Advice Please - Junior at HYPM
Hey guys, I've been reading for a few months and wanted to ask about my situation.
I'm a junior at HYPM studying Physics. I've had a rough few years healthwise (think cancer or something) and that has killed my GPA (~C). Thankfully, I've taken some time off and the problem has been taken care of.
I've taken grad-level Physics courses and done research that will get published. In high school, I was studying grad-level math at a nearby university, was a National Merit Scholar, near-perfect SATs, and graduated at the top of my class.
Do I have any shot at getting an internship/job in trading or at a HF?
Thanks.
Only if your programming is good. Otherwise your best bet is applying to PhD programs
What languages? Would it only be a quant role?
I would make sure in interviews to explain what happened to you. I wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but you definitely want to tell them what happened.
I had meningitis and mono/strep and bronchitis three semesters in a row during finals, also tore a rotator cuff and needed surgery. I don't bring that up, but it definitely killed my gpa.
somethign like cancer is a lot different than something like mono. i would bring up the cancer if it genuinely fucked your gpa up; i would not bring up the mono.
but if you go to MIT, well, i'm sure they'd sympathize either way.
a c at mit is a 3.0...just don't mention the 5 point scale
should've been course 15, not course 8
haha yeah that too but i'm sure they've sifted through enough resumes to know already
I really appreciate your responses.
A few more questions, though. You guys seem a lot more optimistic than I am. I guess my first question should've been, can I even get an interview?
What kind of firms should I target? I know its probably too late for a summer internship, but I am still on leave so are longer internships possible? Should I just stick with networking through alums or try sending my resume to HR/recruiters? Also, is it too much disclosure to explicitly say something like "I had cancer" on a cover letter?
Sorry for the barrage of questions and thanks again for your help.
would be to use your alums and career center.
One hurdle that I see, bigger than your GPA, will be your illness and how the nature of the biz can effect itand vice a wersa. Although this may not be brought up forthright in a conversation, it will be an overt consideration-IMO.
Think insurability, liability.
If you can have some informal interviews with alum, you might be able to get a realistic idea of how to approach securing an internship.
you've got a great alum network. send out emails to every alum who might have a connection at a bank/fund. all it takes is 1 person's help to get into an interview, and once you're in your GPA doesn't matter much anyway. i wouldn't limit myself to only trading or HF though...do whatever the alum's friends can help you get into to start out.
can't stress enough the importance of alums and your personal network to get you in the door.
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