Assuming that GPAs are already the same (e.g. say 3.75), but that's equivalent to cum laude at one school but magna/summa at another, do firms care about the distinction, or is it just about the GPA?
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i don't see why it would if you state your GPA on there
It's more about the GPA
people dont care
Why are sooooooooooooooooooo many guys here worry about their FXXKing GPAs without worry about other more important things?
Your motivation, your leadership, your communication skills.
Guys, you can't make something works in finance areas by telling your clients that he has to believe you because you have a 3.99 GPA.
Does Summa Matter for B School or PE Recruiting? (Originally Posted: 05/21/2014)
Up until this semester, I had a GPA that would qualify me for summa cum laude honors (3.95). However, after this semester, my GPA dropped to a 3.92, which does not qualify me for a summa cum laude honors.
I'm a bit worried-does it matter much? I could care less about my GPA dropping .03, but will having magna, not summa cum laude, honors adversely affect me when I apply to B School or apply to a PE firm?
I think it matters more on what school you attended. I have an IB and PE background and am going to a top 3 school this fall and thought that the schools cared way more about gmat scores than my GPA or class rank (which was much better than my GMAT).
What school?
GPA matters far more than Latin honors. Every school has different policies on granting Latin honors, some handing them out to over half the class while others handing them out to only 10 or 20%. Further, some schools grant Latin honors based on GPA alone, while others factor in extracurriculars, research, etc.
Ego linguam latinam scio, sed summa cum laude? Ego sine cure sum.
Necessity of Thesis / Academic Honors (Originally Posted: 08/15/2014)
I'm currently a rising senior at a top Ivy League university, and I'm trying to decide whether or not to write a thesis. At my school, you have to write a thesis to become eligible for academic honors (e.g. cum laude, magna, summa). I was wondering how relevant having written a thesis or obtaining academic honors is in the business school application process, especially for the MBA business schools">M7 schools.
Which school is this? I also graduated from a top Ivy League school and if my memory serves me correctly there was usually two forms of honors that students could graduate with. There were "departmental honors" which are determined by the department (e.g. the Economics department nominates X number of students for summa, magna, etc.) and take into account one's thesis as well as GPA in courses that the student has taken for their major-only.
Then there are "college honors" which take the above as well as your whole college GPA into account (not just GPA within your major). This system sometimes results in discrepancies (e.g. it's possible that a student gets nominated for "summa" by their department, but on graduation day they only receive "magna" from the college, etc.)
If I am not mistake, a student who doesn't complete a thesis will be ineligible for departmental honors, but they can still be elgible to graduate with latin honors on the basis of "college honors" from their overall, non-major specific GPA. In this case, I think the highest latin honor one can receive is just "cum laude."
In terms of answering your question. I don't think having a written thesis/obtaining honors is very important for business school admissions to MBA business schools">M7. Candidates will be judged foremost on their work experience and GMAT results, followed by personal statement, interviews and letters of recommendation. Education is mainly just a box that gets checked off. In some cases, it could help in crafting a candidate's "story," but then that would just simply tie back into one's personal statement.As long as there aren't any red flags, I wouldn't worry.
summa magna- how much do they matter (Originally Posted: 04/21/2007)
summa magna, how much do they matter on wall street?
ALOT
At the boutique that I intern at, I create a lot of profiles for PE and VC firms. A significant amount of these guys have one of the three titles, but then again it's not that hard to get. e.g. Harvard is 50% some form of laude
come from a harder school..exp not most of the ivy with the exception of cornell--althought cornell can't even be tough compared to MIT and some other notoriously hard schools. Also I think 8/10 harvard grads graduate with honors.
Sure, but honors is not the same as laude
there were three laudes which equated to honors/ high honors/ highest honors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum_laude
I think you might be confusing Latin and English Honors
http://www.college.harvard.edu/academics/resources/honors_faqs.html
Regardless, the point is that both are high, right?
Awards - Will They Make A Difference? (Originally Posted: 04/18/2008)
I go to a tier 2 undergrad school (total non-target for I-banks). Obviously, I hope to get into a top MBA program in the future.
