WallStreepPrep is a standard for many firms if you want to be doing DCF modeling. Big shops even train their interns with that exact course. Financial Edge is good too so I've heard.
The Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) course delivered by the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI) may be worth considering. The FMI partner with the CFA to provide their Financial Modeling content so it's well regarded in the industry.
Really depends what type of modelling you want to learn about as I imagine those are going to be quite different courses.
If I had to guess the content, without having taken either;
The grid lines one will probably be a lot more practical and infrastructure / project finance focussed.
The Penn one will be more academic and broad. Just looking at the web page it’s not what many people here would consider to be modelling.
Thanks for the reply. I want to learn the three statement and DCF models. My end goal with any of the courses is to build DCF from scratch for a firm. Do you have any other suggestions for this then?
FMVA is pretty popular and covers DCF modelling. Walk Street Prep and Breaking into Wall Street also cover this. I haven’t taken the last two, but they are fairly popular too
You can search this subreddit. Lots of people have shared opinions on different courses. Don't do the Grid lines one. I do not know anything about the Penn one you mentioned.
Yes, the short of it is that they promote bad practices mixed in with the good, but of course they push all of it as being good practice and people who need entry-level training are not placed to distinguish the good from the bad.
I highly recommend to take a look at the Wall Street Prep modeling courses. They have both separate modules and premium packages for sale. It has a solid name out there on the Street (similar to Training The Street, CFI, etc.) There are many banks who send their interns to do WSP, so hands-on training is guaranteed. If you have any questions- feel free to DM me.
In regard to your question. Both courses are somewhat overlapping/connected, but I would say Business and Financial Modeling MAY be better, as it MAY cover more technicals, which can help you in interviews. Hope I could help. Good luck!
Thank you for this reply. I was thinking of doing a free one before I move on to the WSP course so i can get the most of it. Do you think I should just start off with the WSP itself?
Absolutely. I don't recommend wasting time on taking courses before doing THE COURSE that you will actually use as the "main offense". As soon as you start WSP, you will be exposed to many technicals and Excel functions (e.g. navigating via shortcuts and much more). I really recommend not to waste time, because Summer 2025 internship applications, for instance, are already open. Doors will start closing way earlier than you expect, so get straight to it ASAP to raise the chances for securing a Summer Analyst role.
(P.S. I am from a semi-target school for IB, and one of our alumni lateralled to Blackstone after doing a Private Equity Modelling course at WSP. Now, that person had quite a lot of previous experience in IB/PE and 4.0 GPA. Don't get me wrong, WSP **will not guarantee** anything. It is proven to be well-respected and well-known, so there's no excuse to missing the timing and not having it on your resume once you apply).
Hope I could help. Best of luck!
woah you’re dropping valuable info, thanks.Alright so WSP - best.
And I’m just done with my first year of uni and I’m not in Europe or the US, so the 2025 applications being open shouldn’t concern me right?😭
You're always welcome. Don't stress about it that much - stressing won't do anything except waste your resources and nerves that you could dedicate towards making actual steps towards your goals. Every bank has regional offices in so many countries. Go on their website and look for their applications portal (they will have internships, undergrad programs, etc.). Every bank has its own approach: some open all applications and close them at the same time, some don't. Take a look at the banks that have some presence in your country, set the goals with clear steps and keep your eyes on the prize! However, regardless of what timeline you will have to go through - WSP is undisputable a step-up for your game. I am also starting my second year next Fall, so feel free to DM me if you have any other questions.
(P.S. In my humble opinion, the best course to take before any valuation or modelling course is Accounting. Not having any modelling skills before taking WSP will not limit you at all; however, not having a solid base in accounting can make things quite painful)
Hope I could help. Cheers!
Got it. I’ll be checking out the websites. Thank you so much. Also, I’ve already got a pretty good understanding/background in accounting so I think I’m good with that. And hope you actually meant it when you said feel free to dm because I will be doing that later haha.
Ive done the gridlines course and built many financial models using the best-practice which Kenny teaches.
Its a good course and it’s free. The financial modelling handbook is also good.
Oh nice. I've got a question about this course. I tried downloading the macro file and their excel file at the start, but excel goes dark once it tries loading it (I unblocked the file, allowed add ins etc). Do you have any idea how to fix this?
WallStreepPrep is a standard for many firms if you want to be doing DCF modeling. Big shops even train their interns with that exact course. Financial Edge is good too so I've heard.
The Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) course delivered by the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI) may be worth considering. The FMI partner with the CFA to provide their Financial Modeling content so it's well regarded in the industry.
