jobs out of undergrad w a terrible track record

BO at a bank, accounting, client services.

Affirmative action.

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anymore advice? tips on what to do in undergrad? internships and diversity programs? ways to squeeze into ib?

Hey AfricanGal, it's not too late to boost up your GPA to a 3.0 GPA or better, but it's going too take alot of effort!

First, stick with the economics major and drop philosophy and French, or stick with the philosophy major and drop economics and French. Economics is more of a finance-related discipline than philosophy, but philosophy will also work if you can't handle economics.

Second, take a bunch of easy classes throughout your school year to boost that GPA, I would suggest taking easy summer classes the summer before your junior year-- just in case you didn't reach the 3.0 GPA mark by the end of the second semester of your sophomore year.

But if you are close to reaching the goal, then reach out to your network by January of next year (after your 1st semester of sophomore year is finished).

Join some Finance/business-related clubs NOW. Network with upper-class men in the clubs who have gotten internships and try to get their connections (this process will take time).

Network with black students at your school who are interested in finance as well. Get in contact with the MLT (Management Leadership for Tomorrow) program once your GPA has gotten better. They help minorities get connected to the finance industry.

http://www.ml4t.org/

Continue to work hard and make A's in your classes. It's not to late since you don't have too many credits, but you need to make A's.

Good luck AfricanGal!!

I'm not confident that I could handle being a full on econ major with all my obligations and working part-time. Would I be able to simply major in something relatively easier in the humanities (Philosophy, Languages. Sociology, ect), take no econ, and still be competitive enough. My school also requires me to have a minor and concentration along with a major so I had originally chosen French and Econ.

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I'd just like to know if I can break into IB or other less competitive finance industries with a humanities major; I'd probably be in a better position to boost my gpa....

Yes or No?

Yes, but here's the thing. Would you rather work hard earning a better GPA with a marketable major, or work hard marketing yourself with a less relevant major? That is basically what it comes down to.

You're just a sophomore, so you can still choose the major you want without much penalty (if any). If you want to be in the finance industry upon graduation, major in finance. My point being, if that is what you're interested in, it should require less work to do well in those classes.

AfricanGal:

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I'd just like to know if I can break into IB or other less competitive finance industries with a humanities major; I'd probably be in a better position to boost my gpa....

Yes or No?

Regardless of what you choose, the GPA really needs to come up for you to have a decent shot. It's easily your weakest link, and probably the simplest solution to your dilemma. Retaking a couple classes in the summer would do wonders for your GPA.

My school doesn't offer any vocational majors like finance and accounting, the closing thing we have is economics.

I'm not exactly sure what networking would entail, I mean my stepmother does work for Citi as an analyst and knows some higher ups in her division and I think being a minority might be able to help given I raise my grades. I'm just hoping this will be enough for finance.

I'd like to take econ courses but the econ department in my school is notorious for grade deflation and difficulty, although the program is great and the network options are good for a non-target.

I'm leaning towards the humanities at this point...any other advice or am i good?

You're good.

Seriously though, how does your school not offer finance or accounting? You say those are vocational, which sure I suppose you can say those are vocational as the definition of vocation is something someone is specially trained to do, but finance is very broad and accounting is basically the language of business.

Stop with the whole minority thing. It is annoying. You can be any minority your mind can conjure up, but if your credentials suck, you suck. There will be another African-American female that is better qualified than you, always. I snuffed my desire to address this in my previous posts, but here you go (my post saying "affirmative action" was pure sarcasm). I noticed in your original post you put the fact that you are an African-American female above both your GPA and EC's. This leads me to believe you are mistakenly thinking this will somewhat compensate for poor credentials. You need to dismiss this belief. Right now. All done? Ok, let's continue.

Now, I know you're new here (not sure if you've been lurking), but there are countless threads on the benefits, techniques, and more of networking. So start reading if you're "not exactly sure what networking would entail". Your stepmother is an enormous advantage over others without similar connections, start there.

Finally, spin your GPA excuse into some kind of story. Everyone has a story. Start working on yours. By the time you're in recruiting season you should have it down. There are plenty of threads on this topic as well. In fact, there are basically threads on everything on this site. WSO and the fact that you found it early in your college career is gold, so stick around. Your school seems a little weird, and if I were in your shoes, I'd strongly consider transferring.

Well, I attend a liberal arts college and pre-professional, vocational degrees like business, finance, accounting, CS, and IT seemingly go against the notion of the Liberal Arts. I wish it weren't the case because I feel somewhat limited at times.You're right, I am new here. I'll take your advice and start browsing forums.

I considered transferring but it seems unlikely given my gpa and I probably wouldn't be able to gain acceptance to an institution as academically rigorous, prestigious, or financially generous. I suppose I'm here to stay.

I didn't miss your affirmative action comment, I just didn't find the desire to comment to it. I'm grateful for your assistance, but I've never used my race as a means to gain admission anywhere, never intended to and don't plan to in the future. I never linked my poor academic performance to being a minority, but I did note that the financial and emotional strain of my familial issues made it difficult for me to do well in school. I know my grades are abysmal and as it stands not competitive enough for the opportunities I'm seeking; I wouldn't be on here if I thought differently. I stated my race and gender above my gpa in a thread. So what? No one can deduce anything from that? My main reason for stating both were to gain insight on diversity programs and initiatives not to gain a leg up in admissions.

I'm not trying to point fingers at you or anyone, but from the little time I've been on here, people have gotten incredibly agitated and sensitive about "minorities" or "URMs" especially when they try to take advantage of a program that was originally enacted for them in the first place... I don't get it.