so when you are in a MSF, what do you
do on the GPA front during the traditional recruiting season? Ok, so I join an MSF in July/August. Recruiting deadlines start coming up in Sep/Oct. All I'll have on my transcript from grad school at that point is my gpa from the summer preparatory courses - and maybe not even that if i don't need those classes. either way, how do i tell people that i'm doing well in the program, and expect to do well in the future?
for reference, i did a bachelor's in maths from a big 10 (wisc, il) and graduated with a 3.2x. so you can see why i want to get another gpa on my resume stat. before i send my resume out. also for reference, my sat was 1600 and my gmat was 750+. (yes, i am taking it again even though i have 750+. i didn't study, and i feel i had a very bad performance on my first test and that my score should be higher). i'm going to go to a semi-target for an msf, and it is not a school in the NE.
in this post, for the sake of argument, just assume that my gpa is grad school will be much higher than my ugrad.
i'm looking forward to your responses. thanks!
No knowledge on the subject; I'm just posting because I want to see the answer as well.
not much sense in re-taking the GMAT with a 750 unless you are positive you can get an 800.
which MSF are you attending?
I'm assuming recruiting works the same way it worked at your undergrad and all other US unis. Recruiters come on campus in the late fall through early winter for interviews. There is no way for them to know what your grades are if you are on a semester schedule b/c you wont have received grades yet. Everyone else in your class is in the same boat, and you have good test scores, so I wouldn't worry about that part.
Just put your summer classes GPA. Pretty simple. If thats all you have thats all you put down.
take the summer classes at get A's...they are classes and if they count to your gpa that's your gpa.
when u were a freshman in college all ur resume had on it was ur first few classes' gpa right? same logic
yeah I agree with the 2 posters above me, also you should put that gmat score on there as well
both of these will help take emphasis away from your gpa at the big ten
lol is there a perceived flaw with a 3.2 GPA in heavy maths at one of the better big 10 schools? I know for a fact Illinois and Wisc not only have top maths/engineering programs but also have tough curves in those programs.
affirmative you go to wisconsin don't you
1) graduated college last year 2) no, but am from an area (north chicago) that sends boatloads of kids, and several of my friends and family, to both U Wisconsin and U Illinois (so I'll always stick up for these two schools)
Maybe it is too late, but I would have just applied to b-schools. I know the 3.2 isn't the most solid GPA but there are a handful of good/target schools where that GPA is within the general range of the current students, not to mention it was in Math, which would generally be viewed as a tougher subject than many others. Couple that with your 1600 SAT and your 750+ GMAT, I would have tried to skip the MSF.
I don't know what your financial situation is, but if you could swing it, you could skip the MSF program, intern at a firm in your desired field and then apply to b-schools with the anticipation of starting Fall of 2011.
Maybe not the best idea, but a thought. Good luck.
Regards
thanks a lot for the responses fellas.
@ affirmative - i don't know, i think if i study i can legitimately aim for the top two gmat scores. i didn't study this time. i actually took the GRE for which i studied 50 hours or so, and i took the gmat within a week on my gre. i just feel that since i have a shot at 780 - or who knows, maybe more! - if i focus during the exam and before it this time around, why shouldn't i just give it a go...anyway, i guess the gmat retake is peripheral to the issue at hand, so it way my mistake to mention it in the OP.
also, i'd really rather not be explicit about the program i'll be attending. it's a semi-target, and not in the NE.
and finally, i think a 3.2 is a bad gpa, even if it is in (applied) math. it might not be the most terrible gpa that bb, mbb or adcoms have encountered, but i still think it is very poor and i'll definitely have to compensate for it when it comes to these entities. i regret it very much. people look at my scores and ask me what the hell that 3.2 is all about. the answer is obvious. gpa takes sustained effort, something i clearly did not show during my ugrad. of course, i am very much a different person now and looking forward to kicking ass in the master's.
@ cphbravo - i plan on doing an mba in the future. if i tried to get in today, i would - a. probably not get into a good school (the kind that i aspire to), and b. if i by some miracle i got into a good school, i doubt i'd be very employable in finance post-graduation.
i want to try to enter finance pre-mba. money is an issue, but not an overriding one.
@ everyone else - thanks for your responses!
If you think 3.2 is a shitty GPA and an issue then it will be an issue. If you think it is fine and not an issue then no one else will. You have a degree in math, I am sure you can figure out how to perform some excel shortcuts and change the formatting endlessly in powerpoint.
"If you think 3.2 is a shitty GPA and an issue then it will be an issue. If you think it is fine and not an issue then no one else will."
anthony, i'm interested to learn more about what you mean by this? you mean i shouldn't admit it is low if asked about in interviews and such? do you mind elaborating a bit?
What I mean is just go into the interview with the mindset that your GPA is perfectly fine.
People get interviews with lower GPA's. Banking is not rocket science. It pays really well for essentially menial work. Therefore a ton of people would like to get into this line of work (just look at this website). In order to pay a lot for pretty menial work they make breaking in very very hard. GPA is one of those hurdles which they make people jump over. If you network you can basically circumvent the hurdle. Some people network better then others. Thing is when you get that interview they will absolutely ask you "why should we hire someone with a 3.2 when we have people from Harvard with a 4.0". If you stumble, apologize, whatever for even a second you will get dinged. You need to believe that your GPA is fine and not an issue.
Listen, I have zero doubt that a person with a 3.0 can do all the tasks required in banking just as well as someone with a 4.0. Thing is that usually someone with a 3.2 partied and didnt take things seriously. You took a hard major with some high level math classes. Maybe you worked or interned or had family issues, whatever. As long as you are smart and didnt get a 3.2 because you were high all the time you will be fine. They are trying to find out if you were a hard working with other things going on or a slacker. You start apologizing or thinking you are inferior and they will think the same thing.
Act as if.
thanks for the explanation, anthony. what if - and this is hypothetical - the actual explanation was closer to the lack-of-sustained-effort one? do i just ignore this and stick to my story of being involved in many things, etc.? i mean i actually did make a ton of mistakes in college...do i just not bring this up regardless?
i'll probably start a thread on this topic some day in the future. "how do you deal with non-target or low gpa in interiews?"
i know it's going to bring out all the trolls though.
if you doubt yourself because of the school you attended or your GPA, you have no business being in business. always be confident.
also, I wouldn't call your school a non-target- more like a semi-target, especially for Chicago. It's not like you attended Ball State University.
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