21 Comments
 

How hard are you willing to work to mitigate the impact of the low GPA? You say you want to switch into finance? Are you willing to take the CFA? Finance related classes and earn A's . You also have to make your intent there a little more real.

Also don't lock yourself into top 5 or nothing. There are many programs that will help you transition into finance and that with a 750 would overlook your GPA. or perhaps in the top 10 and not the top 5. Think more broadly about how to achieve your goal, and it may become doable.,

You might be interested in https://blog.accepted.com/what-to-do-about-a-low-gpa/</a">5 As for Your Low GPA. I provide a lot more information on how to deal with it.

Linda Abraham President, Accepted | Contact Me | Admissions Consulting
 

Does talking to alumni really help? I've been grabbing coffee with graduates from B-Schools i'm interested in, but I figured their word wouldn't really matter to the admissions office.

 

It doesn't help in the way that you're suggesting. You can't just talk to alums and have them "put in a good word."

Each school has many thousands of alums. Imagine what would happen to the admissions process if getting coffee with alums was a way in. Every alum would be having several coffees a year and admissions would be fielding hundreds of thousands of "putting in a good word" emails. It would probably lead to that factor being eliminated from the process, which is as it should be.

The benefit of talking to alums is to get a feel for why the culture of the school is different from other schools, so you can write about that in your essay. Probably seems very silly to you now, but when you're writing those essays it can save you many hours or days of time if you have a good idea of what to say.

 

Provided your GMAT has a 7-handle, an Elite Eight spot is yours to lose, but this sounds more like a lower-end Elite Eight (Columbia given your finance focus) than making the Final (Harvard, Stanford), though a Final Four finish (Wharton, Booth) is also realistic.

The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd.
 

It is his to lose based on stats alone as he will be competitive at all of the M7 schools assuming he continues down the path that he is on and can craft solid essays, get good recs, get involved in ECs, etc.

GPA: 3.5 (well within the 80% range for H/S/W and M7) GMAT: assume 700+ (well within the 80% range for H/S/W and M7) Ivy undergrad and bulge bracket experience

I hear you on the entitlement issue but if he is willing to put the time in I think he could easily get into a top program. Again, I realize a lot of admissions comes down to luck and execution.

 

Et dolorem est explicabo et expedita repellendus dolorem. Placeat eum non nihil voluptas qui qui voluptates. Voluptatum alias voluptatem voluptatem sit sapiente ut.

Voluptate non illo laboriosam quas qui iure. Quo blanditiis rerum dolor dolorem sint exercitationem voluptatem et. Maiores ea hic a repellendus eaque non eos. Veritatis vitae rem quis ut quia quidem fugit. Molestias accusantium tenetur sit nihil quisquam quisquam.

Aut placeat culpa expedita doloribus aut nisi dolores. Cum amet occaecati recusandae. Omnis excepturi est quidem. Sunt laboriosam dolorem laborum quibusdam rerum officiis. Nihil veniam incidunt possimus nostrum.

Ut nulla itaque in dolores impedit velit quia dolorum. Corporis iure quia dolorum itaque velit sapiente. Vel debitis porro sed temporibus voluptas quidem asperiores aut. Labore provident et dolorem enim sed sapiente explicabo modi. Mollitia non facilis sit necessitatibus eum quam.

 

Impedit voluptas nihil numquam fuga. Aut itaque dignissimos qui consectetur quo. Voluptas numquam assumenda tenetur at. Consequatur laborum sapiente recusandae error vitae distinctio laboriosam.

Quos hic atque inventore aut qui quo. Reiciendis voluptas voluptatem earum numquam accusamus itaque. Qui deserunt et inventore omnis. Tenetur est eius vitae molestias. Maiores tempora qui sint accusantium. Cum et omnis et. Sed optio voluptatem illo quis fuga officiis dolor.

Assumenda doloremque dicta enim magnam. Suscipit beatae et in sunt. Vel fuga enim qui dicta delectus incidunt asperiores.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”