Hi, I am a junior with a low GPA. I just turned my academics around. My junior year grades are really good, with my senior year grades expected to be as good if not better.
What is a realistic school I can get into that has a high IB success rate?
| +46 | Interviews Are So Fake | 28 | 15h | |
| +33 | 2024 UK Election - Tories finished? | 21 | 17h | |
| +29 | Being Christian in investment banking | 14 | 1d | |
| +26 | Non-Competes Banned | 26 | 7h | |
| +22 | ADHD ! | 5 | 2h | |
| How do I become Sigma | 15 | 10h | ||
| +19 | Moelis has the cutest Analysts? | 4 | 1d | |
| +18 | Best NYC neighborhood for single 30M | 12 | 3d | |
| +16 | Underage intern, drinking? | 7 | 1d | |
| +13 | Secretive vs Universal Prestige? | 7 | 1d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Given that you have provided no stats or if you’re a URM or not, it’s pretty difficult to gauge what school you have a shot at.
Maybe you could think of getting into a school and then transferring to a better school.
If you do the TAG program in California, you can go to community college and then transfer to one of the lower tier UCs.
https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/tra…
TAG by campus
why can't you do that for Berkeley or UCLA?
What? They haven't even started college yet
Why do Americans refer to university as college even when the “college” has university part of its name
Some places in the US are called colleges, others are called universities. They both mean the same thing though - why is it upsetting you?
I think technically colleges are specifically undergraduate, while universities are institutions that have both undergraduate colleges and graduate schools.
It’s not I was just intrigued
Look up the semi target list on here - plenty of schools outside the top 20 that will give you a decent shot at IB. How low of a GPA are we talking?
Some ideas that might be a bit more relaxed on GPA... Villanova, SMU, UGA, Fordham, Rutgers, Illinois Miami Ohio, UF, W&L, Penn State, OSU, Colgate, BU, Wake Forest.
Also, at most of these you need to get into the business school to have any shot at IB, so don't pick econ if you don't get into business schools... but the path is there if you work hard and network.
This assumes your cumulative is at least like a 3.3-3.5, upward trend helps but won't make up for a cumulative GPA below 3.0. Hopefully you can get a solid SAT/ACT as well to back up your story. If your GPA is quite low, you may need to go to a lower ranked school and try to transfer to a semi-target after your freshman year.
You can take W&L off this list
HW and every Charlotte PE firm are flooded with W&L people so you can definitely get a sweet job coming out of there. Unless you’re trying to say it’s harder to get into than these schools, which is untrue because UF out of state, BC and UGA out of state are similarly selective.
So, my situation is unique. My GPA right now is 2.6 (Although I don't think it's accurate since it's not automatically updated) and the reason it was low was that I didn't care for school one bit during my freshman and sophomore years. My Junior year went really well, with nothing below a B+ for my yearly averages. I am working vigorously toward a high SAT score (my goal is in the 1450+ range) and for my senior year, I am taking 3 APs with all honors classes. Next year, I am also the Business Club president. Over this summer, I plan on taking an internship at a small, local accounting company as well as taking courses on Coursera.org and online AP classes on Khan Academy. I also am working on a Discord community related to NFTs, stocks, crypto, reselling things, etc. with a few friends. But on top of that, I am working on a project called Teen Mental Health Advocacy which is basically a way for people to talk about their mental health and receive unprofessional help (if they can't receive professional help, it's beneficial. I myself can't and have friends who can't.)
Now, the reason I didn't care for school is a little interesting. In 7th grade, I learned what I wanted to do in life. Entrepreneurship. I would lead esport and content organizations that had quite a large following. The community was super toxic so I stopped about 2 years later. In 9th grade I started my first official business. It was, of course, a marketing agency. It failed horrendously because of my lack of skills and COVID wasn't helping. Anyways, I tried selling stuff online afterward and it didn't work out too well. I am still trying to figure out selling stuff online. Basically, I have always tried some type of business in my interest areas. However, I talked with a friend who is a Yale grad, and he recommended I take up the IB route for what I want to do in the future. The problem is IB is highly selective as is, and not caring about my grades has put me in a deep pit.
I also really love finance and economics. It massively intrigues me. I love reading on it, learning about it, teaching it, etc. Seriously, this stuff is fun for me.
I hope this provides a better idea for where I am academically and why my GPA is so low. I've had plenty of people tell me that my massive upward trend in my academics is a huge plus because it shows that I care and have the ability to perform well in school. Next year, I plan on keeping consistent A's so for one, that should improve my GPA but also show that I am able to handle a lot of challenging classes.
Thank you for your help!
To be honest, I don't see you getting into any semi-targets unless you are in-state for a decent state school. Your reasons and involvement will make a good essay, but "I just didn't care about school until now" is really not enough to explain away that low of a GPA. Barring some massive, seismic reason for not doing well in school (i.e. I was a Syrian refugee, or my parents both had terminal cancer at the same time) it's just too low, even with a hugely upward trend. There are too many thousands of kids out there with 3.5+ GPAs who also have great involvement and test scores.
I would cast a super wide net with applications. Apply to semi-targets, but also apply to more realistic schools (work with your college counselor).
Your path to IB is either from a non-target (still very, very doable if you network and work hard) or through a quick transfer to a semi-target. Get a 4.0 first semester and try to transfer after 1 semester or at the end of freshman year.
.
Do you mean for undergrad or for a master’s program?
.
Google universities that offer Wall Street prep classes/clubs. Off the top of my head I believe Chapman, LSU, and Arizona offer something similar to those. Which you can probably get into with decent grades. As far as success rate, might want to email the class/club administrators for more info or get on LinkedIn and look up recent grads to see where they're at now. In my experience I know tons of friends who work in NYC at BB first year out and I went to a very non-target. In my opinion, it seems that making the most of your situation and working hard to do well in classes/interviews will get you further than worrying about the prestige of your university and if you're at a target or non-target.
Rutgers is a great university. That being said the thing about non-targets is that you have to put in extra work, but Rutgers has great supplemental programs to help transition into IB. Also, since you are claiming that you have turned yourself around, then I think you should consider keeping this as a option. Placements into IB for Rutgers is also pretty good.
Georgetown
Reiciendis id soluta dolorem officia excepturi vel labore dolores. Occaecati id ut praesentium nulla quo et aut laborum. Vero corrupti dolor magni ut ipsum sit. Voluptatem quaerat qui libero optio nemo ab ut quibusdam.
Soluta qui sit rerum fuga illo qui ad. Et soluta soluta amet qui. Neque molestias quos reiciendis quam corporis est consequatur ullam. Rerum et ab illum provident adipisci voluptatem.
Sapiente sunt ratione nostrum. Minus quia et aut earum natus. Totam eos aut nihil voluptatem repellat deleniti doloremque.
Cumque voluptatum doloribus aut qui occaecati sed rerum. Veniam sint consectetur quis reiciendis quis numquam. Modi sequi aut qui ut iste error.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Perferendis et consequatur possimus aliquid provident laboriosam aut. Repudiandae animi aut ea molestias exercitationem ab. Et nobis minus et possimus aliquam ut. Quibusdam enim deleniti et harum doloribus vitae incidunt deleniti.
Est quis fugit enim ipsum sit mollitia vel. Doloribus odit incidunt perferendis. Unde amet porro commodi voluptas nesciunt natus blanditiis.