Low GPA, trying to get my foot in the door. What do I do?
Im a sophomore at one of the less-prestigious NESCAC schools, one which seems to pride itself on its alumni network on Wall Street, although I'm not sure how much truth there is to that. Anyway, I've got a 2.667 GPA so far, due mostly to a small number of really bad grades, thinking I'll probably major in poli-sci. To make matters worse I also have no pertinent work experience, just little summer jobs in food service etc. To my knowledge, all summer internship programs at investment banks of any size require at least a 3.0 GPA, and so at this point I find myself wondering what I can do to get something even remotely conducive to a junior IB internship, on my resume over this summer(obviously, I'm already doing everything in my power to raise the GPA). I really have my heart set on IB, but in my position, I'd be down for anything that might help. Any advice?
Shot in the dark. But I’m guessing your gpa is low because your pledging was brutal. You could reach out to your bros that are in the industry. PWM jobs might look at gpa less critically since a lot of it is people’s skills, which GPA isn’t indicative of.
PWM worked, got a paid internship. Thanks for the advice.
Go join the Investment Club at Trinity and get as involved as possible. Ask Lauren Glasse, who runs the club, about getting certified on the Bloomberg Terminals they have in the lib. having this certification is a good start to having something on your resume that most all other applicants to a summer position will not have, and its a good talking point that shows you're committed to learning about the industry. If you already joined the Hall as an underground pledge: please, please do not spend your weeknights playing pool in the basement and looping yourself out on drugs. You have a shit GPA and you need to get it up, there will be another time when you can have fun. Now is the time to put your head down and get ready for a battle to save your GPA, or you can kiss your ideas of going into IB goodbye.
As you know, Trinity has an incredible amount of alumni recourses at your disposal. Absolutely set up a meeting with the CDC, but DO NOT expect them to make an internship happen for you. That's not their policy and even if it was, they're incapable of that type of placement success. Get on LinkedIn and use the Trinity page to filter alumni by sector and firm. Send out well written and humble messages to anyone and everyone you can that you think could help you. Don't ask for an internship outright, ask them questions about their background and if they respond, then ask if they know of some summer opportunities. Also understand that as a sophomore, regardless of your GPA, you aren't going to get into an IB internship. They hire SAs exclusively from a class of undergrads between their junior and senior years, so you need to look into Ops internships at BBs, or PWM internships, or with some small equity firm that I am sure some of your friends at Trinity's fathers are partners at. Take literally ANYTHING in the industry, do not set a high standard for yourself this summer, its more important for you to FOCUS on your studies and become better situated for next summer, which is the one that really counts if you're trying to do IB. If you are currently pledging or have pledged last semester, there is a strong PWM young alumni presence at the Hall, and a strong Consulting and Legal alumni presence at Kappa Sig. Keep this in mind for networking. IB presence is relatively strong in young AD alums.
Biggest takeaways: Get your GPA up. That is the best and most important thing you can do right now. Secondly, open your summer internship net wider and look into PWM and Ops for your sophomore year. Thirdly, network the hell out of Trinity's alums. Those that work in finance are also the ones who generally have a love for the school in their heart and will appreciate hearing from you. The worst thing they can do is not respond or be too busy and not be able to get back to you. If you pledged, go straight for the Presidency position, having that on my resume and having real experience was the deciding factor in getting me a job after graduation. Otherwise, get into the Investment Club, actually be engaged (most do not do this), you'll learn a lot and it will be good if you can run for a Club Sector Head next year. That opens up a whole list of Investment Club alums for you to network with. I'd also suggest running for SGA, being on it opens doors for you to get involved in actual leadership projects and initiatives with the administration that you will gain real leadership and budgeting experience from. These are all good ways for you to stack your resume, which is going to be crucial for you.