Low GPA and state school graduate, whats the best way for me to compete?

Hey guys,

This is my first post so I'll make it short and sweet. I'm a soon to be graduate from a state school but my GPA is sitting around 2.97 due to personal issues (I was homeless during my junior year). If you ignore the classes that I took that year my GPA would be a decent 3.5 . It was honestly the lowest point of my life but I somehow made it through and reached my senior year. I have access to a stable home now so I'm pursing both paid and unpaid internships and I could use any advice, tips, or constructive criticism on how to increase my odds of landing a position. I live near NYC so I spend most of my time cold calling/emailing boutique shops, I also have experience interning in a corp finance setting.

 

No I'm in CT about an 1 hour away from NYC. SUNY schools get a lot of crap but I knew a few friends at stony brook and honestly it's not a bad school.

 

it'll be tough to get out directly out of undergrad with the GPA and banks don't have the time to screen through your story even though it is very unfortunate, but find a decent job for now that is requires some mental ability, do well, craft a narrative for good MBA, then try to make it out in IB. This will at least ensure you are never spinning your wheels. Its probably what I will do myself after I get a little more experience at this insurance company.

 

When I was going through the lowest point in my life thus far between my freshman and sophomore year, cold calling and cold emailing worked wonders for me. There are always a handful of people at boutiques that are interested in learning more about you after you send in your resume. This is where you can articulate your story and prove that you are more than capable enough for IB. Even if they don't have openings, they will often be able to refer you to one of their colleagues that do. After that it's all work ethic, likability, and performance. I got my start in boutique ER, which led to boutique PWM, which led to a whole bunch of other things that culminated in MM IB full time.

 
Best Response

For anyone still interested in my story I just received an internship offer day for a boutique PE firm. I plan on continuing my networking efforts in hopes of landing an IB position at the end of this internship. Thank you guys for the advice, this forum has been a source of support and information that was invaluable.

 

Hello, There's plenty of threads of people who break into finance with low GPA/not-so-great-profiles and/or stories.

The main key things are: 1. Network 2. Keep pushing for it 3. Intern if you can >> I have been around this forum for a year or so, and have landed a few interviews (3 currently in process right now, M&A role, and 2 trading firms for summers).

So, keep your head up, not down. May the force be with you.

 

You've only completed your first year of college, meaning you likely have three more years to knock it out of the park. Don't ask questions like "how can I break into Finance with a low GPA", because that assumes that you're going to maintain a 2.7 GPA without any improvement.

To reiterate, you have three more years to improve your GPA.

It really comes down to how badly you want to break into Finance. Are you willing to give up nights out/partying to get your GPA up? Are you willing to stay in and study instead of going to a College Football game? I'm not saying that you need to be a total introvert and give up your social life, but it's time to kick it into high gear. Shoot for 4.0's from here on out. Stop thinking about the past (your first year of College), and do everything you can to make sure your GPA is as high as possible. Establish your "winning" mindset as early as possible, and set the tone for the rest of your college career. PM me if you have questions about how to do this.

Get to work.

Array
 

Which non-target are we talking here? Honestly, unless you were somewhere like UoT where grades are curved, it's pretty hard to get bad marks so you're going to be fighting an uphill battle with perception there.

The CSC is imo useless for recruiting. Bank tellers do it and no one I know looks at a resume and says "oh wow, he did the CSC. That shows interest!" If the company needs it, then they'll pay for you. Spend your money on CFA level 1 if you really feel like studying.

The reality is that you need to spend more time networking and getting meetings with people. Bigger shops are total grade whores so you probably aren't getting into those. Go to boutiques, but avoid the chopshops (Northern securities as an example).

 

No offense, but this excuse is terrible imo. But this doesnt mean there is no hope. Networking and getting an entry level internship or entry level finance job like com banking or something dealing with lending would look good. You are in a great market in my opinion, San Fran has plenty of entry level opportunities, won't get anything top notch, but you can certainly work your way there! network, get an entry level internship, keep networking, and then, network some more

 
jasper90:
No offense, but this excuse is terrible imo. But this doesnt mean there is no hope. Networking and getting an entry level internship or entry level finance job like com banking or something dealing with lending would look good. You are in a great market in my opinion, San Fran has plenty of entry level opportunities, won't get anything top notch, but you can certainly work your way there! network, get an entry level internship, keep networking, and then, network some more

No offense taken ;), like I said I'll take any advice. I'll look into those two options and try to network as much as I can. I notice you didn't mention anything about going to B school, I'm guessing that won't help?

 

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