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You are swimming against the current? CS major on the West Coast. You should be interning at Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Qualcomm and then if you're hell bent on IB or Consulting get your MBA after a few years. Or going out for anything in Tech Finance, trading firms etc... Tech has higher pay relative to COL and definitely relative to hours worked... and you'd be on the West Coast. Your major is in CS, you have your network already established.

I don't understand your desire to paddle upstream. I wish you well though.

 

You're asking good questions and you're asking them in time to make an intelligent plan of action.

Although some firms use GPA floors, the highest I see with any regularity is 3.5. If you can massage your GPA so that your overall OR major GPA clears that hurdle, you can probably get your resume in and get an OCR interview if available.

If your SAT score is relatively recent and high, you should find a straightforward way to make it known. If the math section is close to 800, it will attract peoples' attention. It sounds like you're likely still current in math, but be prepared to answer some tough brain teasers if you play up your SAT score. Recruiters don't often have a way to gauge your IQ without getting in trouble, but a high math SAT score can pique their interest; you'll need to back it up.

The closer to a 4.0 the better, but there's no reason you couldn't participate in top tier finance recruiting with your stats, assuming you're being honest and are characterizing your school accurately.

 

Thanks for the reply.

But how much does SAT score really matter? It's 2350+, but paired with the GPA, I figured it wouldn't merit a second look.

And I am characterizing my school fairly, outside of Stanford, it's round abouts the strongest west-coast target for high finance type fields. MBB + most BBs + Elite boutiques + top MMs, really anything with a west coast presence OCRs. And the east coast alumni network is still strong. But it's certainly not HYPS level.

My biggest question really boils down to this, assuming I can't pull a great SA IBD or MC spot this summer (I have a couple of relevant and either interesting or passable options already lined up, so it's not like I'll have nothing going into FT), is it worth it to focus my time on trying for that in FT next year with my projected stats? Or even with respect to finishing out my SA recruiting season, would I have been better served spending my networking efforts on shooting for F500 FDP and boutique MC/IBD? It's obviously late in the season and I only have somewhere between 1-2 months left to focus my efforts (with several opportunities already gone by).

 

A 2350+ SAT score is something to advertise. Employers want smart new talent, and a high SAT score is one of the metrics available to recruiters to measure intelligence: use it. Some firms demand SAT scores from applicants.

Any progress since November?

 

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