GPA FOR PWM
Hi Im currently a freshmen at rutgers university. I just finished my first semester with a 2.9 gpa. Is it still possible to get a PWM internship in the summer? They do only look at your first semester gpa right ? thanks
Hi Im currently a freshmen at rutgers university. I just finished my first semester with a 2.9 gpa. Is it still possible to get a PWM internship in the summer? They do only look at your first semester gpa right ? thanks
Career Resources
round up
Had a PWM High Net Worth Individuals internship at a BB my sophomore year. They didnt give 2 shits what my GPA was granted I got the position through networking.
To be totally honest though 70% of what most interns did was cold call from a list. I was lucky enough to work for the VP who I networked with so my work didnt involve any of that and was actually interesting. I guess my point is go and network because A. they wont care about your GPA and B. you wont get stuck calling old uncle Bob for his life savings and setting up meetings for him and your VP.
actually to be more specific my gpa was a 2.8875...so do you think I should put a 3.0 on my resume
yes just round it 3.0/4.0, no one will give a crap even if were 2.1/4.0 as pwm is about relationships and doesn't involve technical work/long hours. There is also a big vacancy in the profession, not enough wealth managers out there as needed which makes it easier to break into (even at high levels) vs investment banking which is bloated and where layoffs are common.
I did a PWM internship and a colleague of mine had a 2.7/4.0, we both goto a semi-target....
so its ok to round to 3.0?..and is it worth it to do this after your freshmen yr of college
i really don't think people care about GPA as much for PWM internships. just leave a good impression, and be sure to let the FA know that you're willing to get him his coffee and run errands for him.
Rather than lying about your GPA, why don't you just leave it off?
Lying/Rounding your GPA will only hurt you because they honestly dont care what your GPA is as long as your not failing your classes. A 2.9 is completely fine for PWM and I would just focus on the interview.
i have friends well beloiw 3.0 who have gotten PWM internships at BBs - not just local offices as well
ok so what kind of questions do they ask in pwm interviews
Nobody will care about GPA as a first year- I would leave it off. a 2.9 is not a 3.0- don't round it that is dishonest.
Questions for PWM were mostly behavioral/fit stuff.
Questions like "Tell me how you've dealt with X situation" or "Give me an example where you dealt with a conflict at work". The most "technical" one that I got was "Give me your take on the current status of finance in Greece and how you see it progressing over the next 5 years." basically nothing you couldnt answer if you read the WSJ regularly.
for those who got a PWM internships with a gpa below a 3.0 did you put your gpa on your resume?
You need to put your GPA on your resume or you will draw attention to it.
Interested in AM/PWM...Extremely low GPA (Originally Posted: 07/26/2011)
Hey everyone,
Ok...I'm a brand new member to this site/forum, but have been an avid reader for sometime. Now I'm pretty sure I'm gonna catch hell/ a whole lot of smart comments for this, but in the hopes of finding at least a couple of jewel pieces of advice/information/direction, I'm gonna post anyway (heck, I got nothing to lose at this point). So here goes (kind of a long story, bear with me)...
I recently graduated from a non-target private universty in NY with a BBA in MKT. However, it was a long road to graduation as I had to discontinue my studies during my last semester (this happened 4 yrs ago) for financial reasons. I got a job in commercial/retail banking but upon obtaining my RR licenses (Series 6/63), i developed a really strong interest for Investments and the desire to break into the field of AM/PWM...It goes without saying that retail banking is a COMPLETELY different animal than AM or PWM, and the longer I did retail banking the more disenchanted I got with the idea of being stuck there.
SO, after roughly 3 years on the job (and enough $$ in my savings) I decided to leave the position and finish my UG degree this past fall semester in the hopes of pursuing my lofty Finance dreams. Now...herein lies the problem...My first 3 years of UG, were spent not knowing at all what I wanted to do with my life which resulted in me really not taking school very seriously. I wasnt until coming back to finish my last semester of UG 3 yrs later that I really even have a sense of direction or idea of what I wanted to do in life. THIS subsequently left me with an abysmal GPA ( which is a bit south of 2.5) to salvage, with little opportunity/time to boost it significantly. I know....I f*cked up....royally... :-/
What I would like to know is what are my chances realistically of breaking into the field of AM or PWM? Am I "unhireable" even for an internship at this point? where do I start as far as getting on the right path, should I purely focus on getting 720+ on the GMAT and hope to get into a good B-school? I'm not very young (when it comes to the majority of people that are trying to break into the world of high finance), so is there any hope ?
