Low GPA - Full time work and full time school ?

Former Electronics Engineering major at a good state school, absolutely hated the programming part (got Ds on a couple of programming courses, got As in all my Math & Physics however)

Switched to finance & accounting as I always had in interest in it and thought it would be a good alternative

Ran into family problems, basically had to work full time 40 hours a week at my 2 part time jobs while taking full time business courses.

So my lower division GPA is around 2.7, business GPA is around a 3.0

I start my upper division courses next semester, I'm very confident I can get an UDGPA of 3.7+ (money isn't an issue anymore, I'll only be working around 25 hours/week).

Even in the best case scenario (get a 3.8 in all my upper div courses), my overall GPA will never be above a 3.6 - how bad will this look when trying to get internships and jobs in general? (Ik bb ib is out of question, im not at a target school either but just in general when applying for any kind of finance position)

3 Comments
 
Best Response

Depending on WSO's responses, people will either tell you to continue pushing or to give up. What difference does it make? There opinions shouldn't matter. You clearly have been working very hard, and I am sure just want to plan for your next few steps in life. My goal would be don't overthink the GPA thing, just keep doing your best on a daily basis.

Assuming you get between a 3.3-3.6 you have a shot at a lot of positions within finance, and you only really specified IB so idk what else you're interested in. In regards to IBD positions, use your alumni network and reach out to a ton of boutiques, and some MMs. See where you gain traction and keep your head up. Sounds like college was a little tough, but as someone who worked 30+ hours while taking a full course load, if you can do that, you can do anything (within reason, I've found my chances of marrying RiRi are equally as low post bone crushing semester).

Coming up with a plan is where you should spend your time & energy from here on out. Look into the roles you want to apply for, nothing besides top firms in IB/PE/HF & Consulting (and similarly challenging industries) should be off your radar. Good luck

 

People get obsessed with GPA. If you have 3.2+ and have demonstrable interest/exposure to finance, you should get interviews. If not, get a PWM internship, then leverage it. Now, the interviewers will put you through your paces more, but that's just a matter of preparation. Even if you don't get into IB at BB or EB, you can get in elsewhere, be a rockstar, and transfer. FYI, EB seem to be more GPA sensitive than bigger banks.

 

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