Low GPA a big issue for exit ops from top firm?

I'll be joining a top MM firm (Jeffs / Harris Williams) as an off-cycle hire. My GPA is at a 3.13.

I'm looking to exit into PE / VC after two years. Would my GPA be a huge deterrent to my opportunities when headhunters come looking assuming I have solid recommendations and deal experience?

I understand my MBA chances are going to be an uphill battle no matter what my work exp looks like, but I'm hoping pre-MBA positions at PE / VC firms would be a slightly different story.

I have heard around the forums that school brand matters as well. I attend a non-ivy/Stanford/MIT target.

8 Comments
 

I can't really speak to the minutiae of GPA cutoffs. That said, if you are below some significant "line" your best hope lies in how seriously MDs come to bat on your behalf. All it takes is a big hitter stepping up and putting out some phone calls, and suddenly a private equity principal is asking his firm's headhunter why your resume wasn't in the stack she just sent over. So crush this job.

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat."
 
Best Response

Teddy: Initially I had that idea, but after reading around the forums it appears that GPA does have an effect but I'm not sure to what extent. According to CompBanker his MM PE firm puts a large weight on undergrad GPA.

I'm asking here to find out whether GPA matters to the extent that it did for undergrad recruiting where 3.5 = tossed resume. I'm also wondering how important deal experience / MD's-going-to-bat both are since it wouldn't make too much sense to hire somebody at an MM PE firm who had no deal experience even if they had a high GPA.

 

Yea honestly thats news to me then. I know after awhile experience trumps GPA. If I was 5 years out of undergrad and a bank chose to focus on my GPA than my deal experience, I don't think I would want to work for a place like that anyway.

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