How cooked is a ~3.5 GPA?
Hi all, go to a target (Cornell / Stern / Ross) and have been struggling with my mental health in the fall semester and this semester. I had no motivation to do anything but things are finally turning around mentally after I started seeing a therapist.
I want to do banking, and I know there's going to be a ton of competition from my school.
Unfortunately, my grades suffered my first semester and this semester and I will likely only have the fall of my sophomore year next year to turn things around (but not sure how much higher than a 3.5 I can go even if I get all As in the fall).
I wanted to know if I'm in a very bad spot for banking recruiting, given my GPA, and if there's anything I can do to still give myself a shot at the process for some banks that usually have much higher GPA cutoffs (EB/MS/GS). Am I just cooked?
Network, network, network. You'd be amazed at some of the GPA's that get offers.
Bump
The only place GPA really even factors in is during a resume screen. If you can do the legwork to get past that stage due to old fashioned networking, modern day networking (LinkedIn, AI, etc) and whatever else you got it’s not a hill to high to climb. Yes would it have been better had you gotten a 4,0, sure but that’s life sometimes. You seem to have gone to a good school and like many your age and in your shoes have some mental growth to do. Looks like you have already taken steps to improve your mental health.
Wishing you luck
Try to get it up to 3.6 you're so close - also be strategic about what courses you're taking (needs to be relevant but also don't necessarily need to do the hardest ones). That being said, don't become a poetry major, you should do finance if you want to be in finance.
I've seen 3.5's make it into banking but if you're that close you really should be able to get up to 3.6 you can do it! It'll be easier with a 3.6.
Thank you for the response.
I'm studying finance/econ and am planning on taking much easier courses. As far as technical knowledge goes, I'm prepared (through internships/student clubs) to do well on my interviews.
I really want to go to a great bank (EB/GS/MS) and think that I am intelligent enough to do it, but I just need someone to give me a shot.
3.1 at EB/MS/GS . It’s not impossible .
I'd just say take some summer school. Define the number oof credits you need, and get to a more desirable GPA. I was a college athlete, and we used summer to boost GPA (for those who were inclined). Less athletic commitments led to better GPAs.
Yeah unfortunately, I really fucked up the past year, and even if I do summer school courses and get As and get As in the fall I don't know if I can get more than a ~3.5 - 3.6 by the time I recruit.
I’m ~3.5 non-target non-nepo starting at a BB this summer. You’ll be fine if you network and interview well.
share the secret sauce man
No secret sauce that hasn’t been said on here before.
If you’re non-target you need to maximize your network: school alumni, friends, family, friends of friends, friends of family, etc. Don’t leave a stone unturned, often you need create opportunities for yourself
Be likeable, know your stuff, be well-spoken, practice interviewing until you are good at them and comfortable during them.
That and of course a lot of luck. But luck finds people who work hard. So keep at it and something will land
have a friend that goes to a non-target with a 3.5-3.6 that got an offer. its not impossible but you need to lock tf in twin
Withdraw from whichever classes are killing you rn and take some online courses over the summer to pull the gpa up a bit. Course progression shouldn't be a consideration at all tbh, get this GPA by any means necessary.
Take as many online/attendance optional courses as possible first semester sophomore year and network as much as you can (2 calls a day). I found that VPs then MD's are the most helpful in getting interviews in situations where you otherwise wouldn't.
It's not over until you say it's over.
I don't know how it works at your school, but at some schools, you can reclass to fix this. By adding a double major, minor, or something else that will demand enough credits for you to need to stick around for another year, you can extend your grad date by a year. Then, instead of recruiting for summer 28, you would recruit for summer 29 and have another year of classes to fix the GPA. The better option is definitely to fix the GPA, but if you feel like that's not possible, a reclass might be worth considering.
PM me, I had a 3.5 and still got a bb offer and currently an AN1. Networking is your best option and you need to show clear interest with the groups you are talking to.
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