Ares Management Internship 2027–2028: Programs, Deadlines & How to Apply

Last updated: July 2026

Ares Management manages $644 billion in assets under management as of Q1 2026, making it one of the largest alternative investment managers in the world. Out of roughly 7,000 applications, Ares hires approximately 130 interns globally, putting the acceptance rate near 1.9%. The firm pioneered private credit as an asset class, and its 10-week summer program spans 12 distinct tracks across credit, private equity, real assets, and platform functions. For the 2027–2028 cycle, applications are expected to open in late August 2027. Competitive groups fill interview slots within weeks of the posting going live, so the calendar is the sharpest edge you have.

Quick Facts

Two numbers frame the challenge: roughly 7,000 applications for approximately 130 seats, yielding about a 1.9% acceptance rate. Rolling review starts when postings go live in late August, and competitive groups fill their interview slots fast. Early submission and a strong business-group narrative do the work.

Externships are short, remote projects where you finish real work for a real company. The Wayfair AI Agent Engineering Externship and Beats by Dre Data Analytics Externship build the analytical, data, and communication evidence an Ares application and its group-specific interviews reward. Explore all Externships.

What Is an Ares Management Internship?

An Ares Management internship is a paid, full-time, 10-week summer placement that puts students directly into one of 12 business groups spanning credit, private equity, real assets, and platform functions. Unlike rotational programs at some banks, Ares places you into a specific group from day one based on the preferences you rank in your application. Investment-track interns work on real deal teams, contributing to financial modeling, credit analysis, due diligence, and investment memos. The firm manages $644 billion in AUM across four segments: Credit ($407B), Real Assets ($139B), Private Equity ($25B), and Other Alternatives ($51B). With approximately 4,400 professionals across 55 offices in 25 countries, Ares offers interns exposure to institutional-scale alternative investing. Return offer rates vary by team, with some groups historically converting over 50% of interns into full-time analysts.

When Do Ares Management Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

Ares Management follows an accelerated buyside recruiting calendar, with applications opening roughly 10 months before the internship starts. For the Summer 2027 cohort, applications opened August 31, 2026, with interviews running September through November and offers by December. Expect the Summer 2028 cycle to follow the same rhythm, shifted forward by one year. The critical insight: Ares uses partially rolling review, and preferred business groups fill their interview slots first regardless of whether a hard deadline has passed. Submitting in the first wave is not optional if you are targeting a competitive group like Direct Lending or Private Equity ACOF.

Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open

Partially rolling review is the mechanism, not a footnote. Ares posts application windows with stated close dates, but the firm has signaled that preferred business groups fill interview slots first regardless of whether a hard deadline has passed. With roughly 7,000 applicants competing for approximately 130 seats and a 1.9% acceptance rate, early submission is the single highest-leverage move. Historically, applications opened August 31 for the following summer's cohort, and some postings closed within 3 to 4 weeks. So set a reminder for late August and submit in the first wave. Your business-group preference is a binding decision in the application, which means researching all 12 tracks before the portal opens is not optional. If you rank Direct Lending first, you will interview for Direct Lending. Be prepared to defend that choice for 20 minutes.

Which Ares Management Internship Programs Should You Target?

Ares runs its internships as single-group placements, not rotations. You rank your business group and location preferences as part of the application, interview for one specific group, and intern with that group from day one. Which track should you target? The honest answer is the one whose strategy and asset class you can genuinely discuss for 20 minutes, because your group-preference narrative is the most scrutinized part of the application.

See all open roles on the Ares Workday portal. Note the credit-heavy tilt: Ares's Credit segment manages $407B of the firm's $644B AUM, so credit-related tracks carry more seats than PE or real assets. Applying to the right group is a strategic decision, not an afterthought.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

Ares's requirements are more open than many PE megafunds. A few lines repeat across the intern postings:

• Enrollment: currently enrolled undergraduate student. The JD explicitly states that finance and accounting knowledge is "a plus but not required" and that the firm primarily looks for "general aptitude and willingness to learn."

• Graduation window: anticipated graduation December 2028 through August 2029 for Summer 2028 roles (projected from the Summer 2027 cycle, which targeted December 2027 through August 2028).

• School status: unlike many PE megafunds, Ares reportedly does not heavily weight target versus non-target school status. A former intern noted that the firm is more interested in intellectual curiosity and campus engagement than pedigree alone.

• Business group preference is binding: you rank your group and location preferences as part of the application and interview for one specific group. This is the most important decision in the application.

Does Ares Have a GPA Cutoff?

Ares does not publish a minimum GPA, but the JD requires a "track record of academic excellence." The emphasis in interviews falls on your ability to articulate why a specific business group, demonstrate accounting and financial modeling fundamentals, and show genuine intellectual curiosity about the asset class. Strong campus activities, prior internship experience, and a clear group-preference narrative carry more weight than a decimal on your GPA.

What Skills Does Ares Management Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

Read across the 12 Ares intern tracks listed in the 2027 Summer Intern job descriptions and the pattern is clear. Excel proficiency appears in nearly every track, communication skills in all of them, financial modeling in the investment tracks, and critical thinking throughout. But the skill list only tells half the story. Ares interviews score heavily on your ability to defend your business-group choice and demonstrate genuine asset-class fluency. Credit interviews lean on accounting and capital structure; PE interviews test LBO mechanics and deal judgment; Secondaries interviews probe quantitative reasoning. Roughly 60% of Glassdoor reviewers rated their interview experience as positive, and the difficulty sits at 3.02 out of 5.

How Is Demand for Finance and Alternative Investment Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

And every skill in that chart maps to a remote Externship where you finish a real project before a role opens.

