GPA plummeted the past year from 3.7 to 3.4 due to multiple deaths among family and friends. As an incoming IB analyst, how will this affect my lateral and exit opportunities?
Hello,
I'm a senior at a non-HYP Ivy majoring in Economics and Government. I am working next year as an IB analyst at a top MM, if it matters (HL RX, etc).
My GPA plummeted the past year due to multiple deaths of family and friends. Went from a 3.7 to a 3.4. My school does not have P/F and while my teachers were accommodating, there was only so much they can do.
Will this 3.4 affect me drastically for lateral and exit opportunities? I'm sure people will understand if I got the chance to explain, but I am worried the 3.4 will not give me the chance. I am not sure what I want to do yet, but I don't want to take out any possible routes yet, such as PE. Any thoughts? Would love some more insight on this! Thank you!
Terribly sorry about that. I don’t think it should matter outside of MF PE recruiting? Maybe someone else can give a better take, as I haven’t gone through the lateral process yet.
Thank you!
After your first few jobs, your GPA becomes less important. For MF PE recruiting, it might make your recruiting experience a bit more difficult. Same goes for any other job after your IB stint, especially jobs on the buy side. The other place this will affect you is BSCH admissions, where undergraduate GPA is noted. After that though, for jobs, it should get a lot easier, especially if you can get very strong recommendations from your employers.
Here's what I would do if I were you:
1. Be truthful and upfront about your situation. Say exactly what happened. There were a series of events out of your control that damaged your GPA. Thy included family deaths and deaths of other people very close to you. You could even add that this affected your mental heath. Mention that you may have even missed an exam, if you did, and that there was nothing that could be done as a result.
2. Show other sources of you being a great employee and student. Get glowing letters of recommendation from every previous employer and from your favorite professors. Ask for "a really, really great recommendation" from them. I'm sure many would be willing to write such a letter. Stress the importance of these letters to you. It's minor, but it will help, especially if the person writing the letter is someone notable or a very good writer.
3. Point out that the rest of your academic record was strong by comparison. Highlight that this is an isolated case. This is a significant deviation from the norm for you.
Talk to people if you are hurt. People will help you. And if you are feeling down, I'm sorry and express my condolences. WSO is rooting for you!
Thank you so much for all those points! I'm confident that most people would understand once I explain my prior success and context, but I guess I'm just worried the 3.4 will not give me the chance to explain myself if I can't get past the computer screens (assuming I don't network)
As others have said, this won't matter by job 2 or 3. People will be understanding if you get a chance to explain — the problem is MF and a lot of UMM PE opportunities can only be accessed through a short list of recruiters who are pretty ruthless about the filters they use to narrow down resumes and GPA is a big one for them. I'd focus your lateral move, or buy side recruiting, on places where you can network more directly with actual business people and not have to rely on recruiters.
Got it, thank you! It does seem like I would be better served if I lateraled to another strong bank like CVP, if I decide to commit to PE, prior to buy-side recruiting.
Sorry to hear about that. In the grand scheme of things you are still going to a target, and can absolutely land other FO Banking roles with a little bit of networking (might not even need to).
You may be excluded from a few shops but I firmly believe that with your pedigree, the overwhelming majority of opportunities will still be available to you.
Might not be relevant to PE, but rather other careers such as consulting or Banking if you still care about them 5 years down the line, but if you are still frustrated about how senior year went, you can always get an MBA. Since attending two ivies, or an ivy and UChicago/MIT will always look great on a resume.
Thank you! Hopefully the MBA adcoms will be more understanding of a 3.4, if I ever decide to go that route.
They generally will. GMAT and work experience are more important unless your GPA is abysmal (which yours really isn't from an applicant pool standpoint, even if it's lower than what most IB analysts have). I wouldn't worry about it.
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