Overcoming Low GPA
Currently a sophomore at a target state school (think UVA, UMich, Cal). I plan to go into IB and had previous stints in VC and at a boutique shop. However, w/ a 3.6 GPA, I am worried about the looks I'll receive when SA recruitment rolls around next semester. My question is:
1. How detrimental is a 3.6, which is just below the usual cutoffs of 3.7, 3.8?
2. What can I do to overcome this barrier? Network how much harder? Get my grades up before summer recruitment? Make some shit up about why my GPA tanked one semester?
There’s honestly a bunch of threads on this exact topic. Just search and you’ll find relevant info.
That GPA won't kill you. You can balance it out if you have a packed resume with solid extracurriculars and internships. You also do not need to include your GPA on your resume. Some people I know who struggled with the same issue put their education section at the end so they could highlight their professional work experience instead.
thx for the advice, but wouldn't no GPA be a huge red flag during coffee chats/resume screening?
The fuck? A 3.6 isn't detrimental by itself. Also never knew Cal was a target.
Def a west coast target. Semi target for NYC
3.5 and above you're generally fine, especially considering that you're coming from at least a semi-target. I went to a non-target school on the east coast and received two offers from MM banks. GPA gets your foot in the door for interviews, after that it really comes down to interviews and how well you networked (in most cases). Another thing you could do is list you're in-major GPA if it happens to be higher, but at the end of the day you're probably good with having a 3.6.
3.6 is fine, no one will ask about it. Put your major GPA as well (second to cumulative) if that is higher.
Focus on BBs/MMs, their soft cutoff is 3.5. Some EBs are stricter about GPA being 3.7/3.8+ - still apply and network, just put more effort into BBs. Definitely do your best next semester (take a lighter and easier load anyway, some recruiting will kick off in the spring) but as long as you don't drop your GPA is fine.
Make sure to kill it on networking especially in Jan/Feb rather than Mar/Apr
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Great first semester GPA, congrats! I wouldn't start networking until midway through sophomore fall, but you can look through some guides on here (don't pay for anything, just search like freshman advice, or networking plan, stuff like that, there are very detailed threads) and make a game plan. Get really involved on campus and leadership roles in those orgs. Also keep an eye on the forum next spring/summer to get an idea of how recruiting works for the class above you. You are way ahead of the game so don't forget to enjoy your freshman year too.
When you say kill it on networking, how exactly do you mean?
Reach out to a lot of people and generally have a strong network everywhere
Tbh before I clicked on this, I thought it was gonna be alike a 3.1 or smthn.
Yeah man a 3.6 is solid stuff, I got into a great MM firm with a 3.6 just try to pad your resume with other stuff as well, any business internships you can secure is good stuff, also, you can start a club or something at your school too
Haha this just sat funny with me. I have a 2.6 GPA and remember when I was a Junior thought I’d never make it in Finance. I actually had a Reddit comment reply to me saying that I obviously was an idiot and should stick to pursuing something such as bagging groceries over a career in Finance. Although you will find people like that who overlook your resume - you’re at a 3.6 which is incredibly good and still something I’d list on my resume.
I don’t list my GPA anymore and I ended up at a large OMM prop firm. It’s not always about your GPA, sometimes it’s about the story you tell and the way you tell it. I am the Founder/President of the Quant Trading Club at my school, Co-Founder of our Blockchain Club, and executive director of research for our venture capital club, as well as founding 2 companies on my own. GPA for some people is nothing but a number on the paper. Let me reiterate that I have a 2.6 and would be considered almost unhireable by most, and still ended up being able to follow my dreams and join the company I wanted to work for all along.
Although this is Prop Trading not IB yeah if you were in my spot and wanted to do IB just go skydiving without a parachute instead.
Fellow 2.6er here. Ended up in credit risk and thankful I didn't let it hold me back and allowed me to get in a pretty good spot. Definitely have a better job than the back office kids with ~3.5's coming out of undergrad.
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Will an individual from one of those schools with a 3.6 still get people to coffee-chat with them during networking? I worry that a 3.6 even with strong ECs and experience might still get overlooked for someone with a 3.8 especially at EBs, even with networking.
Had a 3.4 and an offer from one of the top EB's (MOE LA/EVC M&A/CVP), its not all about GPA
Then what are the other factors?
Had a 3.7 at Umich/Uva and did just fine. Resume wasn’t super packed either. I just networked a ton and got plenty of interviews. Only one bank ever asked why my gpa was low. You’ll be fine, just network a lot and network early.
They called a 3.7 low?
One boutique said it wasn’t bad but they were wondering why it was not higher.
Any advice on how to network early/well?
What worked for you?
Network early if you can. If you're still recruiting once school gets out in around late april/early may, I found that response rates to email drop drastically. For me they went from maybe 70% to sometimes 2% at BBs and maybe 5-15% at boutiques.Even for firms that recruit late (PJT M&A/CVP), I found that my networking calls there in May were much more effective than my July or even Aug calls. I would start networking in maybe early to mid Feb for the earliest firms/groups. Don't try to reach out in Jan if you are non-diversity because people will just get annoyed that you are bothering them while they are being slammed with diversity recruiting. What really helped set me apart in networking was largely group specific knowledge. I largely recruited RX, and it went a long long way to actually know a lot about RX so you can sometimes ask very specific questions about it. For my M&A calls, I tried to learn something about the recent deals the company had worked on so I could have educated and thoughtful discussions about them with analysts, who then passed me up the ladder to have the same conversations with bankers all the way up to partners. It's not for everyone but it worked for me.
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