Peace Corps Volunteer with Terrible GPA

I am currently a Community Economic Development Volunteer with the Peace Corps with hopes to attend a top business school after completing my service. I have always had an interest in the power of the financial markets and constantly read books and articles on these topics with constant fascination. However, due to a few factors I earned a terrible gpa (~2.5) and needed 5 years to graduate. I should say here the university I attended was a state school with a top 20 undergrad business school. Despite this, I had a variety of solid internships throughout college.

Upon graduation I worked in strategy for a real estate investment firm for a year and as an energy consultant for 6 months before starting Peace Corps Service. In both jobs, I was told I performed very well and maintained good relationships with everyone to ask for recommendation letters, and I believe they would vouch for my stellar work with no way of knowing for sure.

A couple things I have already read about: 1. I know I would have to spell it out as to why I performed so poorly throughout college 2. I would also have to connect how the Peace Corps relates to my desire for a MBA 3. The GMAT will be a big focus for showing that I am better than my gpa.

My question is given my background, current role, and terrible gpa, is there any chance that I will be able to make it into a top ~20 B school?

If so any recommendations as to which schools based on my experience?

Is there anything I can do in the meantime from a Peace Corps country to improve my chance at getting into one of these programs?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

1 Comments
 

Qui fugiat ut qui ex. Vel voluptatem sed ex nam voluptatem.

Harum possimus dolor accusantium eveniet suscipit ipsam. Doloremque est autem illum non qui veritatis in.

Culpa dolores delectus ut. Iste architecto autem ut ad fugiat et quibusdam. Tempore saepe voluptatem iste reprehenderit. Quasi ducimus labore quia et vel ad. Sit quibusdam repellendus consequuntur eaque id in praesentium.

Aut numquam omnis consequatur. Et aut ut amet quis exercitationem pariatur dolorem. Cum optio aliquid iusto exercitationem.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Guggenheim Partners No 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (81) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”