I would really appreciate any and all honest opinions. Thank you.
Okay, here's what I've got from this forum/friends:
1) PWM isn't that much different from retail banking. You're essentially a financial advisor, yes, but most of your job is going to be sales. You'll have to keep up with the markets, but it's not going to be anywhere close to actually actively managing assets.
2) AM is going tobe very difficult with your stats.
You may want to look into getting an MSF (check out ANT's website: www.msfhq.com) or an MBA. I don't think you'll be able to get in a good MBA program without some much better experience than 3 years of retail banking. I could very well be wrong.
If you go for the MBA, I would be pretty worried about that UG GPA being an obstacle for any decent b-school...
I know I read somewhere that the longer you are out of undergrad, the less weight they put on your GPA, given all other qualifications are impressive (solid work exp., high GMAT, etc). How do you spin a sub 2.5 GPA from a non-target and 3 years in retail banking? I think you better have a hell of a story, something more enticing than "I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life so I decided to not give a f*ck in college".
I'd probably shoot for an MBA. A 2.5 GPA can be offset by a 720+ GMAT if you are okay with attending a school ranked in the 30s/40s - which will mean IBanking will be almost impossible but a solid career in finance (corporate most likely) is definitely within reach.
Are you okay with working for a Fortune 500 doing project finance or P&L roll up?
Thanks a million for the replies so far guys, they are all quite insightful. I still have a few questions tho...
@ D M - Being that AM is looking like a longshot with my current stats, would it still be near impossible to break in after obtaining an MBA or MsF? Or would it be wiser to get some experience by getting a financial advisor position, the series 7/65 licenses, and after a few years (5-6yrs) of experience doing that, making the transition to AM from there?
As for PWM, would an MBA from a top 10 b-school be absolutely essential to break into that field as well? or would i be able to do that thru the FA route? I've read in some other forums that working as an FA and getting the CFP designation can help in breaking into PWM, how much truth is there to that realistically? Thanks so much for the advice and info! please keep it coming
@ Flake - my UG GPA is very much a concern, not just for MBA application purposes but for even landing a job or even an internship in an AM or PWM division. Since you mentioned that being out of UG longer dims the spotlight on one's UG GPA (assuming solid work exp. high GMAT, etc..) what route would you suggest taking? I know that Im pretty much screwed landing something in a BB to garner some work exp. because of their extremely rigid recruiting traditions, but what about a boutique or mid-market? I'm really looking for just a crack t get my foot in the door, i'm willing to bust my ass to move up but I reall just need an entry point and I feel like my GPA is pretty much shutting all the doors and sealing them with concrete for me :-/...i really appreciate your honesty btw
@ NorthEast - I really hope that I can get into decent (even if albeit not top 10) MBA program with a 720+ GMAT...I know how competitive the IB world is, hell even reading this site sometimes with people stressing and worrying about if they will get an offer with their UG 3.6 GPAs, and Morgan Stanley internships make me feel like roach sh*t smh...I'm not going to disillusion myself by thinking I have more than a 3% chance of landing in a BB coming from a 30s/40s ranked MBA...but what are my chances realistically of landing a boutique position or mid-market from a 30s/40s school?
As for the corporate finance career path, i would have no problem with that but how much differnt would it be from IB?
Shit man decide what you want to do and start acting now. No point in sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself, you're just wasting time.
