How do you land a coveted spot in one of the highly competitive summer internship programs run by the top investment banks? You could follow the example of Colin Bourdin and Daniel Greenfield: research thoroughly, work together, and send out literally hundreds of emails.

The two Lundquist College juniors got to know each other through the University of Oregon Investment Group--the student club whose members manage more than $1 million in live money.

Bourdin had spent the previous summer in Houston, Texas, interning in the wealth management division at Morgan Stanley. This experience had given him a taste of how competitive the internship search can be--and how quickly the process can move. Though it was only fall term, he was already setting the groundwork for the following summer's internship.

Inspired by Bourdin's example, Greenfield started a search of his own, with the aim of landing an internship in the high-tech sector at one of those top investment banks, which some refer to as the bulge bracket.

Meticulously researching potential contacts at their target firms, Bourdin and Greenfield reached out by email to request informational interviews. It was often slow going. "Only about four percent of the people I contacted got back to me," recalled Greenfield.

But their persistence paid off. After making their way through several rounds of interviews with various banks, both students received multiple invitations for "Superday" interviews--the lengthy and challenging final round of the recruiting process.

Offers soon followed. Greenfield will spend his summer in San Francisco, concentrating on the tech sector at Credit Suisse. Bourdin heads back to Houston to intern in the energy sector at UBS. Go Ducks!