C in Financial Accounting - How does this affect me? What's next?
**Background: **
Attend semi-target (think Vandy/USC/CMU). Yeah, so I got a C in Financial accounting during Freshman year. No excuses, I was just a dumbass naive pledge who cared way too much about "frat life" and drank/smoked too much. I ended up with a pretty eh 3.4 overall.
Now a sophomore, as an Asian dude with a pretty mediocre GPA, no Finance experience or ECs, and no major leadership positions, I unsurprisingly did pretty poorly on the whole big-name sophomore internship thing with 0 Finance offers and I'm not expecting much for the rest. I did OK this semester ( all A's except a C+ in Comp. Sci) I don't even feel bad about ) and brought it up to a meh 3.5 (3.47), but this is after sending most of my apps.
Also, as a freshman, I was super gung-ho on consulting, so everything on my resume reflects that, including most of my EC's. Now I realized that I'm not interested/passionate about Consulting anymore. Regardless, there's a good chance that I'm going to work at a small boutique consulting firm in Hong Kong this summer. Will this hurt Junior SA applications?
So far next semester I'm taking 19 credits of mostly fluff classes (none in finance/business) in a hail mary move to raise my GPA for Junior Fall SA apps. If I get all A's, which is honestly very possible, I might be able to bring up my GPA to a 3.65 which rounds up to a 3.7.
**tldr: **Got shitty grade in financial accounting at semi-target. 3.47 GPA as asian male, unsuccessful with sophomore programs. Most EC's/future experience going to be in consulting but want to change to Finance. Dilemma between taking shit easy classes to raise GPA to a potential 3.6/3.7, or retaking Financial, or taking Managerial. Regardless, teaching myself Financial Accounting online.
** Questions:**
Is this major fluff semester a good move or will recruiters think I'm dumb? Or should I replace one with Accounting? Worth retaking Financial Accounting? The way my school works is that the grade is replaced, so even if I get an A or A- (honestly no guarantee, it's hard), it'll average to a B or a B-. Should I just take Managerial instead? Or should I just go with the cop-out and just fluff my GPA up as much as possible while learning Financial Accounting again on the side?
Also, would a consulting internship sophomore year be bad looks for BB IB's?
I know this is a lot, thanks all for your time!!
Let's address your case part by part.
A C in Financial Accounting isn't going to make or break you. Chill the fuck out.
This is where your problem lies. No Finance experience, no ECs, no major leadership positions - this is where your chances go down. Why don't you involve yourself in activities- I'm sure there are plenty at your school - finance clubs, etc.
What kind of consulting? Relate it as much as possible to IB- do some financial analysis work if possible.
I don't know why you're focusing so much on your financial accounting grades, it's honestly not your main concern now. Your main concern now is that you don't have ECs, you don't have finance experience, and you don't have leadership positions. Focus on that.
^Dealova is right. How do you plan on networking or killing an interview if you don't have anything in common with the people you're talking to? Get a hobby, watch GoT, and join a club. You need to talk to these people.
With that said, how do you have no extra curriculars if you're in a frat? Intramural sports and philanthropy come with being in a frat.
Also, recruiters don't get paid enough to look at individual grades.
I appreciate the post! You're absolutely right, I need to fix that aspect on my resume. Don't get me wrong, I'm still involved on campus (philanthropy, a capella, pro-bono consulting, etc), just nothing involving Finance (mostly because I applied to these clubs and didn't get accepted). I also haven't run for any major positions but that can obviously change.
There you go, you know what you need. Do these things and you should be in better shape for recruiting.
From my experience, banks don't look at your transcript / grades in individual classes, only the GPA on your resume. Therefore, it doesn't matter if your C was in financial accounting or some BS unrelated class, all that matters is your overall GPA. Yes, taking a semester of easy classes is probably a good idea, just make sure you actually get As in them. Try to involve yourself in something finance related now or have some leadership. I don't think your sophomore summer internship is that important, as long as you can speak about it well. What matters most is that you perfect your "story" and have a clear reason why banking. Go to your career center and practice this is mock interviews with them and you'll be fine.
You need A's in financial, analytic courses; you need real involvement in financial clubs and you need to network like crazy with a vast amount of orgs that interest you; all levels.
no one's looking at your individual grades
Thank's all for response! The fact that they don't look at Financial is a relief. So are ya'll thinking it's better for me to not take Managerial next semester and just replace it with fluff, or take Managerial? So I now know that they don't take into account individual grades at all, but am I not going to be dinged at all for taking an entire semester bullshit liberal arts classes instead of a substantial business course?
Most business classes are a joke to begin with take managerial lol
Most business classes are a joke to begin with take managerial lol
Delete
Damn bro, thanks for the help! Maybe one day I can be an elite finance god like you smh. What is exactly is the point of saying this besides bringing me down? You could have at least suggested something constructive or helpful.
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