Breaking into IB with 3.05 GPA

I graduated from Rutgers University with a Finance degree and a 3.05 gpa in May 2017. I have a reason why I have a low GPA and I understand the challenges that come with it. I currently work at one of the top 10 largest asset managers in the world working with the Fund & Investor Services team.

I'm still young and want to break into IB. I don't care if it's a BB or a boutique firm.

My past internships include:
-JP Morgan Chase with the CLDP Program
-A bond insurance company
-actively participating in the university's student managed fund

Which firms would be smart for me to target in the United States and which locations?

What can I do to break in? Who do I network with? Do I have a chance?

 

Your GPA is well below the cutoff as you know, and an MBA will help you to get a higher GPA. I am not sure if you are aware of this but Rutgers has a Road to Wall Street Program. I know there has been an increase in students getting into BB, boutiques, and MM. Search those up, look up job posts related to finance in the Knight Job List. Apply and reach out to RTWS and alumni and current students from rutgers to get some pointers and network.

 

I mentioned RTWS for you to see if you could get in contact with the Director of the program for him to give you advice or where you stand. I've heard he is a very nice guy and his main goal is to increase Rutgers presence in Wall street. As far as who you can reach out to, you can search the Alumni directory or go on Linkedin and search Companies you are interested in, and look up their employees and linkedin will show you people who have Rutgers University tag in their profiles.

 
Best Response

I was in a similar position to you and was also in an investor services role out of undergrad. It took some time for me to realize I wanted to be in IB so the road was a little more difficult for me after having this realization 3 years after graduation. Networking with alumni certainly won't hurt your efforts so get after that ASAP. Almost every IB will be asking for a transcript at the analyst level so it won't be easy.

For me, I transferred to an ops role at a hedge fund after 1 year, began studying for my GMATs and applied to business schools. I was fortunate to get into a decent school despite my GPA and now work at a MM IB. Even at the Associate level, many banks ask for undergraduate GPAs so it's not a shoe in but if you hustle it is certainly possible.

TLDR, network hard now. If that doesn't work there is always the b-school route.

 

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