GPA Inflation - Does it ALWAYS Make Sense???
Hear me out... I've been seeing and hearing a lot about an undergrad's GPA inflation if they go to a target. If we were comparing a normal undergrad student with little/no work experience from both a target and non-target, this makes total sense. I go to a non-target and I would agree that a target school's curriculum is probably a lot more difficult.
However, let's say you have a non-target who has 4+ industry-related internships, and you're comparing him/her to a target student with no internship experience. Are non-target students really going to get dinged if they have a slightly weaker GPA than the target student? I believe that the internships should compensate for the weaker GPA, along with the whole "inflation" argument, yet a lot of people disagree. I could be wrong, just wondering what everyone's opinion is.
P.S. When I say a "weaker" GPA, I'm talking about a 0.1-0.3 difference, not a whole letter grade.
Investment Banking is 50% whether your bros work at the same bank. Other 50% is diversity. It’s not about getting the best candidate. No need to make rational arguments about who is better since that doesn’t correlate to who gets the job.
Makes sense. I'm still in undergrad and admittedly unaware to that type of environment, just trying to get a better grasp of how people in the industry think. Thanks though, much appreciated.
My comment was a little harsh, I’ve edited
Rational
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Lmao you mean target? Those IU Kelley, UNC, UofI kids will be getting that job over your lazy ass. Quit making excuses, there’s no way you’ll make it in this industry by making excuses
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What’s the point of complaining or making excuses that if you were at a lower tiered school you would be getting a higher gpa. That does you no good other than make you sound arrogant. What does it matter to you if a kid works his ass off at a no name state school and gets a 3.95 and networks his way into IB vs you going to a target school getting a 3.4. At the end of the day, GPA is just a number and once you’re through pass the initial resume screen it becomes a non-factor. When I’m interviewing kids I’d rather take the 3.8 UNC or IU kid that works his ass off vs the 3.5 kid from Harvard who thinks he deserves to be there just because he goes to an Ivy League. You’ll learn quickly in the world of finance there’s a few factors to success: grit, humility, resilience, and a little bit of luck. Humility goes a long way..
A finance degree at a non-target is more difficult and technical oriented than the same or similar degree at a target. Why? Take a look at course curriculum. People tend to forget "Targets" are liberal arts colleges and they do not offer technical degrees. For example, Harvard at the undergrad level does not teach Accounting, Penn's PPE degree does not teach accounting, etc. A quick Google Search of the Curriculum and Majors offered at different schools proves my point.
Congratulations on going to a Target and learning about History and Economics but have fun teaching yourself to grind out Black Scholes by hand, building cash flow models, and stressing over accounting exams.
There is a reason why students from Vandy, IU, OF, UNC, etc are always technically superior than some Targets: because they spent 4 years learning accounting and finance, not "Philosophy and Politics".
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This is probably true, but why do you think that is? I went to a nontarget (see username) and work with many individuals from Ivy's and I don't feel behind at all, but I know that if 90% of my classmates were in the same spot, they'd be miles behind.
Do you think >50% receive an A because it's easier, or because they have higher quality students?
At non targets professors go for the standard normal distribution where average is around C+/B- some get As and some fail. But at Ivy’s grade inflation is a real thing . Yes the talent pool will be slightly better but then the exams/curriculum should be harder which it’s clearly not . As to why grade inflation exists blame the ivory tower Ivy League academics who believe “everyone should get a prize” and no one should have their “feelings hurt.” It’s the stupid equality vibe of society which is the reason why Asians and whites need way higher SAT scores to “even the playing field.” Favoritism doesn’t really happen as much at the upper nontargets.
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By non target I and the OP (if you bothered to read) are referring to the T15-T30 range. Plenty of kids I know are Ivy material but choose not to go due to tuition costs / want to stay close to family (able to visit on 4 day weekends).
First of all, financial aid is much better at ivies. Also T15-T25ish is academically rigorous. Sorry I misunderstood you. I thought you were talking about state schools in the T40 range.
First of all, financial aid is much better at ivies. Also T15-T25ish is academically rigorous. Sorry I misunderstood you. I thought you were talking about state schools in the T40 range. If you go to a top state school such as Berkeley, Michigan, and UVA, or private schools such as Georgetown or USC, you should be fine if you have a GPA similar to those of target schools.
State schools give scholarships as well so when you factor that in the financial aid given by an Ivy is weak.
True
lmao i have a 3.5 from a state school non target and beat out a 4.0 ivy league kid for SA 2020 because I know how to talk and have really good internships. Your school will only take you so far and after 8ish years of your career where you got your degree is meaningless. Take a look at F500 CEO's and even Senior MD's at banks and you will see A LOT of non target schools. The head of Healthcare IB at JPM for 20 years went to freaking illinois for pete's sake.
good to know you have family connections
You could have easily found a career with fewer hours and reasonable comp. IB is only for Ivy League liberal arts majors who have no other choice.
I stopped reading as soon as I was done with the first sentence, since I don't think reading anything created by a non-target student could be cohesive nor informative. Can anyone from like, idk, Georgetown, translate, please?
Doesn't matter in the long run. Look at the stats below.
Top 30 Colleges That Produced The Most Fortune 500 CEOs (per CEO world magazine) 1. The University of Wisconsin- Madison Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 14 2. Harvard University Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 12 3. Cornell University Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 10 4. The University of Michigan (UMich) Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 8 5. Stanford University Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 7 6 (TIE). The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 6 6 (TIE). The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 6 6 (TIE). Purdue University Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 6 6 (TIE). Texas A&M University (Texas A&M or A&M) Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 6 10 (TIE). The State University of New York (SUNY) Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5 10 (TIE). Lehigh University Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5 10 (TIE). Michigan State University (MSU) Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5 10 (TIE). Princeton University Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5 10 (TIE). The University of Texas at Austin Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5 10 (TIE). Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5 10 (TIE). The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5 10 (TIE). Yale University Number of Fortune 500 CEOs: 5
College rankings change over time . I have no doubt that some of the nontargets on the list were targets 30 years ago when the CEOs studied. Also you are presenting outlier data. The question is whether the mean salary of an Ivy grad is statistically significantly higher compared to that of the non target grad at various points in life .
Ugh, another flavor of do some kids have it harder. Good grief ever school (target or not) should mandate Sociology 101: Life Isn't Fair.
And, yes, if you have quality internships earlier in your academic career then GPA can be discounted somewhat. GS IBD will take a 3.2 that worked at JPM/MS/BAML/etc. S&T or IBD sophomore summer over a higher GPA candidate every time (provided they interviewed well). It's a combination of signaling and relevant experience.
This is why well connected candidates are seldom "under qualified" in the way these forums would have you believe. While some may have lower GPAs, they're smart enough to play the game and get earlier internships at reputable firms that stand out relative to the experiences (or lack thereof) of their peers.
Getting sophomore internships at BBs because you have major connections doesn't mean you're smarter at playing the game
Where did I say someone with a sophomore BB IBD or S&T was smarter than everyone else?
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