Are EBs even worth the time?

I'm pursuing 2026 SA positions at a small, well-regarded liberal arts college (not Williams or Amherst) and am looking for some honest feedback on how to optimize my networking during the recruitment process. 

I understand elite boutique firms tend to have higher cutoffs when it comes to GPA. I have strong experience and extracurricular involvement, but anticipate my 3.5 GPA being frowned upon during resume review.

Will this automatically get me dinged regardless of how much networking I've done? Is it even worth reaching out to alumni at these banks, or should I focus my efforts more on MM and BBs

9 Comments
 

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