Completely Screwed - Freshman year as a business major
I just completed my freshman year as a Business Major at a small liberal arts school in New York City. I just ended with a 2.12 GPA, but have the potential to get a 3.5 if a get about a 3.9 GPA every semester from now on. Also, maybe just as a bad, I got suspended for one semester for drinking. Now, I am attending a school in Ohio, where I grew up at, for the fall, after which I will return to NYC.
I feel that I am completely screwed, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to get a job at a BB in an advisory group. I'm good at networking I believe, because I'm very outgoing, and am very aggressive. I'm also reading a book by Joshua Rosenbaum about M&A valuation - DCF, Trading Comps, LBO, precedent transactions. I'm reading a lot and am trying to immerse myself in this stuff (and I'm loving it more every step of the way!!).
Do I have any way to redeem myself?!?! Or, am I completely screwed at getting an offer at a BB in an advisory group?? Would a large boutique be any easier (say, Greenhill, Piper Jaffary, or Rothschild)??
Thanks so much if you can help!
Could you first explain how that 2.12 came about?
Unless there was a unique situation (e.g. loss of a mother/father) a 2.12 shows a real lack of effort, but if you really pulled off a 3.9 for the rest of college and can point that out, people should overlook the bad year because of your consistent improvement.
The fact that you're posting on here in a panicked manner shows you know what kind of position you're in. Unfortunately, we don't have a magic wand and we can't tell you "you're fine with a 2.1, don't worry!". The only thing that will get you out of this hole is hard work. Good luck.
As Smokey pointed out, you'll have to push yourself to pull up your grades A growing number of banks use automatic initial screening tools so a 3.5 seems like a minimum. Having said that, I wouldn't be overly concerned about your first-year performance. What matters is that you realized your situation. If you can turn it around, end up with 3.5 and have a convincing story, then the willingness to improve could well turn into an advantage. Good luck!
Not completely screwed, but you're not off to a good start. Drinking in college is no big deal, I had 4 underage drinking tickets and still got into a top law school and just got an offer for a top IDB analyst position. The bigger problem is the GPA. That needs to be fixed. However, if you got such a low GPA, is there any reason for you to believe that you will be getting a 3.9 in the future? You need to focus on getting the best GPA possible (get a tutor, stop partying, whatever it takes). Also, consider taking a different major than just Business. Go with finance or economics (that was mine) and take a number of math courses (consider minoring/ double majoring in math). Extra-curricular stuff help too. First year can be explained away as youthful indiscretion, but the rest of college needs to show a real change.
First thing you have to do is figure out why you got a 2.1 and what you'll do to change it. If it's that low it's probably a bigger problem than just not studying. Read through this thread too, there are some good tips in there (//www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/how-do-i-get-good-grades)
Btw, elite boutiques like Greenhill are just as hard to get into as the BBs
resipsa - Yes, you're right, it will be very difficult for me to achieve a 3.9 for the rest of college, especially during junior/senior year when I'm interning, but I know with proper scheduling, and denying yourself certain time-wasting pleasures will majorly help me achieve that....right?? About the changing my major, I go to The King's College, a very small, very rigorous liberal arts school with only three degrees, those being Media, Culture, Arts (MCA); Politics, Economics, and Philosophy (PPE), and Business Management.. Had I gone to another school, would have double-majored in Accounting and Finance, but I plan on staying at King's. Will that significantly set me back?
Also, should I be networking with as many of the I-banks in NY as I can?
I would do three things if I were you. First, develop a healthy fear of the fact that if you don't do really well next year, you are done for. It doesn't matter if you're aggressive, personable, read books on finance etc. Second, take the summer to figure out why you fucked up so badly first year. Third, kill it during first semester next year and try to transfer to a semi-target school. It's easier to transfer into a good school than you'd think. Only first year admissions statistics count towards rankings like us news, so their standards drop for transfer students because they just want your money. They will, however, still reject you if you can't get at least a 3.5 first semester and have a good explanation for why you messed up.
notaspammer - thanks for the link to that forum. I find that very helpful..
tips : just get whatever banking job you can get for now unless you have some super connections. non-target + low gpa = you are pretty much screwed.
Don't panic bud. I mean, sure, your performance is not quite stellar. But, recruiters are not retards like HR ladies are. If you destroy every single course from now on, you'll be in the clear. I have a friend who bombed his first year at McGill (barely avoided expulsion) and is now working in PE. So ya, but make sure that finance is your thing. I mean, one of my best buds had an insane Asian dad who wanted him to do IB. The kid however sucked at it and hated it. So, after a year of failures in McGill management, he transferred into poli sci and philosophy ... got an A in every single course, and just got into Stanford law. So point is, make sure you are betting on the right horse. Other than that, don't fret, and put some fucking effort into your work. (FYI I wasn't much better than you with my 2.8 ... and got 2 BB offers and an offer from TD Canada after transferring into new program.) Never give up!
You can't change the past...So work on the future. Find out why you got a 2.12...change the negatives and crush it the next few years. Don't lose sight of thy goal bud.
I also fucked up my freshman year. As everyone already mentioned it's important that you do very well from now on.
You have the potential to get a 3.5 if you get a 3.9 for the rest of the your semesters. It's easy to put off working hard and change that to I could get a 3.0 if such and such and before you know it it's almost time to graduate and you have a shitty gpa. Set small goals. Don't think about a 3.5 cumulative right now. Take it one semester at a time. Your first priority is to do very well in your next semester.
Old Grand-Dad - Okay, yeah, set small goals. That's much easier. I'll just focus on killing this semester, and then go on to the next one.
Yeah I got around a crappy gpa my freshman year but turned it around a dominated every other year. I had some intense family/personal issues and I ALSO got suspended for drinking. Just get your mind right. Take a semester off if you need to get your head right.
I ended up with a strong graduating gpa. In addition, I would like to point out, that I currently work on a S&T FIS desk, and no one asked my gpa in any interview. (granted this is the only job I have applied for where that was the case...I dunno if they just forgot or what).
If someone said they would give you 100k if you got a 4.0 every year, would you? could you? because if you can, it's a good bet that you will easily make 300k more over your lifetime than if you graduate with a 2.1.....and chances are, you will end up making much more than that.
Also if your school offers it, taking classes over your breaks (christmas/spring whatever) is a great way to get "easy A's". I found that taking consolidated classes over a week long span allowed for you to focus on one topic at a time as you are only taking a class, and that professors generally just didn't care nearly as much.
And lastly, never forget....no matter what....GO TO CLASS. even if you didn't do the homework or reading....going to class is always the right move. talk to your teachers and TAs. make sure they know your name.
don't worry about it, man. I had like a 3.5 first year. Second year, I got 9 As and one C (LOL, fml). so close to 4.0.
all it takes is effort. if you are willing to put forth the effort, you will get the grades. no courses are hard. the more time you spend, the more familiar you get with the material, the easier it will be to regurgitate on the exam!
gpa doesn't matter.. Just grind hard
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