From a target school, with low GPA
Hello,
I am preparing to get into consulting sector. I am an electrical engineer with 3.05 GPA which is the best and first private school in my country. The thing is this school accepts people with scholarship and non-scholarship options. I am a non-scholarship graduate. I thought that I could make the GAP between me and some other high profile candidates by getting TOEFL and GRE scores and I have been studying to get a 170 quant score (it should be easy with some practice since so many of my friends already got this score for their applications) and above 110+ TOEFL score.
Since the April (which is in here the recruiting season for big4 consulting firms) is getting closer. I started to study case interviews on preplounge. I am afraid that I will not be able to pass the CV elimination part because of my lower GPA compared to high profile candidates(this is the case for MBB).
What do you think I should do in this situation? I have nearly 2 months to apply to all of the firms and in fact I can apply MBB off-cycle since I am already a graduate and working as an engineer.
(Consider that I am working and not in home between 8:00-18:00 on weekdays. )
Thank you for all your recommendations.
Up
Does anyone have any idea?
Low GPA + Prestigious School or High GPA + Easier School (Originally Posted: 04/14/2016)
So this topic is about exactly what the title indicates it is about (as per usual).
Is it better to come from a more prestigious (and rigorous) school (in my case Notre Dame) and to have a lower GPA or to come from a less prestigious school (Indiana) with a higher GPA?
Take into account that I would be graduating from the business schools at both and would be looking for a job at an investment bank or hedge fund.
Also take into account that while Kelley and Mendoza are peer schools for business, there would be a huge difference in the difficulty of the non-business classes that I take at the two schools.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
I'm sure a 4.0 at Indiana is viewed more favorably than a 2.0 at Notre Dame, at least I would think so.
But like at less extremes: 3.3 ND vs 3.7 Indiana
The culture of finance is staying until the work is finished, which translates into long, unpredictable hours and the expectation of perfection. That essay you were assigned today at 1pm, due in 4 weeks, have it done by tomorrow morning at 8am and it better be fucking perfect. That’s the culture you’re talking about working in. Let’s ignore for a second the hurdle of getting in—beating out hundreds of identical candidates for your seat—you’re going to start off by not only selling yourself short, but accepting and justifying doing poorly before you even start?!! Get your priorities in line, your goal should be to get the 4.0, and then with whatever time you have left over, enjoy your college years. Not the other way around, and that goes for whatever career you decide to pursue. Get your shit together and grow up.
Obviously I intend on working my ass off to get the best grades that I can. Standardized test scores (being the only nation wide standard I can use) indicate that Notre Dame Students are, in general, significantly more intelligent than Indiana Students. As a result of this, there would be a much more intense competitive environment in Notre Dame which would obviously be represented in my grades. So if anyone wants to answer the question instead of scrupulizing it that would be much appreciated.
While ArcherVice didn't answer the question at all, I think his point is that its the completely wrong question to even be asking in the first place.
Honestly, if you can get a 3.7 at Indiana, you can probably get a 3.7 at ND with similar efforts. At UG it's more about work ethic and having the "correct" priorities than sheer intellectual power.
Target School, Low GPA, What should I do? (Originally Posted: 10/15/2014)
I'm a junior now. I screwed up my second year college due to some personal reasons. My GPA went down from 3.8 at the beginning of sophomore year to 3.1 now. The reasons for that were 1) I took lots of interesting courses which I'm not good at. 2) I spent lots of time doing finance competitions and also involved in some school clubs. I worked in an oversea IB this summer and I'm in a target school. Some people suggest me explaining my GPA with a good story in the cover letter but some people said not to mention it. What do you guys think? Any input is appreciated!
hi, I have the same situation as you, target school with low GPA, due to my health issues. The way I deal with this is to add a note to explain my low GPA and provide medical records if company needed. I hope this helps.
thanks but i did not have any health issue. i was taking some courses which i did not have any background knowledge since i'm an international student. Also I co-founded a student group and helped founding a business frat. Do you think i should still mention that in my cover letter? because I feel like my reasons are not that strong.
Mentioning health issues that you may have is always a bad idea. IB is a strenuous job and I can't imagine mentioning health problems would do any good for anyone looking at your cover letter.
My advice is to not make excuses. Honestly, you have no excuses anyway, everyone takes tough classes. Don't say anything in your cover letter because you have IB experience and that puts you in a good spot for recruiting already if you're at a target. They'll probably ask about the GPA during interviews and you can explain yourself well there with the reasons you've mentioned above.
Low GPA/Target School (Originally Posted: 07/14/2016)
In my opinion, 3.3 GPA is totally fine.
Low GPA at a Target School. No summer analyst program chance? (Originally Posted: 01/12/2012)
Hi, I am a rising senior and am studying at a target school in the states,
I have is a low gpa, which is currently 3.1/4.0, but, fortunately, I built my internship experience at the Boston Consulting Group and Standard Chartered and Morningstar Inc. during this fall semester in Asia Pacific.
Here is my issue that I would like to discuss with you.
Although my gpa is crappy, I am still looking into any opportunity for a summer analyst program in the United States. However, I am not sure if I should not even bother to apply for the summer analyst programs in America.
Would it be a waste of time due to my low gpa despite my three of internship experiences I made? GPA cut in the states is too high to apply for the summer program. Should I just focus all my energy on improving my gpa until this summer, and then start looking for an opportunity for a full-time position in this fall?? What do you think?
FYI, I'm expecting to raise my gpa to 3.5 by the summer (hopefully) what do you think ? Any Advice?
Oh I'm pursuing my career in equity research in IB now.
Thank you for your time and help!
A summer at BCG is a pretty big deal if it was FO, if you were able to snag one of those with your low GPA I don't think you'll have a problem with IB.
Network, Network, Network...you have the target brand name and a big name on your resume...you can do this by just putting some extra time into it.
how are you a rising senior in the spring? Its impossible to raise your gpa by .4 points in one semester...and why dont you just contact your buds at BCG and ask for a summer position.
Low-ish GPA/Target School (Originally Posted: 07/16/2016)
I currently attend a target school (top 15 university) and have a 3.3 gpa heading into my sophomore year. I also am on a D1 sports team, run a business, and have solid ECs. What gpa should I have towards the end of sophomore year to lock up an internship for junior fall (I plan on taking off) or junior summer? What gpa is recommended for IB or consulting?
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