How does low undergrad GPA affect you post graduation?
Let's say something like a 3.4 but you have a solid bank and are doing either MM PE recruiting or just moving around in in IB to say a BB to go A2A.
I know MF is out of the question here and M7 b schools would be a reach. Obviously wish I worked harder in uni but what's done is done, but I am curious how a low GPA affects you once you do graduate. I was happy at my bank this summer and would like to stay for the foreseeable future, but how does this affect options?
Honestly, affects your first or second job but not much after that
Wouldn't say MF is out of the question forever. Yeah, oncycle is probably not likely unless you have some major differentiator, but once you get your second or third job your education goes to the bottom of the resume and you can just take that GPA right off. Your career is very long, just because you don't land BX PE in your second job doesn't mean you are out of a MF for good.
I also don't think a 3.4 will absolutely kill you for M7. Maybe HBS/GSB would be very hard but the others you can overcome that with great GMAT, work experience, maybe pick up some interesting volunteer stuff
Don't stress too much, you can only control what you can control. Do as well as you can this semester and next to get your GPA as high as possible, but I don't think it will handicap you by any means
Great comment. Felt anxious about my current 3.3 following me forever and preventing M7 opportunities. Like you mentioned, its important to find things that differentiate your candidacy.
I don't think HBS is as selective as most people think it is (especially considering it has so many yolo candidates). I'd wager it's slightly more selective than Wharton, but not by much. The profiles of those who get into H/W are not that different tbh. GSB on the other hand though...
I went to HBS with a 3.3
i had to do many unnatural acts and work extremely hard in some very not fun locations and jobs in order to overcome that. My advice. Get better grades if you can
Could you expand on this?
Could you expand on this?
Lmao you went to Harvard. Stop. You could’ve had a 3.0 and been fine.
Not quite; I was saying I got into Harvard graduate school (HBS) with only a 3.3 GPA from an ivy+ undergrad.
that meant I needed to be flawless in my GMAT, work experience, story, and recommendations in order to counterbalance it. Even then my interviewer gave me a hard time about the GPA. Could have gone either way. my comment was to say you can get into a great grad school with a lower GPA; but boy would it have been easier to just get good grades
It also translated into some sub-optimal career decisions: for example I didn't go out for Goldman or McKinsey (I wanted to be an engineer so maybe that's a moot point) but those options weren't there for me had I wanted them. Likewise on the engineering path - I couldn't have done Stanford or MIT PHD which would have been another great option. So ultimately I was able to build a great career and overcome the GPA but it certainly narrowed some immediate options for me post graduation.
Low GPA = fewer choices in life. Doesn't mean you can't do well; but you are definitely taking some options off the table
Careers pay compound interest so a tough start early in the game is significantly more impactful than anything you do towards the end of your career
Yes
You can always whitewash with a master's degree. I had a horrible GPA from the undergrad due to... studying engineering. Nailed GMAT and went to B-school. Nobody would ever ask if you have a good GPA from the master's.
Your career is long and some of it will be a crapshoot. What undergrad you get into, what banks and eventually PE firms interview you, grad program, etc. Knew a guy with a 3.0 from a semitarget with pretty uninteresting corporate work who got m7 because he crafted a great story around his goals and life. As someone who stresses a lot about these things, I've learned sometimes you just need to chill and work with the situation you're in right now. Nothing's impossible, even if it's unlikely or hard.
Don't think GPA is a big issue after you land your first solid gig; can personally tell you I have a ~2.3 GPA (from top target), currently at a top EB and landing interviews at MFs and UMM PE funds and the like. The hardest part was landing that first role - was extremely difficult and getting firms to look past your GPA is extremely challenging. I grinded ridiculously hard, knew by technicals back to front, had an iron clad story and would not take no for an answer. Leave your GPA off your CV and you will be fine
2.3? Damn. You really turned your shit around that’s like a C+ average my god
How did you get into a top bank with a 2.3?
