JD/MBA: GPA Bar on the Law Side?

Been thinking about a JD/MBA coming from a banking (and hopefully PE background). I know that the law degree isn't instrumentally the best career choice and I'll be foregoing two years of income for doing it, but honestly I'm just too damn curious about the intellectual experience to pass it up. I come from a fairly liberal arts background pre-my very business-oriented top target (not hard to guess), have always found the analysis of law and history/literature to be a great "style" of thinking, and I took law or law-adjacent classes at least once a year through U-grad.

Problem is, at top-tier JD/MBA programs (H/Y/S), the GPAs are usually sky-high with humanities majors. I'd likely be applying a ~3.7, EB banking background, and (hopefully) MF/upper MM PE job, would there be any "give" to the law school GPA evaluation? If not, I'd likely be looking at a prayer of getting in and lowest-quartile stats (even with a perfect/near-perfect LSAT).

3 Comments
 

If a program won't let you in with great work experience, simply because you have ~3.7 vs 3.9, doesn't that speak volumes about the quality and priorities of the program? If they're only looking for the 'gifted' humanities types, usually without WE, I'd avoid the program- you want to be surrounded by classmates that impress and push you to succeed professionally.

 

Voluptatem libero quibusdam necessitatibus distinctio praesentium quibusdam. Blanditiis voluptas officiis quaerat iure ea temporibus. At eos omnis et. At incidunt maxime dignissimos asperiores atque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”