Graduating Early VS small GPA Boost
My question is on graduating in 2.5 years with a 3.0 and a degree in Economics from a nontarget, or graduating later with a 3.3. I got two D's in Comp Sci 220 and French 101 my freshman year, retaking these courses would bump my grade up to a 3.3. Is it worth it? I've managed to study international business in Chile for a semester (3.5 GPA), intern at a boutique investment bank in Shanghai, China for two months, become the youngest president in my fraternity's 20 year history, averaged working 30 hours a week throughout my college education at multiple jobs and done plenty of community service around the world including motorcycling alone across South America at 19 to raise a few thousand $s for depression awareness. I love (international) finance and would love to make a career out of it, but I'm currently trying to figure out the opportunity cost of spending an extra semester retaking completely irrelevant courses. Advice?
Couple quick thoughts.
College is awesome, I don't understand why anyone wants to graduate early (Unless you're avoiding debt, that makes sense).
From my perspective, what would really matter is your GPA when you apply, not when you graduate. So, since you're likely to apply for SA / FT positions before you would re-take those courses, I don't see the value in staying just to boost those.
A 3.0 GPA is definitely on the lower side, but it's not necessarily going to immediately disqualify you. Even if you bumped your GPA up to a 3.3, the unfortunate reality is that you may not get strong looks from larger banks through traditional means of recruiting; there's just too many qualified candidates applying for the same spots. Your best option is to focus on networking and building relationships. It sounds like you've got an interesting background, so your story is likely going to be your biggest asset. Reach out to alumni from your school in banking, and through your fraternity as well. Likewise, utilize any contacts you picked up in Shanghai. I would argue that having additional time to network is a stronger reason for not leaving school early than boosting your grades.
Unrelated, but I'd consider changing your username from your real name. People could find you during the recruiting process and see comments you've made / questions you've asked. Sure, it's not likely in that no one wants to troll through WSO just to find info on potential hires, but you never know.
College is awesome.
Thanks for the thoughts; I messed up in high school and landed myself at the school I'm at now. It's academically rigorous and I've made good friends but it is far from the cultured, ambitious atmosphere I want to be surrounded by. It's a small state school populated by a lot of local students in an uneventful area. I rushed through to get out (hence the 3.0-3.3) influenced by my parents who, as successful tech entrepreneurs, don't place much value on university, and my brother who actually dropped out of university to work for a top 10 tech company and start his own business on the side. If it weren't for my poor grades in those two classes freshman year I would have transferred but now I'm here. Also to clarify, I'm able to graduate at the end of this semester so its a little too late to decide on rushing through, unless I want to finish my Business major, take some calc courses, or something extra. Finances aren't a problem, but this college just isn't for me. Will keep pondering...
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