Did you come from non target?
Did you come from non target?
Did you come from non target?
Did you come from non target?
Did you come from non target?
Not in IB but in a similarly competitive spot where my entire class was target school Math/CS majors. I had a 2.7 GPA and am performing very well in my current role + have opportunities to hop to other recognizable shops. Literally the exact same story as you. Hardest part was landing the first role, grinded ridiculously hard and ended up passing interviews and killing it once I was able to get past a resume screener, great personal story and self-sacrifice + leadership opportunities, and left my GPA off the CV.
When people look at GPA the number 1 thing they're wanting to see is work ethic, and the next thing they want to see is probably something like course rigour or ability to get shit done even when you don't want to do it. (I.e. Those A's in Accounting or English vs Math or CS for someone who likes STEM). I had a good story as to why my GPA wasn't an accurate reflection of either of those traits and had things on my resume that definitely told a much better story than a 2.7 GPA in a stupid major irrelevant to trading. (Made it sound relevant during the interview a bit though lol)
Can I get a referral at Akuna. I am a math major and quite good at mental math and probability!
It only really affects your chances of landing that first job and grad school applications, that’s it.
When I look at resumes for experienced candidates I care way more about what their work experience is than their alma mater.
And my story is funny in that I bombed undergrad with a below 3.0 gpa. Did alot of drinking and partying and gambling in AC. My saving grace was that I went to a top 3 ivy. Still got into I-banking and still got into an Ivy grad school. So if you have a good story and interview well, you can overcome a crappy gpa.
For what it's worth, I had 4 internships and 1 job during the school semesters which made it hard to focus on school.
FWIW, I placed at a well-known UMM with a 3.3 and got MF interviews during on-cycle
Where did you go out of undergrad?
Went to a target UG but not a “top target” by any means (ie not HYPSM / an Ivy), also majored in business so had no real academic excuse; am in top group at EB IB
I graduated with a 3.4 GPA. I had a 3.3 when I recruited for banking and got asked once about it. It certainly hampered my recruiting then. As an analyst I got plenty of PE interviews, but I’m sure some places weeded me out. Now that I’m recruiting for my second buyside role, my GPA isn’t on my resume and one recruiter asked for it.
I’ve gotten one question this go ‘round in an interview about it and I was candid. I dicked around my first two years then my last two I got a 3.6-3.7 while student teaching, being president of a club, being in a fraternity, running finance for a small business, doing an unpaid internship, being a case team leader for our student consulting group, and competing in (inter)national case competitions. He seemed satisfied with that.
In short, once you have real experience to go off of, your grades in college become more irrelevant.
I have rarely been asked about my GPA in an interview, even for internship positions. And I had an unimpressive GPA.
I'll add a balanced take here. 1st job matters a lot (for top jobs), after that it matters but it matters less. I got a 3.3-3.4 GPA at a target, my current AM (top LO boutique) doesn't care at all. But you bet your bum I was asked about it every way to Sunday during IB interviews.
What really pisses me off is when I have headhunters who a) know I went to a target, b) am at a top firm in my space, and c) got promoted here and yet still ask me why my GPA is low? Seriously? This is usually only an issue with multi-manager HFs (for whom I don't want to work for anyway but just wanted to get some interview experience). That said, I became a CFA charterholder, updated my resume w/ this and took my GPA off. Any firm that asks for it after 5yrs of work experience and a CFA can screw off
All to say, if I was an Analyst right now then it wouldn't matter at all (one step below at the moment). For banking this would probably be VP level for instance -- moving over after that point the GPA doesn't matter. But until then it at last has some influence. Just get better grades in college man, it's not worth the hassle of dealing with all of this necessary BS. I wish I'd just worked a little harder and gotten the 3.5 in hindsight though everything worked out fine (but in another world, I'd be some monkey at an expert network desperately trying to break in to AM / HF but failing). Kind of terrifying cone of outcomes
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