Graduating -- Low GPA from target school

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to take a year or two off before graduate school and am considering my options. I'm an applied math major from a math/science college that is respected in the industry. Unfortunately, my GPA sucks because I took too many classes outside of my area of expertise as was required by my school (oh, and terrible grade deflation). I have a lot of computational modeling experience and independent research. I've never had any finance experiences, but am interested in learning more. My quantitative/programming abilities are strong and I do well during mock interviews. How much of a factor is a subpar GPA? Is there anything I can do to compensate for it? Does being a woman help or hurt me? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. :-)

Thanks!

 

If you have some internships it should be ok. If you networked, you should be ok. If not you may need to go to grad school to speciallize. Quant finance. They need more women at top programs anyways...

The Grid. A digital frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they move through the computer. What did they look like? Ships? Motorcycles? Were the circuits like freeways? I kept dreaming of a world I thought I’d never see. And then, one day
 
EngBanker:
Angus Macgyver:
MIT -> ??? -> Profit!
Seems you missed the part about the GPA.
Well, if the OP is female and can score well enough on the GRE, I get the feeling that they might be willing to overlook a low-ish GPA. I am, of course, no admissions consultant, but... It seems like MIT really wants people who aren't white or Asian males.
 

Thanks for all the replies. My GPA is a 2.9. I know it sucks, and though I could give reasons for how much it sucks, I'm not going to make excuses right now. I'm not looking for a lifetime in finance, so it wouldn't make sense for me to get a degree in the field. I'm really just looking for a 2(ish) year job. Would such a low GPA weed me out before interviews? I think if I can get to in-house interviews I'd really be able to distinguish myself from my GPA, but my fear is that I won't even be able to get to that point.

 

you need work experience to counteract the GPA, which in your case is usually obtained through networking into an internship. without that your chances are not good and you need to reboot in a backoffice role or through a master's.

 
Best Response

Et qui dolorem aut dolore facilis ut repudiandae. Non tenetur dignissimos reprehenderit vitae est voluptas officia. Illo in veritatis est velit quia id ducimus. Ad consequuntur pariatur asperiores voluptatibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”