Will I get into business school?
I'm currently a junior in college. I accepted a summer analyst offer at a middle market (Jeff/Blair/HLHZ) I am very hopeful it will lead to a FT offer after the summer.
My ultimate goal is to do 2 years of banking, 2 years of private equity and then an MBA. However I will probably finish my undergraduate with a 3.3 GPA at best - I go to a good (top 25) school, but definitely not the type that jumps off the page with prestige. I was extremely lucky to get a spot in banking with my current credentials, but I fear my educational background will still hold me back in the long run.
How screwed am I for admissions to top 15 programs? Would it be worthwhile to pursue an additional degree in hopes of "rebranding" myself (perhaps an MSF or 1 year masters at LSE or something) between undergraduate and my late 20s? If I completed such a program with a much higher GPA, would it make up for my mediocre performance in undergraduate? Has anyone here pursued such a strategy?
If you're exceptional at your job and outside school/work (solid involvement in ECs, leadership experience), and get a high gmat score, you can still get into a top b-school given your stats. No need to do another degree first.
This. Getting a sub-par undergrad score isn't a death sentence if you are on track to a good career (which you are), and you manage to get experience that lends itself to a good application in the next 5 years (senior year + 2 IB + 2 PE).
hopefully, we're talking about HLHZ here as they are a much stronger brand than the other two i'm confident that as long as you can kill the GMAT, you have a good chance
Your GPA is just one leg of the application. Whilst it might looked at with interest at some of the M7 schools, you really need to spend the next few years carving out a reputation for yourself at the firm. I'm saying someone should go to bat for you and say you were the best damn analyst ever.
That aside, you also have to consider other aspects of your application like ECs and GMAT. They can detract some of the attention away from the low GPA.
You're definitely behind in the GPA category when considering the M7. But, as mentioned above, this is hardly going to bury you. I wouldn't recommend doing any sort of Masters unless it fits squarely into your long term career goals.
I got into M7 with a 3.3-3.4 gpa, and back/mid-office banking experience. You can definitely get into, just get promoted, high GMAT, and great recs....then have a good story when the essays come out, and ace the interview.
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