Work Experience - Offsetting lower gpa

How many years out of school does and working in banking does it take to offset a lower gpa. I had a 3.2 but still got a banking job. How much work experience will it take to offset the low gpa and still get in to a good school, like top 15-20.

 

from what i've read, i don't think you can really "offset" a low gpa with work experience. whatever you do, your gpa is gonna be there and it's going to be considered. but if you had to compensate with one thing, i'd say you have to really get a strong gmat score. this way, they will know you have the intellectual ability to handle the coursework, which might have been a concern with a 3.2 gpa (although, a 3.2 isn't that bad if your major is engineering or physics or something really technical).

work experience always helps though. the top bschools' average student has about 4-5 years of work experience.

i'm no expert on this, but this is pretty much what i've gathered from reading various forums like gmatclub and the vault business school board.

 

Given if one has a low GPA, clearly he/she is not getting into I-Banking (straight out of school at least). Most of the people in this case (from what I've heard) take the MBA -> Associate route.

However, in order to get into a good MBA program, what is the right kind of work experience. Middle office (...maybe....)??

 

That comment you made about your friend is very inspiring. If there's a will there's a way. I'm a firm believer in that. What does he do now, or what did he do to make tens of millions? (The insider trading joke was humorous but a bit immature). How difficult was it for him to ace the G-MAT?

 

That comment you made about your friend is very inspiring. If there's a will there's a way. I'm a firm believer in that. What does he do now, or what did he do to make tens of millions? (The insider trading joke was humorous but a bit immature). How difficult was it for him to ace the G-MAT?

 

The more work experience you have [assuming good work experience] the less GPA matters. HOWEVER GPA is still taken into consideration and can be boosted to by a high gmat score. Basically marks demonstrate intellectual capability and your ability to handle course work. but note this: a person with perfect GPA and GMAT and no work experience has less of a chance then a person with an ok GPA and GMAT but lots of good work experience. Thats kinda the beauty of BSchool admissions; theres soo many factors that come into play that if you do poorly in one, you can offset it by other things; its the whole total package. just my 2 cents ^^

 

I wouldn't worry too much about something like a 3.2, because even at top tier school like HBS, the avg GPA tends to be something like 3.5, 3.6... I mean it's a pretty respectable GPA and all but it's nothign like what you'll find at the top law schools or doctoral programs.

 

It's all about putting a good story together and telling "your" story. Schools do want a diverse classroom so bankers aren't the only ones with a good shot of getting in. People from non-profit, operations, marketing, consulting, etc will all get into school if they can articulate the story of why an MBA and why now.

 

Would you guys say two years experience as an analyst at an ib is enough to get into top b-schools? (assuming grades, gmat, etc. are ok?)

 

A 3.31 is not a 'low' GPA for an engineering major.

With regards to your competition, it seems like you've networked and become friendly with enough people to be invited to an event. If you can continue to do this and leverage your network, I'm sure you will have a good chance of getting an offer.

 

Post-undergrad offers are tough to get at MBB. I wouldn't go so far as QGKZ and say a "good chance", but certainly still very possible.

Network into an interview. This is key.

After that your performance in the interviews will really drive your chances of getting an offer, and your resume will matter less.

The GPA gets you to an interview. The interview gets you an offer.

 
Best Response

Hey,

Here's my opinion on it: If the service organizations are well known around the country, ie: Red Cross, Unicef etc..., then it will certainly look good on your resume. If they are smaller cultural orgs, with only one branch then it will make close no difference on your resume. Your best bet at this point is to retake as many classes as possible this summer (if you can redo 5 classes then do it) and try to bring your GPA up.

Your retail banking and Boutique IB internship will look very good on the resume, given that you are only a sophomore rn. I would really focus on your story - why IB, why this industry and all that jaaz and try to fit your exp from retail/IB gig and explain how they give you a really good background for IB SA.

Additionally, I would focus more on middle market-lower middle market investment banks and network quite heavily them. Obviously, also network with BBs but don't get your hopes too high - although it's possible to break in, you should still make sure to have a good backup - middle market-lower middle banks.

Hope this was helpful - coming from an extreme non-target student who broke into IB.

 

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