Toigo LIFE Program (Leaders Investing in Financial Excellence)

Benefits & funding

• No scholarship, stipend or grant. The foundation states that LIFE is not a scholarship program and that it stopped making direct merit awards more than ten years ago.
• One year of structured training: a personalised onboarding assessment, quantitative training, financial modelling and AI-enhanced learning.
• Toigo Catapult, a multi-day virtual spring event with Toigo professionals and partner finance firms, opens the program year.
• A Learning Intensive in one of four alternative-investment tracks: venture capital, private equity, real estate, or impact investing.
• One-on-one coaching for hiring readiness, plus sector deep dives led by practitioners, academics and Toigo alumni.
• Certification on completion and access to the Toigo alumni network of more than 2,000 finance professionals.
• Strong performers may be invited to an optional second-year Leadership Masterclass.
• Cost to the applicant: a $50 non-refundable application fee.

Eligibility

• Matriculating into an accredited two-year MBA, one-year master’s, or EMBA program in the fall following application, with full-time student status.
• Degree types named by the foundation: MBA, JD/MBA, MFE (financial engineering), MRED (real estate), MPA (public administration), MPF (public finance), MFIN (finance), MWM (wealth management), MQF (quantitative finance).
• A plan to pursue a finance or finance-adjacent career, for example venture capital, private equity, entrepreneurship, investor relations or investment management.
• International students may apply if they meet the requirements. Every applicant must be eligible to work in the United States.
• No prior finance experience is required, and applications are welcome from any academic background.
• No age, nationality or demographic criteria. Selection rests on the merit of the application and the clarity of career goals, and applications are redacted to remove elements that would suggest preference or bias.
• Participants commit to active participation in all Toigo-hosted sessions, workshops and career development activities.
• A graduate school acceptance is not needed before applying.

Application process

1. 1
   Watch the LIFE pages from October, when the application opens for the next cohort.
2. 2
   Prepare written answers on career aspirations: why finance, which areas the candidate hopes to pursue, and what makes them a strong LIFE candidate.
3. 3
   Submit through the Toigo LIFE application portal and pay the $50 non-refundable fee.
4. 4
   Complete the technical assessment that accompanies the application.
5. 5
   Wait for review. Applications are scored on answer quality, written expression, clarity about a finance career, and technical assessment results.
6. 6
   Selected applicants join Toigo Catapult in mid-April, which opens the program year.

Program timeline

1. October

   Applications open for the next cohort (exact 2026–2027 dates not yet published).

2. March

   Applications close. The most recent round closed in March 2026; exact 2026–2027 dates are not yet published.

3. Toigo Catapult, the multi-day virtual kickoff.

   Mid-April 2026

4. Twelve months of intensives, coaching and career-launch programming.

   April onward

5. Year two

   Optional Leadership Masterclass, by invitation.