GMAT Score Necessary for PE Recruiting?
Hi everyone, I have been visiting WSO for the last couple of years and will be joining the LevFin / M&A group of a middle market investment bank this summer as a first year analyst. My short term career goals are IB --> PE --> MBA --> PE.
I spent the free time before work prepping for the analyst stint and spending time with family, therefore I did not get a chance to take the GMAT. I am also from a non-target. Will PE recruiters ding me for not having a gmat score?
Nobody will ding you for not taking GMAT. However, having a high gmat score can be helpful during recruitment (assuming the private equity fund is heavy on business school).
As a non target, they'll likely push for me to have an MBA.
PE firms don't hire you based on your ability to get into business school, so having a high gmat score in and of itself means absolutely nothing. So disagree with this response.
It does however help if you went to a non-target and/or have mediocre SAT scores for whatever reason. If you graduated from Texas A&M with a 3.6 GPA and got an 1100 on your SATs (whatever that means on today's scale)... having a 790 GMAT score would certainly nip in the bud any concern about your intellectual horsepower/caliber. You'd obviously still have to have an explanation for the 3.6 and 1100 SAT.
And Texas A&M Mays grads are seriously some of the smartest kids I've seen (well, in the top half). In reality, Accounting and Finance students at Mays are about on par with McCombs. I don't understand why A&M is so underrated.
No. As long as your SAT is decent you'll be fine. If you score a 750+ it will help though.
My SAT scores are subpar. Therefore, it would be beneficial for me to make time for the GMAT?
Define a decent SAT score ma boy
I doubt if gmat scores play that big a part in PE recriting
Headhunters / PE firms will require you to list your SAT scores on your resume. However, if you score well on the GMAT you can put that in lieu of your SAT score and most HHs and interviewers won't ask questions. So to answer your question, yes, it would be beneficial to take the GMAT especially if you scored subpar on the SAT. Others can chime in, but if you got below a 2000 (and you're serious about PE recruiting), I would highly recommend taking the GMAT. I scored a 2190 and still strongly considered taking it. Keep in mind you'll be recruiting against an abundance of BB/EB bankers who graduated from target schools with near perfect test scores/GPA. If you ultimately decide to take the GMAT, I would highly recommend doing it before training starts. Once training and work starts, it'll be very difficult to find enough time to be able to study with any continuity (speaking from first hand experience).
im confused
why are SATs still relevant considering we are well past college and they are 5+ years old by this point
Should I still be listing my SATs on my resume. (Considering its a 1510)
This is strange to me also. So people actually list their SATs on their resume for recruiting out of undergrad? That test would have been taken 4+ years ago. And some firms actually require it to be listed?
I think if your having to list SATs out of undergrad then you are seriously short of stuff.
haha I should have listed my SATs lol when I was recruiting my senior year. missed a trick I guess.
but still confusing. I can understand listing it when you are graduating from college and looking for first job. understand it but barely and I am sure its not ideal
but the discussion here is PE 3-4 years out of college
SATs aren't relevant; what're you like 16 or 17 when you take them? The worst are the analyst resumes I see that list their private elementary schools. GMAT can help but not required... just get to the interview stage and do well. Why are you assuming you'll need an MBA unless the firm requires it? It's possible to bypass it at some places if you do a great job.
Almost every headhunter asks for SATs in the sheet for PE recruiting, and for PE firms it's one of the five or six items, along with school, GPA, firm and group, that is listed on the headhunter sheet used (along with resumes) to decide who gets interviews
The fact that a test written at ~ age 17 is relevant at age ~24 is obscene.
While I agree with the sentiment, when you're assessing people on paper based on their resume and other stats, what you're looking for is a pattern of behavior that indicates a very high propensity to excel at the highest levels and in various arenas.
So between two top KKR Associates, one graduated from Andover at the top of his class, got a perfect SAT score, and then Princeton at the top of his class, all-american athlete, then Goldman, then KKR. And the other went to a Michigan, solid but not stellar SATs and UG GPA, then BAML, now KKR. They are both at the same exact place and hypothetically performing at the same exact level... but one demonstrates a pattern of behavior that would indicate he is -- atleast on paper -- the superior candidate. And the part of the recruiting process where SATs are looked at (if at all), is when candidates are being screened based on how they look on paper.