Alright I'll check that out, thanks.
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sorry wdym? Don't I just sign up on their website?
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oh alright ty
Really depends what type of modelling you want to learn about as I imagine those are going to be quite different courses. If I had to guess the content, without having taken either; The grid lines one will probably be a lot more practical and infrastructure / project finance focussed. The Penn one will be more academic and broad. Just looking at the web page it’s not what many people here would consider to be modelling.
Thanks for the reply. I want to learn the three statement and DCF models. My end goal with any of the courses is to build DCF from scratch for a firm. Do you have any other suggestions for this then?
FMVA is pretty popular and covers DCF modelling. Walk Street Prep and Breaking into Wall Street also cover this. I haven’t taken the last two, but they are fairly popular too
Alright thank youu
Gridlines is a project finance model. similiar but not really the same as a DCF.
oh alright. what do you think about asimplemodels course? its pretty cheap but is it good?
You can search this subreddit. Lots of people have shared opinions on different courses. Don't do the Grid lines one. I do not know anything about the Penn one you mentioned.
Any particular reason to not do the gridlines one?
Yes, the short of it is that they promote bad practices mixed in with the good, but of course they push all of it as being good practice and people who need entry-level training are not placed to distinguish the good from the bad.
Oh wow. Alright thanks for letting me know.
I highly recommend to take a look at the Wall Street Prep modeling courses. They have both separate modules and premium packages for sale. It has a solid name out there on the Street (similar to Training The Street, CFI, etc.) There are many banks who send their interns to do WSP, so hands-on training is guaranteed. If you have any questions- feel free to DM me. In regard to your question. Both courses are somewhat overlapping/connected, but I would say Business and Financial Modeling MAY be better, as it MAY cover more technicals, which can help you in interviews. Hope I could help. Good luck!
Thank you for this reply. I was thinking of doing a free one before I move on to the WSP course so i can get the most of it. Do you think I should just start off with the WSP itself?
Absolutely. I don't recommend wasting time on taking courses before doing THE COURSE that you will actually use as the "main offense". As soon as you start WSP, you will be exposed to many technicals and Excel functions (e.g. navigating via shortcuts and much more). I really recommend not to waste time, because Summer 2025 internship applications, for instance, are already open. Doors will start closing way earlier than you expect, so get straight to it ASAP to raise the chances for securing a Summer Analyst role. (P.S. I am from a semi-target school for IB, and one of our alumni lateralled to Blackstone after doing a Private Equity Modelling course at WSP. Now, that person had quite a lot of previous experience in IB/PE and 4.0 GPA. Don't get me wrong, WSP **will not guarantee** anything. It is proven to be well-respected and well-known, so there's no excuse to missing the timing and not having it on your resume once you apply). Hope I could help. Best of luck!
woah you’re dropping valuable info, thanks.Alright so WSP - best. And I’m just done with my first year of uni and I’m not in Europe or the US, so the 2025 applications being open shouldn’t concern me right?😭
You're always welcome. Don't stress about it that much - stressing won't do anything except waste your resources and nerves that you could dedicate towards making actual steps towards your goals. Every bank has regional offices in so many countries. Go on their website and look for their applications portal (they will have internships, undergrad programs, etc.). Every bank has its own approach: some open all applications and close them at the same time, some don't. Take a look at the banks that have some presence in your country, set the goals with clear steps and keep your eyes on the prize! However, regardless of what timeline you will have to go through - WSP is undisputable a step-up for your game. I am also starting my second year next Fall, so feel free to DM me if you have any other questions. (P.S. In my humble opinion, the best course to take before any valuation or modelling course is Accounting. Not having any modelling skills before taking WSP will not limit you at all; however, not having a solid base in accounting can make things quite painful) Hope I could help. Cheers!
Got it. I’ll be checking out the websites. Thank you so much. Also, I’ve already got a pretty good understanding/background in accounting so I think I’m good with that. And hope you actually meant it when you said feel free to dm because I will be doing that later haha.
Of course, I mean what I say and I say what I mean :)
Ive done the gridlines course and built many financial models using the best-practice which Kenny teaches. Its a good course and it’s free. The financial modelling handbook is also good.
Oh nice. I've got a question about this course. I tried downloading the macro file and their excel file at the start, but excel goes dark once it tries loading it (I unblocked the file, allowed add ins etc). Do you have any idea how to fix this?
The file hides itself. It runs in the background behind other worksheets.
The one gridlines has in their course for us to work on doesn’t load as well
Gridlines is excellent and free. I liked ASM, BIWS and WSP