As an undergrad, I've gotten invited into some honor societies. First, it was Phi Kappa Phi, and then another one for strictly business - both are to recognize a top percentage of students in their class year.
I'm happy to be getting these invitations, but they all have joining fees ranging from $50-$100. Does being a part of these societies help at all for getting into B-school? On a side note, does it really help much for a resume when looking at front office WallSt positions, or will being in too many hurt, making me look like a tool?
In other words, should I join just join all of them?
Most of those societies are complete bull, they just exchange you the image of being important for your hard earned cash. I know soe of those societies are legit, but there are very rare among the many out there. Make sure you get as much info as possible on them before ever joining one. As far as banking is concerned I have no clue whether you will look like a moron or not.
Remember, you will always be a salesman, no matter how fancy your title is. - My ex girlfriend
ya I agree, it's pretty useless.
Unless your CV is really barren otherwise, the only honor society worth listing is Phi Beta Kappa.
what about beta gamma sigma? I got in as a year 2 student.
Merit of an Honors Thesis (Originally Posted: 07/07/2008)
If you already go to a target and major in Econ- is there any merit in doing an honors thesis? It looks good but will it really make or break your candidacy? Will it help you get into PE/HF straight out of undergrad?
I wrote one for my science major, and I can tell you that in almost every interview my interviewer asked about it. Made for interesting conversation, and some ex-science guys knew more about my methods than I did, a bad thing.
I'd say that an econ thesis looks good, but you run the risk of being asked more difficult questions. I'd highly recommend it for the learning experience alone, though. If you put in the effort, nothing you've done in undergrad will have come close in terms of how much you learn.
http://ibankinglife.blogspot.com
I also did an honors thesis. I did one in Econ, so I could talk about it in interviews and it was a topic that not too many people know a lot about, so that worked out great for me.
How much it truely helps you in recruiting, I don't know. You would graduate with honors in field, so that's a plus. But if you are forcing yourself to do it and you would really dread writing one, then it is not worth it. I don't think it "makes or breaks a candidacy". If you would only do it because you think it may help you for recruiting, then I would not recommend doing it because it is a lot of work for something that may not have that much impact in recruiting.
Doesn't help that much. As people said above, it makes a really interesting topic to talk about...but I also got questions like "so, I see you did this research program. Why banking and not research?"
Aside from getting you concentrated honors in whatever major, it doesn't really do anything else. IF you are already cum laude/magna/summa then i wouldn't say it matters too much. If you have no latin honors..maybe consider doing just so you can get honors in a major (some colleges only require a 3.3 major gpa and a thesis to get concentrated honors versus a 3.6+ cumulative to get latin honors)
Specifc Latin Honors (Originally Posted: 10/28/2013)
I have a questions about MBA Admissions. I am a senior at a top 20 university, taking one class in the spring in order to graduate and save money. I am currently projecting a 3.791 gpa overall upon graduation. I would be in the range to graduate cum laude. The cutoff for magna cum laude however is 3.793. Basically, I would have to pay 5k and get an A in an easy class to receive this distinction. Is this worth it? I'm leaning towards no especially since I have a strong GPA. I know GPA and awards are only part of the picture but I just wanted to see if I was doing something stupid to save money. I will be starting as a FT analyst at a mid tier BB in July.
5k = not worth it in my opinion. 3.79 speaks for itself.
Really depends on what that 5k means to you. Also, are you paying for each credit?
Will it be the difference between Phi Beta Kappa and not?
Just looked at my school's requirements for phi beta kappa and while I significantly meet the gpa requirement, apparently you need to take 3 semesters of a language not 2 which is required by our school's liberal arts core to graduate. Aka I am not eligible.
Nah, its not worth it. On your resume it will just say 3.8, which is mighty impressive if you ask me.
honors benefits vs. costs (Originally Posted: 09/15/2011)
I talked with my family's money manager (UBS), and he said that in his opinion, "cum laude" distinction with very challenging quantitative courses (Advanced econometrics, etc) but avg GPA is seen in way better light than just a very high GPA with easy courses and regular program. However, he said that for it to work, you need to bypass HR, and contact the banker directly. So, because I am currently doing the honors "cum laude" courses, I just want to run this opinion for feedback by any analysts / associates here on the board.
