassan Akram, who across recruitment work and ECS advisory has reviewed more than 10,000 applications and related candidate materials. STAR-3 extends the conventional STAR structure (Situation, Task, Action, Result) with three additional layers: the decision-making process behind the action, the quantified result with measurable impact, and the transferable insight the candidate took from the experience.
A STAR-3 answer reads as the work of a candidate who has thought structurally about their own experience. A conventional STAR answer reads as the work of a candidate who is reciting a story.
An application either progresses or it does not, and firms rarely say why. STAR-3 is designed to make the written answers as strong as they can be.
The HireVue: PEAL-3 for the video stage
Goldman Sachs has used HireVue video interviews in its early-stage process. The format is unforgiving: there is no human in the room, the questions are pre-recorded, and the candidate has a fixed window per answer. A common failure is to ramble or under-structure the response.
PEAL-3 is the framework for HireVue and competency interview answers. PEAL stands for Point, Evidence, Action, Learning, and the "3" denotes three layers of depth. A PEAL-3 answer establishes a clear point in the first sentence, builds the evidence with a specific named situation, walks the action with the decision logic intact, and closes with the learning the candidate took away. The framework is designed to fit the HireVue time window.
The Superday: VTMR for the case study and Commercial Fluency for the partner round
Final-round formats vary. Candidates commonly report a mix of interviews and, in some divisions, case or group exercises.
VTMR is the framework for case study analysis. It structures the candidate's approach across four phases: Vision (what is the question really asking), Triage (what data matters and what does not), Modelling (build the structure or quantitative argument), and Recommendation (deliver the conclusion with confidence). ECS uses VTMR across banking, private equity and consulting case preparation.
Commercial Fluency is the framework for the senior interview. Senior interviews tend to test whether the candidate can hold a view on the firm's commercial environment, defend it under pressure and connect regulatory change to commercial impact. Commercial Fluency builds the knowledge base to do this with the depth a senior interview calls for.
What this means for parents
If your child is applying to Goldman Sachs Classifications Summer Analyst from a non-target university, the path is open but the preparation has to be built carefully. ECS applies the frameworks above in a set order, led personally by Hassan Akram.
The diagnostic call is the next step. It is a structured forty-five-minute conversation that assesses your child's profile against the programme's published requirements and ECS's experience of bank selection processes, and identifies the gaps in the current application approach. A parent must be present on the call. The diagnostic is not a sales call; it is a private assessment.
Apply at https://www.accessecs.com/start.
Frequently asked
Is Goldman Sachs Classifications Summer Analyst open to non-target university candidates?
Goldman Sachs's published material is the authority on eligibility. ECS's view is that non-target candidates can compete, provided the application and interviews are well prepared.
What is the application process for Goldman Sachs Classifications?
Typically an online application, a video interview and a final round; check the current process on Goldman Sachs's careers site. Goldman Sachs does not publish how each stage is scored. ECS prepares candidates for each stage format.
How long does it take to prepare for Goldman Sachs Classifications?
It depends on the starting point and the deadline, and ECS agrees a timeline after the diagnostic. Shorter, intensive preparation is possible when a deadline is close.
Does Goldman Sachs Classifications lead to front office?
Not automatically. ECS's understanding is that the role gives exposure to Sales, Trading and Compliance. Internal mobility and exit routes vary; ask about them at interview and speak to people in the team.
How do I apply for an ECS diagnostic call?
Apply at https://www.accessecs.com/start. A parent must be present on the call when the candidate is under twenty-two. The diagnostic is private, structured, and led personally by Hassan Akram.
Apply the Frameworks With Guidance
Book a diagnostic call with Hassan.
The diagnostic is a structured, no-obligation call to assess your specific position, identify the gaps in your current approach, and determine whether an ECS Private Careers Advisory engagement is the right investment.
Apply for a Diagnostic