Do Business School (MBA) Grades Matter?
Title:
If you go to a top school H/S/W, do top recruiters (PE Funds) care about your grades? Let's say you had pre-MBA PE and investment banking experience.
Can you just pass your classes and hope to land post-MBA positions at top MM and MF PE shops?
Regards
No, grades don't matter at HSW, but it always looks good to do well and receive an honor such as Baker Scholar at HBS, Arjay Miller Scholar at Stanford GSB, or Palmer Scholar at Wharton. In terms of recruiting, buyside is almost entirely based on your pre-mba experience and interview performance, but from what I've heard MBB consulting and BB firms do ask for your GMAT score. Not sure if there's a hard cutoff. Also keep in mind that some schools have grade nondisclosure while others do.
Those distinctions like Baker Scholar, etc, are given out at graduation and you'll have hopefully locked something up by then recruiting wise (although not always a guarantee), making this a null issue.
Some schools have a grade non-disclosure policy (GSB, Wharton, Booth, Columbia & others -- HBS just got rid of theirs), so almost by definition while you're a student the grades don't matter.
MBA and grades ! (Originally Posted: 06/03/2007)
How critical grades are in MBA school for banking because it seems that pedigree of the school is far more important than grades. If you are at a TOP 15-20 MBA school do firms actually focus on your grades or do they look more for your past experience.
It would seem absurd to me that firms would actually decide to interview one student over another just because he/she may have had one or two less A's over the course of just one or two semesters if the one with a slightly lower grade had done far more interesting things prior to the MBA and had good experience.
That is my question exactly, how much is ibanking a function of your prior experience and pedigree of MBA school as compared with you grades during an MBA?
Also, do firms prefer Associates to be of a certain age. I have heard of the trend where a lot of the top schools such as Wharton are trending towards younger applicants. Would that put these younger individuals at any sort of disadvantage because they would be considered too young to be "Associates" or is this a non-factor? I mean if you only worked for one year but got into Wharton or UChicago presumably because you had ridiculous stats such as a 3.9 GPA and a 780 GMAT or something would banks would be less willing to take you as an Associate because you are so young.
Yo maestro, are you the same guy from ibtalk?
Man, you are going on a rant here. Can you tell us a little about your background?
Grades will be grades. They get you into the door, but afterwards, there usually aren't that many questions asked. I've noticed when interviewing for lower tier and mid-tier firms that my grades have become a total non-factor and are never asked even once. Ever.
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