I only realized what finance is about recently, and I would not accept myself later on down the road if I didn't at least get a shot at getting into banking, which is only achievable through SA. If I graduate on time in May 2016 (actually ahead in credits), I would probably be stuck in Mcdonalds due to GPA and no exp and non target.
The reason why I'm delaying for TWO years is because even during my senior summer (2016), I'd have no shot at SA because apps start/end in like 2 months for those positions and by then, i still wont have enough exp/enough GPA improvement.
Plan is to have absolutely no life next year, cut off everything, and focus 100% of my energy into forging a decent SA 2017 candidate, meaning I graduate 2 years late. I know that by Sept. 2016 (1 year from now), I'll be a damn competitive candidate. I've already mastered my upcoming school year's class materials through reading all the textbooks before class started, and have secured some off cycle stuff.
My financials are safe and covered, the school is cheap. My question is, when recruiters see this kind of profile, is it auto-ding? Will B-schools see this in a negative light? Keep in mind im adding a major and will be doing full time, it wont be some BS "add 1 extra course to grad in Winter" stint.
s.
If I get a 4.0 this semester, I'll have the 3.5 by december. Keep that up for spring, I'll have a 3.6. 4.0 for 2 years, 3.7 and graduate magna cum laude. I can definitely meet the cut offs and even be a good candidate if I bust ass now and apply next year (as long as the fact that I attend a state school/am a super senior isn't enough to autoding me).
The CPA excuse is interesting... I am planning to add accounting as my double major, so that definitely works. Thanks.
I know you say you want to do banking, but most people want to do banking to get into PE. If this is the case, I would advise looking up PE owned companies and working for one. Work your way up and the company hopefully fast enough that you get to be in contact with the PE guys before they exit and try to become an operational partner at that PE firm after - if you did well in your corporate grind.
Wouldn't doing PE be even harder though? I'm obv. not tryna get into an MF, but say a guy with a record like myself. Would I be able to graduate on time and become an analyst with PE? I doubt it unfortunately.
Instead of doing another 2 years of undergrad, a better bet might be doing a masters in finance after graduation or after 1-2 years of work experience and/or an MBA after 3-6 years of work.
Banking is possible via both these paths; it is not "get a SA position as an undergrad or never again."
I think having 6 years of undergrad on your resume could raise more questions than the good it would do you.
Yea but with a 3.3 and no prior legit intern experience from respected state school, how possible is it for me to get a decent corpfin or other finance role? I get the feeling that I'll be stuck doing my current back office job forever, in which case a decent masters would be out of the question.
I've been trying to find info on this site about how competitive FLDP's and other f500 roles are, but it's hard to come across info. Does a person with my profile have any chance/access at them? There isn't too much info online about the stats / exp. that is typically required to score them unfortunately.
SB'd everyone in here btw, thanks all for replying.
You definitely have a shot at decent corpfin/FLDP/etc. with a 3.3. The important thing to do is find out which F500/F1000s either recruit at your school or have strong alumni presences from your school.
If you know the material as well as you claim to, can demonstrate an interest in the companies/industries you're applying to, and network some, you will stand out and be able to get the job somewhere.
You could easily do a decent MFin after 2 years or a top-14 MBA with a good GMAT and history of promotion at work over 4-6 years.
What work/professional experience do you have? You said your GPA was awful so I was thinking a 2.0-2.5 or something, then we find out you actually have a 3.3, so I'm wondering if your work experience isn't as dire as you make it seem either.
d.
rock the GMAT and do an msf at a better brand school
This sounds insane from an outsiders perspective. There are people at the schools you're at with the right gpa that aren't getting the job. It seems like a huge risk. I'd follow the msf path mentioned as your gpa isn't terrible, 3.3. Also, your GMAT will carry the day as it carries the most weight in rankings.
Edit: Keep in mind how important your story is for what you have done to get here. If you add accounting, it really becomes obvious what you're doing when your gpa is accounted for. However, if you add a stem major, then it becomes more realistic that you would want to take the time to add it because the career oops are completely different. For your goals, I'd really say the MSF is best, but if you're going to add accounting, I would add something in STEM so you could say you were interested in X kind of sales so you thought it would be appropriate to add those majors.
See my PM...
Your big plan is to spend two years of your life in undergrad, hopefully get a 4.0, and all for the purpose of interviewing somewhere that accepts maybe less than 1% of applicants? There are other ways to make good cash.
Define cheap because I've yet to meet a college student who comes up with this kind of plan and still understands the value of a dollar.
Exactly, two years is no joke. Pay attention to the economics behind it. Even if your tuition is free, you're talking at least 150k of lost earnings potential. This at least, should be obvious if you're pursuing a career in finance. But these two years of your youth aren't coming out of no-where - you're borrowing them against your life, just like whatever debt you may have accumulated thus far is compounding interest while you stay in school. If you retire by 60, you've already taken 5% out of a 40 year career. Even if 150k sounds like an immaterial cost against all the millions you think you'll be raking in over the course of a banking career, what if you considered that you're instead removing those two years from the end of your career? The more successful you think you would've been, the higher the opportunity cost.
What do you think you'll gain in two more years in college besides a shot at a job? I approve of risk taking behavior in the pursuit of grand ambitions, but staying in college isn't brave. Being brave is entering the real world even if you don't think you're ready. Graduate and go find a job, go find a girlfriend, get started on the real world rather than stay in the sandbox that is college. All of these things have growth potential, whereas college is terminal, as are 90% of the social relationships you develop during it. After two years, get a different job, get another girlfriend (keeping the previous one is optional) and you'll feel like it's been a lifetime since you graduated, because it literally has been.
There's a study you can find that says people of comparable IQ who graduated from crappy schools and Ivy League schools began their career with predictably significant salary differentials. By mid-career, they were basically even. By the law of large numbers, you'll probably end up exactly the same career-wise 20 years down the line had you started in banking or big4/FLDP/mcdonalds. If your performance is crap, people will see through your B.S. and fire you, if you're good, you'll be promoted and you'll have people backing you for job change or business school.
Sorry for the lecture, but I feel strongly enough about possibly saving you 2 years of your life that I went through the effort of typing this out. Keep those two years banked away for a long-ass trip to Asia when you're tired of the finance bullshit and have all the time/money in the world to enjoy it. Or have two free years to commit to a startup. Or not feel as pressured to find a job when you get laid off the next downturn -- remember that there are people out there that freak out about not being able to survive a month without a job.
Well said. +1
+1
great reply
This is an absolutely terrible plan, possibly the worst ever. You are basing everything contingent on several semesters of 4.0, not likely, with the hopes of getting only a chance, and at a non-target. Graduate school would be better in many ways.
Thanks for the helpful reply, Epicer. I really appreciate the fact that you took out your time to write such insightful advice to me. I've been talking to a few people lately, all are vehemently against this delay plan.
However, what do you think of delaying 1 semester for summer internship eligibility? I have received no full time interviews yet AT ALL (as expected...), despite my OCR resume drops. Is a year of unemployment/administrative FT job right out of college seriously better than delaying and then attaining a better GPA (which will matter for MSF/MBA)?
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