BB, top analyst, super-low GPA, technical major. Chance for buy side?

Hey guys, thanks in advance for helping me with this.

I am gonna start my full time at a BB in SF next month (tech group, Barclay, Citi, BAML type) after my internship there last summer. Knowing that buy-side recruiting will begin soon after my job starts, I am trying to figure out what do I want to do after banking, and I am considering PE as an option. (It is not THE option because I was never really excited about investing, but I "assume" I have the capacity to do it. For the purpose of this discussion, just assume so please....)

I came to the States when I was 15, attended a semi-target school in west coast, majored in engineering, had a really low GPA of 3.3 (forget about the SAT), and decided to do banking at the end of my sophomore year after figured that engineering was too slow for me. What I lacked in my academic background I made up with internships and networking.

I landed a internship with my current bank last summer, from the feedback I got from a couple associates and two directors who really supported me, I know I am one of the top 3 analysts out of more 10 of us, if not the top 1 or 2. In case you are wondering, I fit well into the nerdy engineer hurdle, so not super social or anything like traditional banker, but I considered this job to be my #1 priority and put a lot of thought into my work and communications.

I know all that take is one offer, so instead of asking about chances, I want to know how would PE (preferably tech related) consider someone like me? Would they just throw my resume away or would they actually consider me because I had good performance? Assuming I can do modeling really well and I will give my full effort if I were to go this route. I would really appreciate it if someone with PE background could help me with that!

Thanks for your time for reading the post and helping me out!

6 Comments
 

Once you are in the room GPA is largely irrelevant. The only factor this will play is in getting interviews. Getting looks is all about checking the boxes. Target school, strong bank / group, GPA / SAT, references / reputation at bank, meeting with headhunter went well, transaction experience.

Those who check all those boxes are the ones who get interviews everywhere and with all the top funds. GPA is important, but if you can check the other boxes you will still get looks. The more categories you don't excel at, the fewer interview opportunities you will get, but a 3.3 GPA alone won't prevent you from getting any interviews.

 

just want to say that 3.3 GPA is not bad if you were STEM student. You can't compare business degree and engineering GPAs without adjusting them. Recruiters, if they have any intellectual capacity, will adjust in their minds your gpa and engineering studies and thus you don't need to worry about it. Focus on things you can make an impact now and that is your network and work. Can't do anything about that gpa now so it's waste of time to worry about it.

 
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