Its also the most universal and standardized means of comparison. Something you don't have much of when assessing candidates based on differences in where they went to school, whether they were high-level athletes/distracted, what their majors were, where they worked post-UG, etc.
Even at the MBA level, I got asked about my SAT scores by pretty much every headhunters I spoke to. Outside of some MF and quant focused HF, I don't think people really care that much about test scores (acknowledging that getting the experience necessary to interview for these position will require high scores).
SATs are relevant and it is confirmed that many MF and MM PE firms require SAT scores if you have taken it before. It is just another easy metric to weed out candidates. I know it sounds nonsensical but life is not always fair. This topic also has been discussed countless times before.
IB-->PE recruiting & GMAT (Originally Posted: 02/07/2016)
Would putting a 740 GMAT on your resume during PE associate recruiting (out of IB) help or hurt? I'd really appreciate if someone could shed some light on whether or not GMAT helps and if 740 GMAT is acceptable by MF and top MM funds. For context, not trying to compensate for low SAT or anything. Just happen to have a gmat score and was wondering if there would be anything good that can come out of it.
Thanks!
A 740 is in the 97th percentile - I think you should put it on. In my experience, most PE shops are looking for people who are winners at everything they do, and a great gmat score can only strengthen the package you bring to the table.
I will say, I put my GMAT score on my resume and was asked "why did you take the GMAT in college?". I had an answer so it wasn't a big deal (interviewer was more curious than looking for anything), but just make sure you can explain your thought process.
Wondering if you mind sharing how you framed this answer?
I'd include it. Not only does it demonstrate intellect, it shows them you're amenable to a 2 and out program since you're already preparing for b school
What did you end up doing?
Does having a high gmat score on your resume help for PE recruiting? (Originally Posted: 04/23/2011)
Haven't taken the GMAT yet, but might as well take it to put on my resume since it'd probably only take me 1 week tops to get a 770-790. Anyone know if the GMAT will be nice on my resume when applying to PE shops? I'm already coming from a top IBD group anyway, would it matter at all? I hear after getting the interview, your resume doesn't mean much and it's all about nailing the interviews.
Yeah only if you get a 350. Anything higher and you will be labled as overachieving try hard.
Nah bra.
can't hurt
you should list it multiple times:
Education: GMAT at 790 Bitch
Experience: GMAT'n on your 590 ass
Activities: Still GMAT'n at 790
i know i would never work with anyone with less than a 750 on GMAT or with anyone who doesn't have national merit from high school
im actually curious about this as well, all jokes aside. if it's over 700 is it worth putting on? could it be seen as a deterrent to a PE firm that doesn't utilize the pre-MBA associate approach?
test scores probably matter more on buyside than they did for banking recruiting.
during one of my interviews with a megafund I actually saw that my interviewer had circled my sat score on the copy of my resume he had in front of him (i did very well)
test scores are important because employers know that colleges are using "holistic" admissions, landing tons of dumb kids into the best schools.
college name is no longer a good proxy for iq
Makes no sense. In that case college GPA from the best schools is still a better indicator than SAT score.
PE/HF Recruiting - Include gmat score? (Originally Posted: 05/20/2014)
Should I include my GMAT score on my resume for buyside recruiting? If so, will it help if its 740+?
You need to include a standardized test score. In my experience, most recruiters specifically asked for SAT scores since almost everyone has taken the SAT.
I've seen it before. Won't hurt if its a good score. If you never went to business school be prepared for questions about why given the good GMAT
If its a good score it can only help.
I'd advise you to definitely include if you went to a non-target, had a sub-3.8 GPA and or had a sub-95th percentile SAT score.
This is all really helpful, thank you guys!
So I'm assuming a 740+ would be considered a "good" score? 750+?
740 is more than fine
Gotta think anything above 700 would indicate that you have a brain and are able to think in a structured manner.
Could it hurt you for the hedge funds that are anti-MBA, because it shows that you are either considering or considered an MBA at one point?
this is a good question. no, don't include it. there's very little upside (a high gmat score won't get you the job) and potentially a ton of downside (you don't know how they feel about mbas)
If you had a decent GPA from a target school, I wouldn't add your GMAT unless you're 750+. Anything below just suggests you're pretty average.
GMAT Test Score needed for PE? (Originally Posted: 10/01/2017)
Do PE funds want to see that you've taken the GMAT and scored well? Do SAT scores matter? What are the score that MFs look for?
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