Student Perspectives: What I Learned as an Underwriting Intern

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Karuna Pahari (MS Finance ’26)

This semester, I interned as an underwriting intern at Biz2credit, where I helped in reviewing small business loan applications. Going into the role, I expected it to be mostly about working with numbers, however it ended up being much more about judgement and decision-making.

The most important thing I learned is that underwriting is not just about analyzing financial data but it’s more about analyzing and understanding risk. In many cases, the numbers don’t tell a perfectly clear story. Part of the job is recognizing when something does not fully add up and thinking critically about what that might mean. The shift from just reviewing information to evaluating it was something I hadn’t fully appreciated before.

For networking, our company partakes in this fun activity called “Throwback Thursday” where someone secretly sends their childhood picture to HR and has the entire company guess who that could be to win prizes. If no one gets it right, the person who sent the picture gets the prizes. I partook by sending my own picture and work that day felt very fun and interesting. I had people from all departments see me and come to ask me for my name. It was that small activity, which I must mention did not win me anything, but I got to chat with most of my coworkers.

My biggest contribution was definitely helping extract and review borrower financials, especially by comparing reported revenue to actual bank activity and flagging inconsistencies. It was detail-oriented work, but it directly supported lending decisions and helped reduce the risk of approving loans based on inaccurate information.

After this experience, I’d like to build a deeper understanding of financial analysis and risk, especially in areas like credit evaluation and lending strategy. This role gave me a strong starting point and made me more interested in how these decisions are made at a higher level.

For students who are having a hard time finding an internship, my advice would be to stay consistent and not overcomplicate the process. Apply broadly, follow up where and when you can and do not be afraid to reach out to people. A lot of progress comes from just staying persistent.

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