Advice for a Supply Chain Undergrad

Hey everyone! So I'm a third year Supply Chain Management major and math minor hoping to get into management consulting after undergrad. I have about a 3.6 gpa (a bit low because of pre-med classes before switching to business, but can get up to ~ 3.7 before graduation), good internships under my belt, and good extra curriculars.

I decided to do the math minor because I thought it would all be interesting and as a plus it might also help when applying for consulting jobs. But after taking Differential Equations (the prereq to Prob & Stats) I am wondering if I want to finish this minor. I am starting to question whether it is worth it given the difficulty and how irrelevant some of what I'll be learning will be to consulting. I would have to take Prob & Stats (which I want to take), Linear Algebra (which I don't necessarily think will be that valuable), and Statistics & Stochastic Processes (which I think may be useful).

My question is:

Would it look bad when applying if I just stop after Prob & Stats and just list the math courses I've taken on my resume and basically just ditch the minor title? I'm thinking prob & stats is the most useful class anyways and I can likely do well in it.

The other option would be to finish the minor and be able to list the minor on my resume but potentially take a small gpa hit because of Linear Algebra and Statistics & Stochastic processes.

Any thoughts on which route you would recommend? My goal is to find a balance between putting myself in the best position for a consulting job and learning the stuff that interests me. Any comments will be incredibly appreciated, and feel free to correct me on anything. Thanks!!

 

Also, the classes i have taken for the minor so far are: Calc 1, Calc 2, and Diff Eq. So im wondering if it will look kind of random when they review my application if my transcript says that I took all those classes plus prob and stats and just stopped there. Versus completing the minor which I'm thinking will look a bit more thought out to the people who will be reviewing my app.

 
  1. 3.6 isn't a low GPA for any major. Not sure if this is an attempt at being humble, but it kind of makes you sound like an ass tbh.

  2. To answer your question: no one cares about your minor. If you've done well in the Math classes you've already taken, put them on your resume and move on. Unless you know for a fact you will get an A in this class, then you could take it anyway. But why would you waste your time taking it? You should be practicing your case studies and networking and applying for consulting interviews, not adding to your courseload for no reason. If you really want to learn the info that badly, learn it on your own time or take the class pass/fail so you don't have to put alot of time into it.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 
OttoReadmore:

But why would you waste your time taking it? You should be practicing your case studies and networking and applying for consulting interviews, not adding to your courseload for no reason. If you really want to learn the info that badly, learn it on your own time or take the class pass/fail so you don't have to put alot of time into it.

This. I remember reading a recent thread about networking and learning the job from being in finance holds greater rewards then academia can provide.

 

Hey Otto thanks for responding. I truly wasn't intending to sound like an ass. The only reason I said that is because I see on WSO all the time that for MBB you need an aggressively high GPA if you are not coming from a target school (which I am not).

And I will definitely take that into consideration. I forgot to mention that I am in a 5 year undergrad program, so i actually have 2 more years left before graduating. So for now, case interviews for full time jobs arent really on my radar yet. A part of me wants to just finish it since I'm already half way. But what you said about taking it pass/fail is definitely something I will think about. Thanks again!!

 

Fair. I understand the want to keep it as high as possible, but a 3.6 still isn't low. Obviously, the higher the better. But even still, I don't think a 4.0 will get you in from a non-target if you don't network, and it sure as hell won't get you past a first round if you don't know how to solve a case. Even if you aren't graduating for 2 more years, you should still be trying to work your way into a consulting internship this year/next year

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 

Thanks for the response Otto. I am planning on applying to consulting internships next year. I am currently doing a Supply Chain internship right now so it will have to wait until next year. I will definitely be networking and preparing for the cases.

 

Doesn't matter. Ease of coursework still doesn't make a 3.6 low - that's still graduating Cum Laude just about anywhere.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 

That's essentially what I was worried about. I fear that many recruiters don't view Supply Chain as a hard major (because it isn't in the grand scheme of things). I had to register for classes next week, and decided to just finish the math minor and do my best to pull off A's for the next two years. Thanks for the responses everyone. Much appreciated.

 

If his resume is solid, and he networks a 3.6 won't keep him out even at a non-target - won't get him in, but it won't keep him out. It might be on the "lower end", but what creates more value here? a .1 boost in a GPA or having a killer resume and connections?

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 
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