Easy A classes?
Hi Monkeys!
I will be attending a non-target state school and on majoring in finance later this year. From what I understand, GPA is one of the most/the most important aspect of breaking into FO IB. With that being said, if you're on track to graduate on time, does it make sense to take filler/easy A classes outside of your major so you can focus on what's really important, like major classes and networking?
For example, this fall semester, I plan on taking differential equations (difficult class), Introductory Micro (somewhat difficult class), Introductory Chinese (easy class), Greek Mythology (easy class), Music Appreciation (easy class), and Public Speaking (easy class).
Ultimately, does it make sense to orient your schedule around getting the highest GPA possible, or would adding something like a double major in Math or Accounting be the most beneficial in the long run?
Easy classes all the way. Don't make it harder than it needs to be.
Banks don't have time to look at each and every class you take. When deciding on first round interviews, they will see the GPA listed on your resume only so taking easy classes is the way to go. Also, you don't get too much of a GPA cushion just because you double majored.
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Try to find a balance between easy classes and interesting ones. I made the mistake of going too easy with my course work and I found them to be too easy and my education to be less fufilling but got that sweet sweet 3.9 so was it worth it... debatable.
I'll quote a now two-and-a-half year old comment I made in another thread.
Summation: do everything you can to maximize your GPA. It is the simplest and easiest 'hack' to boost your chances of success in each of the major professional steps you'll take in the decade following graduation, which obviously shapes the trajectory of the remainder of your life.
Totally agree with this post. I know this question has been asked before on WSO, but I was wondering what your opinion was on the difference between a 3.8 and 3.9? For post-grad jobs, if two candidates were generally pretty similar in terms of everything else, would you still choose the candidate with a 3.9? What if the two candidates were generally similar but one had a 3.9 and the other had a 3.95? At that point, would you just try to look at the smallest of differences in things besides GPA or would you just give the interview to the 3.95 candidate?
I can't give you a consensus opinion on this because I've seen it go both ways.
I've seen some dudes get harder for a candidate the higher the GPA is. A 3.97 in History goes through automatically while a 3.6 in Chem Engineering somehow was a point of discussion between the old guys and the young guys in the room.
I've also seen some people take a hands-off approach which is that once it's high enough, the box is ticked and they're now looking for differentiators.
This is why people always tout the importance of networking. Someone just has to say "Yeah, but this kid is pretty sharp and we've talked three times on the phone, he seems alright".
I regret not taking simple, easy A classes as I know many peers who did this and it helped them a lot with IB recruiting
Take as many easy A's as possible but don't shy away from the difficult classes that are relevant to banking, if that is where you still want to end up. For example I took an extremely difficult accounting course and it hurt my gpa slightly but I don't think I would have made it through interviews without it.
Take some for sure, but take a couple classes of things you're interested in, too. Not only will you do well in it because you're interested in the subject, but it also makes you more well-rounded imo. The "Name an interesting class not related to your major" has come up a lot for me over the years.
As others have said, especially coming from a non-target, do everything you can to pad that GPA and get as close to a 4.0 as possible. A 4.0 vs a 3.6 from a state school could definitely be the difference in breaking through that initial resume screen (where many of your classmates would be eliminated) to get a first-rounder, along with networking of course.
I don’t think there is any such thing as an easy class. While there are a few difficult courses (Organic Chemistry, Financial Engineering) some courses that are supposed to be easy can be pretty difficult if you have a professor that decides he wants his students to respect his course. Example, I got a C in Music Appreciation because our professor had our exams based on our recognition of 10 second audio clips (that he only played once) that tested our ability to recognize different musical elements.
Why was that you ask? 9 times out of 10, the professor you had matters much more than the course material. A professor can be the difference between an A and a C.
My suggestion in the future look up the professors teaching on ratemyprofessor.com and sign up for your courses accordingly.
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