SAT scores?

right now i am at a community college in california. i took the SATs in high school and got a 1580 (out of 2400)... i know , but i also have a 28 on the ACT. Im hoping to transfer this year. Will investment banks ask for SAT scores? im trying to figure out if i should retake them. And if anyone has any other advice ill take that also !

thanks

 

Yes, especially in a bad market, banks will ask. It may be optional, but it's recommended (especially if you plan to apply for a scholarship, but those are generally for "diversity" candidates). If it's unusually high, put it on your resume. If not, leave it out. You only have to state one (either the SAT or the ACT), so don't worry about having to declare your lower score.

That said, if in all your wisdom you were to ever look into consulting with MBB, they would definitely ask.

"Categorical Imperative: If I cannot look at my mother or my wife in the eyes and explain it, I won't do it" - Some British MD.
 

28 ACT? 1580 SAT? If you want to go into banking you at least need the aptitude to hit 30 and 2000...AT LEAST. my advice is to apply to Accenture, i hear they recruit people of your calibur.

 
mazer:
28 ACT? 1580 SAT? If you want to go into banking you at least need the aptitude to hit 30 and 2000...AT LEAST. my advice is to apply to Accenture, i hear they recruit people of your calibur.

Right, because a person who pursues a profession that requires addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is really going to be hindered by a 28 on the ACT.

Please. A Sixth grader could be trained to do this shit

 

matters more what school you end up going to - some hedge funds are really picky about SATs (literally won't consider you if you're below 2250), but I haven't seen or heard of banks asking for them.

I'm years out of school and took the SAT when it was out of 1600. Score was good enough to get me into an Ivy, though not considerably high. I'm considering taking it again (there's no rule against it)....would be fishy though if somebody put 2 and 2 together and realized that my score should be out of 1600, not 2400.

....your focus right now should be on getting into the best school possible - career is a step after that

 

Mazer comment was rude. In general, banks use SAT scores, GPA, and other data as qualifiers...with the goal to narrow down resumes into a manageable pile and finally onto an interview list. If you believe that an aspect of your application (experience, GPA, SAT, etc...) isn't competitive, there are other ways to get on the interview list- networking, international experience, previous internships, etc.

 

you do go to a community college so it is beneficial to do anything that will help your chances NOT getting weeded out of the large pile of applications.

people say that once you get the interview, it is all up to you, which is somewhat true.. but when it comes down to decision time, interviewers might say that they like you and all, but they may like someone else also. if your SAT is disclosed on your resume then they may use that to knock you.

 

We always, always ask for SAT scores -- and always ask for an official record of them too. If you conveniently forgot them, that's too bad: You're going to have to go get them.

The choice to retake the exam is up to you -- do you feel you can improve significantly? If so, recognize that a score of 1580 / 2400 is pretty much a deal breaker.

~~~~~~~~~~~ CompBanker

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Hey CompBanker, I have a special situation, I go to Umich, and I just never had the chance to take SAT when I was in high school.

how do you guys deal with students that didn't the SAT or ACT?

 

That's fairly close to a perfect score, so definitely won't "hold you back" in terms of IB. As for retaking it, I see no harm in it, especially if you know/feel you can do better on the CRW.

Obviously you want the best score possible going into application process for elite schools, but as long as the rest of your profile is strong, you should be a competitive candidate.

 

I would not be concerned about your SAT scores having a negative impact on future employment. If you're just getting your SAT scores back, I'm going to presume you have yet to even choose the University you will attend. You have more important stepping stones right around the corner that will have a greater impact on the competitiveness of you as an applicant down the road.

 

720 on each section isn't bad and won't negatively or positively affect you either way. In terms of the resume, I'd probably leave it off. You're kind of in the middle ground -- an average of 750+ will reflect well,

 

The only one's who will care that much is MBB and a 1440 is 97th percentile. If it can get you into a target, you should be okay.

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 

Don't lie, don't put N/A, just don't put it on your resume.

Retake the GRE/GMAT if possible/you want to but be honest with yourself--generally speaking that mid 400 score is not something you can push up to 700+ just by putting in a couple hours. Whether or not you should retake depends on your GPA and whether you are at a target. If you have a 3.9 at a target, you've proven you have the horsepower. If you have a 3.9 at a non-target you might consider retaking. If you have below a 3.5 at a non-target I would strongly consider retaking and actually studying.

 

Some banks require it. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan put an * to let you know it's a required field. I didn't know 80% of the words on the GRE. I guess I should have been reading books instead of playing video games all of these years. Always using Spark Notes to avoid reading those crappy books in middle/high school is coming back to bite me.

 

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