Dude you go to McGill and you're not even B.Comm, and as you mention every day your marks blow; stop worrying about your I-banking wet dream and start putting one foot in front of the other.
I'm honestly not trying to be mean but you wank off like twice a week about what major you have and the reality is; only business majors are really targets in Canada; and only from a handful of schools. Don't believe me? Check LinkedIn - being a non-biz major at a school with a top business program, and having less than mediocre marks throws you off the map. If you want to mop up a bit of this metaphorical oil spill, take the easiest courses you can and rack up a GPA you can at least mention in public. Taking advanced econometrics (lol, whatever you mean by that), multi-variable calc. etc. is only going to hinder your already fragile progress. Dream reasonably and think about tomorrow before you think about somehow being a big bad banker.
Cheers and I hope you really do somehow end up being a "cum laude" banker BSD haha,
IG
I simply fail to understand how someone who goes to Western (which I had full scholarship to after high school. I think I got admitted without even applying lol.) has an ego of someone with a Harvard MBA haha. Thank you for your advice on getting the best GPA possible with my currents standing, it seems reasonable. But lol, explain to me how western is a target? FYI mate, McGiIl is the most prestigious university in Canada, and we are ranked 17th in the world. Now how come Western is not even in top 100 (I'm not even sure about top 200).
In the US, "cum laude" is given to you at graduation if you have a GPA >3,5, "magna cuml aude for >3.75 and "summa cum laude" for >3.9. Don't know how they do it in canada. Are you saying that in canada you can have shit grades and still graduate "cum laude" if you take hard classes?
I don't think people here in the US are familiar with the canadian system. They are going to want to know (A) your school, (B) your major and (C) your GPA. So stop overthinking it and position yourself so you can answer these questions in the most positive way.
Sorry for the confusion. And thanks, point taken.
The 3.5/3.75/3.9 are not absolutes, but the general point still holds. Is it just me, or is the signal/noise of this website declining?
In Canada, "cum laude" means that you usually took a different set of courses, which are harder and are only available to "honors" student. You also have to graduate with 3.0 GPA min. It's not the grades, but it implies a completely different program. And reason why I'm asking is not to troll, but to see if advantages are worth the costs (ie GPA)
I think I pretty much answered your question, no? I get the impression that your GPA sucks and you want people to tell you its okay because you are "honors" and "cum laude" or whatever. :( This is the perspective of NYC and US people- where we haven't heard of honors program vs. regular program. Again they'll want to know school, major and GPA. And major is major - "BA honors in Economics" with a GPA: 3.0
[quote=imnottheonlyone]I think I pretty much answered your question, no? I get the impression that your GPA sucks and you want people to tell you its okay because you are "honors" and "cum laude" or whatever. :( This is the perspective of NYC and US people- where we haven't heard of honors program vs. regular program. Again they'll want to know school, major and GPA. And major is major - "BA honors in Economics" with a GPA: 3.0
Why don't you take these "honors" courses and get good grades in them..? Doesn't that solve your problem?
McGill ranks pretty highly because of their med program isn't that right? They pretty much shit the bed in every other discipline.
Ya, thats what I think I will do, just tough it out in the harder program. And no we are not "shitting the bed" in every other program ... lol
please refer yourselves to the most recent 2011 Times ranking. Before 2011, we actually made it into top 7 ... According to any other Canadian rankings, we are a top Canadian institution, and other international rankings place us in top 20 worldwide. The lowest ranking mcGIll ever got was from Shanghai university, and that was 40th in world.
Get the fuck out of here you Canadian yahoos
Get the fuck out of where you ignorant piece of shit? Are you aware that a website is not affiliated with US in any way? It's trash like you that makes your entire country look like a bunch of ignorant hicks. I will not hate on US, because I'm not a fucking cunt with shit for brains. Seriously, please go get yourself a terminal disease, and then hopefully your private insurance won't cover you, so that your faggot ass is dying, while wishing you were in Canada to get your 100 k procedure done. Also, are you jelly of our triple A standing, my AA+ friends.
Why are there so many fucking futile canadians on WSO?
This.
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