How close is the overlap? The Wayfair project is analytical work that yields the build-and-explain evidence Ares's team interviews probe for, and the Beats project ends on the data-analysis and presentation story a behavioral round wants.

What Is the Ares Management Application and Interview Process Like?

Ares's funnel is an interview-based process with no standardized online assessment. The process spans several weeks from application to offer:

1. Research business groups thoroughly. Review all 12 tracks on the Ares early careers page. Your group preference is a binding decision in the application, and you will need to defend your choice for 20 minutes in interviews.

2. Apply via the Ares Workday portal. Rank your business group and location preferences. Submit in the first 1 to 2 weeks of the application window. Confirm the Workday requisition ID on ares.com and select the correct regional path (US and UK are separate entry points).

3. Recruiter/HR screen (15 to 30 minutes). Behavioral questions, motivation for Ares, why alternatives, resume walkthrough. Key question: "What business group are you interested in and why?"

4. First team interview (Zoom 1-on-1 with an associate). Mix of behavioral and light technical questions. Credit tracks: accounting basics, capital structure intuition, 3-statement linkage. PE tracks: deal process vocabulary, EBITDA definition.

5. Technical/case round (45 to 60 minutes). PE and Secondaries tracks: back-of-the-envelope LBO where you must ask questions to get cash flows, find an exit multiple, and calculate IRR on the spot. Credit tracks: cash flow and collateral coverage analysis, credit judgment questions.

6. Senior interviews / superday. In-person or Zoom with VPs, MDs, and Partners. Deeper behavioral questions, investment judgment, cultural fit. Some groups hold in-person superdays in New York with back-to-back interviews. Total rounds reported: most candidates report 2 to 5 rounds, some up to 8.

So the two skills to drill are clear: financial modeling fluency (3-statement links, EBITDA adjustments, back-of-the-envelope LBO) and a polished 20-minute narrative explaining why your ranked business group. Glassdoor rates interview difficulty at 3.02 out of 5, and 60.6% of candidates rated their experience as positive. The key differentiator across all rounds is being able to articulate why the specific business group you ranked, not just "why alternatives" or "why Ares."

What Students on Reddit Say

Three community threads show the hiring bar and intern experience from the inside, all paraphrased.

How Do You Stand Out When Only 1.9% Get In?

Three moves, all before a role opens. First, submit in the first wave of the late-August application window: partially rolling review means competitive groups fill interview slots regardless of stated close dates, and with 7,000 applicants for 130 seats, timing is the highest-leverage move. Second, choose your business group like you mean it: Ares's application locks you into a single track, and interviewers will spend 20 minutes probing whether you genuinely understand why Direct Lending over Opportunistic Credit, or PE ACOF over Secondaries. Generic "I love alternatives" answers get filtered fast. Third, nail the technical bar for your specific track: credit interviews want 3-statement links, capital structure intuition, and cash flow analysis; PE interviews want a back-of-the-envelope LBO with a defensible IRR calculation; and QIS wants Excel and Python fluency. Ares's culture values (Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy) are not decorative, so map at least two STAR stories to the C.R.E.S.T. framework before your first screen.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

Ares is not the only alternative asset manager hiring on an accelerated buyside calendar. If you are building a finance internship list, these are the obvious neighbors:

Our finance internships summer 2027 guide maps the whole landscape, timeline by timeline.

FAQ

When do Ares Management internship applications open for Summer 2028?

Expect applications to open around late August or early September 2027. Historically, the Summer 2027 cohort saw applications open on August 31, 2026. Some postings close within 3 to 4 weeks of opening, so submitting in the first wave is critical.

Is Ares internship hiring rolling?

Partially rolling. Ares posts stated close dates, but the firm has signaled that preferred business groups fill interview slots first regardless of the deadline. Apply within the first 1 to 2 weeks for priority consideration.

How much does an Ares Management internship pay?

Investment-track interns report earning approximately $50 per hour, or roughly $2,000 per week pre-tax, totaling about $20,000 for the 10-week program. A relocation stipend is also provided. Glassdoor reports an annualized range of $52,800 to $95,281 across all intern types.

Do I need a finance major to intern at Ares?

No. While Finance, Business Administration, or Economics are preferred, the JD explicitly states that finance and accounting knowledge is a plus but not required. Ares primarily looks for general aptitude and willingness to learn.

Can I switch business groups after applying?

No. You can only interview and intern with one business group. Your group and location preferences are ranked as part of the application, and your first-ranked group is generally the one you interview for. Research all 12 tracks thoroughly before applying.

What is the Ares internship interview process like?

There is no standardized online assessment. The process is entirely interview-based: a recruiter/HR screen, team-specific interviews with associates and VPs (behavioral plus technical), and potentially a superday with senior professionals. Most candidates report 2 to 5 rounds. Glassdoor rates difficulty at 3.02 out of 5.

What is the acceptance rate for Ares internships?

Ares is extremely selective. Approximately 130 interns are hired from roughly 7,000 applications globally, putting the acceptance rate near 1.9%. However, the firm reportedly cares less about target versus non-target school status than many PE megafunds.

What is the return offer rate at Ares?

Return offer rates vary by team. Historically, the Real Estate team converted over 75% of interns, though more recent rates have been around 50%. Direct Lending in LA reported approximately 37.5%. Ares's philosophy is not to overhire but to select top performers for long-term roles.

Ares's acceptance rate is about 1.9%, but every seat is won one group-specific interview at a time. Spend the runway building proof: a remote Externship turns 'interested in credit' into a finished analytical project you can point at when the Workday portal opens in August.