SAT Score Still Relevant?
Do PE Firms/Headhunters still ask for SAT scores? If so, how often do they ask for it? is it most firms or few?
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All HH will ask for it but really only the MF/UMM funds care.
Thanks, how important are these scores? Like do they really take them into consideration?
Would it hurt to include it in my resume (as a prospect for sum 2025) if I got a good score as in would my application reviewers interpret it as me being obnoxious and stuck in hs? I’m aware that some firms require it but idk about including it in my resume
I did SA 24 recruiting last year. I have my scores on my resume. Nobody thinks it’s pretentious if you did well.
I tend to see nothing but 1500/33 (although a 1500 is better than a 33) or higher on people’s resumes.
I applied to a competition hosted by Citadel and they had a box to fill out test scores. I know they value test scores a lot as it's a way to see someone's IQ (or at least a good proxy for it) without actually giving someone an IQ test as that's illegal; Optiver is similar as their OA serves as a way to test someone's intelligence.
I've also heard that including your high school is a good idea if it's well known and you did well: it doesn't have to be Andover / Exeter but if it's one of the best in your area / state you probably should put it on.
What if you couldn’t take the SAT? Should I just try to take it now?
They usually ask for SAT or ACT. If you didn't take either you can just say that.
not the poster but what if I had a shit SAT score? I took it once during covid and got a 1460-- couldn't take it again...
Would taking the GMAT/LSAT help?
a 1460 is in the 98th percentile, so wouldn't call it shitty lmfao. People here are so out of touch.
1460 is still not impressive for the jobs that ask for it. I've heard that for almost any job (except for citadel, DE Shaw, etc) ≥ 1500 is good enough that it's better to only post a 150 than have people think you scored in the 1300s.
I personally believe it's more important for smart diverse candidates as it shows they're qualified- it's even more magnified it's mid-1500s or higher
If a firm is rejecting you solely on the basis that you have a 1460 SAT score instead of a 1500 SAT score, they clearly don't understand what it takes to be successful in this business and are lazy, monocausal thinkers. There is so much more than IQ (debatable if SAT is even a true measure of this btw) to being a successful investment professional. Curiosity, emotional stability/level-headedness, stamina, coachability, communication and importantly knowing what you don't know and mitigating risks are all things that people with very high IQs may or may not possess. I'd argue that for many of these things, it's possible that having a very high IQ inversely correlates.
Seems like folks are getting overly philosophical about this. The answer is no, a 1460 will not help your case (especially if you are going for MF) and arguably might hurt it. I would honestly just leave it off or put your GMAT/LSAT score if you have a better score on either.
What people forget is that any kind of recruiting is all a big branding game. HHs will stare at your resume for five minutes and half listen to you during a 20min coffee chat and then perma assign you an internal rating which determines which funds get your resume (being a bit dramatic here but this is basically to some extent how it goes). And frankly if your SAT doesn't have 15XX it just doesn't look as impressive. Now in reality if you got a 1460 on another day you probably could have easily gotten 15XX but people aren't that logical about stuff.
You gotta play the game to some extent and that involves trying to really show of all the stuff that makes you sound super smart and capable and minimizing anything that doesn't come off like that. I don't agree with it but with such a limited number of MF associate slots out there the firms and their HHs can afford to be picky about silly stuff like this that probably doesn't actually matter.
And fwiw slow day in the office so just did an informal straw poll of the associates near me at my MF and lowest SAT was 1530. N=5 so obviously far from comprehensive (and maybe today im just with all the associates that never got laid in HS) but a datapoint for you nonetheless
If I was interviewing a PE prospect who had just taken the SAT in his 20's for resume-boosting purposes, it would be an immediate no from me. That is so lame lol
It probably matters for some places and you can likely assume which types of firms would care more about your scores than others
As someone who didn’t go through the American system, it seems ridiculous to use the score someone got on an exam as a teenager to determine intelligence or aptitude 5+ years later. Seeing all these institutions asking for SAT scores when there’s often 3-4 years of more relevant work/scoring to judge a candidate is beyond me. It creates a system highly unforgiving of mistakes and doesn’t leave room for “late bloomers” or growth. The SAT can be studied for and with the abundance of prep providers, it really isn’t purely an aptitude test. Anyone who invests enough money and time into prep can score highly. To truly gauge someone’s intelligence and abilities at the present, you’d have to have all candidates go through a test just before or during the application process.
iq doesnt change over time
What if I just never took the SAT, should I just not include it in resumes and stuff? Am going through an off-cycle after disappointing bonuses.
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