Low Gpa (3.3) at Ivy for full time next year. Unsure what to do?
As the title states, I have a really low gpa and I have no idea what to do. I'm currently a Stats major at an Ivy with a poor gpa. The highest I can bring my gpa to is a 3.4 but It's unlikely (the classes I'm taking are considered very hard). It's because I fucked up this past semester and I don't know what to do.
To provide context about myself, I don't want to give too much detail but in the past, i've interned for a startup as a Financial Analyst intern. This coming semester, I'm working at a F100 doing project management sort of work. I also hold 2 Research Assistant positions and a E board position for this club along with other irrelevant positions in other clubs. So with this in mind, does anyone have any advice on how I can break into MC, specifically tier 2 firms. MBB is 1000% out of my reach and I'm aiming for firms such as IBM, Accenture, and Big 4 (deloitte is prob out of reach). I'm also trying to network my ass off, especially now but I'm not sure how much it'll help at this point. Does anyone have any advice or guidance? Am I completely screwed?
Sounds like you are in a pretty good position, to be honest.
I'm just curious, why do you think I'm in a pretty good position if you don't mind? Even despite being at a target school, recruiting was really competitive last semester so the fact that my gpa has tanked makes me a little bit iffy
You go to an ivy... you're not "doomed" in any sense of the word. Network.
If anything, your major will haunt you the most. You could've gotten MUCH farther as an Econ/Math or Finance Major. But as others said, network and create new opportunities. Doing an actuarial stint pre-mba would be your best option. I'd aim for companies such as Towers Watson and Big 4 actuarial positions to build a brand, which could lead you to a Top MBA Program.
Eh, sorry but I think I'm going to disagree with this despite asking for help... I know for a fact that majoring in Econ/Math or Finance really doesn't make that much of difference. , especially when you're at a target school. If that was the case, I'd see way less bio majors, marketing majors, political science majors, and so forth getting into consulting. I also don't know if I'd be willing to go into the actuarial stint. I feel like the actuary exams are a lot more effort and time than if I spent networking. Thank you for the advice though. I'm stilll considering the actuary path but it's a very slim chance for me.
He's at an Ivy which means his major doesn't really matter to get into MC - besides Stats is a solid major anyway. FYI - Most Ivies don't even have a finance major.
The honest truth (and I think you know this) is that for consulting, your GPA is going to rule you out for a lot of places. For MBB at a target ivy it's possible to get an interview with a 3.3, but you will need to have an exceptional hook. In general, 3.5 is going to be the minimum, with most interviews being given to students with 3.7+.
In my experience, some T2 firms have a strict 3.5 GPA cutoff at target schools. Accenture usually puts 3.3 as their cutoff, so I would try to network hard at Accenture. However, keep in mind that non-MBB firms tend to interview fewer candidates first-round at targets, so they're probably less forgiving of a lower GPA than MBB.
That being said, your life is not over. Consulting is simply a field that requires high GPAs. Doesn't mean you can't be a valuable contributor in another career path. Stats is a great major. There are a ton of careers that need stats majors. Consider tech companies, insurance companies, engineering companies, automotive companies, possibly oil/gas companies that are less stringent on GPA requirements.
If you're still deadset on consulting, consider pursuing a master's degree that can help "reset" your undergrad GPA and rerecruit, or an MBA down the road.
Ah I guess this was expected. I have regrets switching to a statistics major. Had I known gpa was this important back then, i would have originally stuck to my old major (that was easier) where I was easily able to get a 3.7 min. It's unfair but I was stupid.... Oh well, no point looking back now... it feels shitty knowing this. I'm just so mad at myself for listening to what everyone else said and choosing a major that wasn't the best fit for me and what other people thought was "employable". In reality, I should have just done what was best for myself instead of listening to everyone else... Man this feels so shitty...
Stats Major @ Ivy, you'd get every single prop trading interview there is, If that's the route you want to go.
tbh I'm not sure how the process goes. I haven't really had that much finance experience tbh and before I was deadset on consulting. I hear trading is really hard to get into and they're really cutthroat and with the intenrship I have coming up, I'm not sure if it would be relevant
Very anecdotal but I have a friend with a 3.4 (who attends an ivy) who got interviews for 2/3 of MBB so it is not necessarily out of your reach. If you network you should be fine,
It's honestly not true that "if you network you should be fine". MBB is not handing out interviews to every target student with a 3.4 who did some networking.
Sorry, I used poor wording and may have made it sound trivial. What I meant to convey was that his gpa did not necessarily make MBB completely out of his/her reach and that proper networking would potentially prove most beneficial in a case like this; not necessarily that networking would guarantee you an interview.
I don't know if this changes anything, but I will caveat my statements with the fact that I go to a top ivy where 1/5th of graduating seniors go into consulting.
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