If you decide to go the MBA route, just get your ass up right now and start prepping for the GMAT. I'm guessing here, but I think that 2nd round application deadlines for most schools end around December (for Fall 2012). This gives you a good amount of time to get everything in order. Get the GMAT out of the way first in the next 2 months (shoot for something very high, 720-740+), spend the rest of the time on coming up with a story for your essays and figuring out who you can go to for recommendations (professors for you if you graduated within 6 months, I think that's the standard). I think a decent b-school would be achievable if you really focus. A good MBA program should shift attention away from your undergrad once you start looking for MBA summer internships and eventually FT roles.
I'm not MBA expert or anything, but that's something I would do I guess. Maybe even seek help from one of these MBA adviser people that help you with the entire process.
EDIT To answer that last question, do a search on WSO. You should be able to find plenty of posts that point out the differences between corporate finance roles (at F500, etc) and investment banking.
Time out, I'm not in industry and Flake probably knows better than me, but I wouldn't go for the MBA right now if I were you. Here's how I see this:
Option 1 (MBA): First, if you're going to get an MBA it has to be from either a top school that sends people into AM regularly (that is top 20ish, and I'm guessing here, but usually top 20 have the best job opportunities) OR a regionally strong firm. And by strong I mean the best in the region that you KNOW has sent people into AM. If you're not going to a top school or are even going to one ranked 10-20, you damn well better be at the top of your class and get a damn good internship. Your life should be school and networking. Keep in mind I'm an undergrad, and anybody please feel free to correct me if you think I'm wrong. To get into a top program, you're going to have to have some sort of experience that sets you apart. That means you need to get some good work experience and KILL the GMAT (as an above poster said). If you're going to a strong regional program that may be a little further down the rankings, you may be fine with your work experience, but once again KILL the GMAT.
Option 2 (MSF): I'm not sure about what this entails. Check out that site I mentioned before (MSFHQ.com). There are forums and the guy who runs the site is active as shit on them. You ask a question and it will be answered pretty damn quick. He knows his shit, so he can give you the best idea of what's up.
Option 3 (Financial Advisor): If PWM is something you think you'd want to really pursue, being an FA could give you some solid experience. Hell, even if you only got a couple of years into it and decided it wasn't for you, that would help your MBA applications.
I was just using the mba path as an example. The point was that he should stop putting himself down and start working his ass off. Leave the abuse to us.
I also get the feeling he just wants any job in finance that doesn't suck. He wants pwm and am, but he seems receptive of other ideas.
10-4 on the advice guys...thinking my best option immediately is to hit the books like it's my job and SLAUGHTER the GMAT...dont think I'll have much control over anything else until then...Thanks a lot fellas.
OP list what investment advice you would give to me, a college student.
I personally wouldn't go the MBA route unless A) I had good enough grades/work experience to goto a top 15 or B) My company was paying a substantial amount for it.
I think you'd be far better off hitting the pavement & networking. You don't need good grades or an MBA to get into PWM. In fact, some of the best people in PWM I know weren't Ivy League studs, but more like typical public school average joes who had lots of drive & personality.
Why waste time sitting behind books to get an MBA from a school that may not even get you into a job?
Commodi expedita dolor omnis incidunt omnis non rerum. Est corrupti autem ratione tenetur. Aut nulla magni molestias nihil quisquam facilis ut. Itaque in quae consectetur deserunt itaque. Quis consequuntur et odit voluptas voluptatem.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Ea cum est qui qui facere sequi iste. Qui tempora dolorem voluptate deserunt tenetur eveniet.
Aliquam magni explicabo iste deleniti quos blanditiis enim. Nulla magni sunt commodi ipsum quod necessitatibus velit. Est quo magni et amet. Quia occaecati quidem aut quam dolor et culpa.
Praesentium iure aperiam facere rem velit. Nesciunt vel ad voluptates velit tempore. Quas est consequatur nulla pariatur. Quidem maiores molestiae at cupiditate aut. Eveniet omnis fuga et sapiente dolor voluptas voluptas.
Ullam non velit voluptas quis deleniti quo id et. Inventore a eaque facere quas repellat at. Earum ut quasi inventore inventore omnis dicta consequuntur. Provident et veritatis quasi voluptatum nam quia soluta tenetur. Dicta hic consequuntur placeat dolor.