Is a 3.5 GPA and a 3.8 Major GPA good enough for IB or CB?
Hello,
So I am an Engineer major Junior looking to get into IB/CB (both I found very interesting). And I have a cummulative GPA of 3.5 and a major GPA of 3.8. I know that business majors have ridiculously high GPA's and that worries me. Also, my engineering program is within the top 10 in the US. My university is a Top 50. Semi-Target I would say.
Also, I will be an intern in the risk division of a BB.
Finally, I know FT recruiting is extremely competitive so I wanted to know how my chances are looking like.
Any advice or help to help me break in, would be much appreciated
As you alluded to, it's less about your GPA and more that FT recruiting is very difficult regardless. While it's understandable that your GPA isn't as high as many business majors, most people looking at your resume aren't really going to care that you're in a rigorous engineering program. (i.e. no one's thinking that your 3.5 is the equivalent of a business major's 3.8 or whatever). Unfortunately, the main things people tend to focus on from an academic perspective are school name and GPA.
At this point, all you can really do is network as hard as you can and hope you get lucky with an opportunity coming up towards the end of the summer. In the meantime, you should also really nail down your technicals/interview skills. Risk isn't exactly the most related area so you'll need to go above and beyond to compete with others who might have higher GPAs or more relevant work experience.
Thank you very much for you insight. You've confirmed a lot of the aspects of the application process that I had on mind.
I really want to do either IB or CB but, what's your opinion of lateral hiring? I feel like it's impossible to change division without going to a top mba program. If so, what division is the best bet? I was thinking either IMD, or maybe on the lower side, Treasury or Transaction
Hard to say. Might have a better shot trying to lateral to a larger bank from a boutique vs. an unrelated division.
I would try and see if you can worm your way through the mobility process at your bank (not an easy process in most instances). You probs won't be able to get to IB through mobility internally but you might be able to get to a revenue generated division which will help you with future recruiting. Just a thought.
So probably my safest bet is to go into a revenue generating division within the corporate & investment bank. Such as transaction banking? Credit risk?
Also, I was thinking on JPM Investmant Banking Junior Analyst program but I don't know if they recruit at the same time as regular IB and also if my stats make me a good candidate.
I feel like IBJA is easier to get into
Can't say i know anything about the JPM junior analyst program but yeah maybe like a corporate banking seat would be helpful and at a lot of firms they work closely(ish) with the IB people so that can help you get relationships to jump to IB in the future.
Just network hard kid and you will be fine. Your gpa is really good though so props
Yor GPA is good. If you keep that up, you should be in good shape
I personally believe that my GPA is not good enough for IB with BB's for FT. Any advice for MM recruiting?
I don't think that the GPA threshold is that different for MM vs. BB's. I think mainly the difference is that you have to network much more with BB's since there is such a high volume of applications.
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