I'm a freshman in college right now (James Madison University in Virginia). I'm majoring in quantitative finance (major in finance, minor in math) and hope to get into iBanking eventually.
Say I finish college with these stats:
GPA: 3.7 or 3.8
GMAT: 750
Suppose I get decent internships after my sophomore and junior years then work a few years out of college. What am I looking at?
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Assuming you land an investment banking position full time at a bb or solid MM firm, it looks like you will gain admission into pretty much any top 10 business school. From what I have seen and heard, gpa is the least important of the three major factors which determine acceptance: gpa, gmat, work experience... so when the time comes, study hard on the gmat (btw, haughty gmat estimate =/ )...
But relax, you're a freshman, have some fun and worry about getting into grad school after you've gained some work experience.
that's not ivy league thinking. i thought like that in high school, and thats why im going to jmu. my sat much > than my gpa.
if you just keep pushing off responsibilities, they're only going to get more urgent and more difficult to accomplish, 'til eventually they're too great to accomplish or you just completely pass them by.
to the guy that posted above from W&M, im already planning to transfer after my sophomore year. ive been looking at ivy transfer stats and ive found a few schools that take transfers and would be a good match for me.
If you haven't considered doing this, you might want to look into it. I go to W&M in Virginia and we don't exactly have many banks knocking on our door as I suspect is the same for you, perhaps even less than us. You might want to try to transfer to McIntire if you're really serious about doing IB. Just a thought
I agree with this, granted I'm a little biased seeing as I go to UVa. Every BB and many MM's recruit at McIntire. So if you can't transfer to a top tier Ivy, I'd suspect that you'd have a hard time finding a program with more opportunities than McIntire.
what makes you think you'll end up with those stats?
You didn't even have 1 final yet, and you are already projecting that you'll have a 3.8?
Disclaimer: The post above has been made by someone who is not currently employed in IBD, and has not had an interview yet...
Good that you have a positive attitude, and are looking well into the future, however, make sure your grades are good.
Also, if you are taking quantitative finance, why are you trying for IBD, (unless you meant S&T). Also, try transferring out ASAP.
Not to knock JMU, but it's a third-tier school, and nowhere in the ranks of UVA or any other "target" school for BBs--BC, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Northwestern, etc. That being said, your numbers (predictions, rather) are high, but a recruiter might wonder why you didn't go to a more challenging school. It's the same analogy used in HS by college admissions counselors--which is better--a higher gpa with fluff courses or a lower gpa with demanding courses. Figure it out yourself.
If that is the case, then you will have trouble transferring. Sophomore transfers are judged primarily on their high school resume. As you might imagine, your years of high school are more representative than one year of college. Good luck, though.
It's about actual experience, essays, reco's. gmat and gpa are hurdles.
I'm amazed at college freshmen who are already thinking about what graduate school they might go to AFTER working in a job or two post graduation. When I was 18 I didn't even know what my major would be, let alone my post graduate job, let alone graduate school 5 years later. Can you really be so sure you won't change your mind at all over the next decade? If so, kudos to you for focus, but you're clearly from a different planet than me.
Would an undergrad degree from UVa with a major in finance and a minor in math (3.8 GPA) give me a good chance at securing interviews at jobs (analyst position) for BBs? Also, does the school you went to for undergrad matter past getting the interview?
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