I'm a 1st year analyst at MBB that is recruiting for PE. I graduated from a top target (HYPSW) and had a GPA of 3.55. I was wondering how much my GPA will affect my PE recruiting and what I could do to increase my chances despite my GPA.
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Don’t worry about it.
If your top bank took you the PE firm isnt going to reject you for it. Worry about what you can control.
Pretty important. I just helped with recruiting at an MF and we mostly screened resumes by group/experience, GPA, school - in that order. Honestly with a 3.55 in a non-STEM major I think it'd be tough to randomly be picked for an interview from our resume batch so make sure you network.
Would a high GMAT score help sway me into the "yes" pile?
If you can get 760+ then it could maybe help but that’s hard af to do
what would be the cutoff for your group?
How differently do you treat 3.7 vs. 3.8 vs. 3.9 if the group and school are good? i.e. EVR/CVP/PJT and H/S?
3.7 is ok, above 3.8 you're good, but again it all depends on context. If you have a 3.7 from Harvard and work at Evercore and have demonstrated interest you'd probably get a coffee chat. If you have a 4.0 from Michigan and work at BofA then it's a toss-up depending on the rest of your resume.
How much does group/school override GPA say how far would GS/MS TMT and a T20 get you?
It depends. Again, I'd generally say 3.7-3.8 and above checks the GPA box.
I agree with above, 3.55 is going to hurt you in some processes, unless you were a D1 football/basketball athlete or some other really interesting hook - just too many target/top group/great GPAs out there. When you have 50 fairly identical resumes, GPA is one of the only things you can narrow down on.
If you can somehow pull off a 750+ GMAT that helps, but not like that can be done in a weekend and you should focus on PE prep instead of GMAT studying. You can put your SAT score if it was really impressive.
Headhunters score you based on bank, group, undergrad, and GPA, so your score with recruiters will probably be impacted.
How much does being in a top group for placements mitigate GPA? Say if you are at a good group at GS/MS or one of the top 4 EB RX?
3.7 and up from a decent school should be more than fine, mid 3.7s and got interviews almost everywhere for on cycle
Even for top MFS? I have a 3.77 - > rounds to 3.8 from a semitarget, going to EB full time and was just wondering
I don’t really think so. I had a 3.50 and got a ton of looks for on cycle from MM and UMM (my bank would never really place into MF anyways so I can’t speak on if GPA alone would’ve ruled me out). And from a significantly lesser school than yours. GMAT of 740 for what that’s worth — maybe made up for it a little but not mindblowing either.
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