GPA

I know this question has been asked a lot on the forum, but coming from a non-target, I was wondering if the advice I should follow would be different from those going to a target and/or a BB. I'm graduating next Spring and then starting FT in MM IB next year. I'm having a really difficult time finding the motivation to do well in my classes, and grades are definitely slipping. I know having a 3.8+ is very important in breaking into IB from a non-target, but what about getting into PE from a ton-target and then MM IB? Especially since my bank isn't well known for the best exit opps. Probably

02 Nov 2021

Hey, I am currently a student in a Canadian University which uses a percentage grading system e.g (85/100%). In order to convert my percentage marks into a 4.0 GPA, I had to take the grade I got in each course, and convert it into a GPA following a specific scale. I wanted to ask when I apply, will HR ever sit down and convert my marks from percentage to GPA to verify the GPA I wrote on my transcript, or will they just look at it to make sure the percentage and corresponding GPA seems legit. It seems unlikely that HR would have enough time to do that, so I was just wondering. Also, a question

16 Jul 2021

I know GPA is an essential element in postgrad applications, I'm just wondering if there are two candidates, one is from a prestigious uni but with a mediocre GPA and the other one from a no-name school but has an excellent GPA, which one is professors prefer? Specifically, now I'm choosing where to take my bachelor's and I have two choices (Bocconi and Waseda), which I posted before. I've heard of the competition at Bocconi is fierce and you can hardly get a GPA higher than 28/30 (converts to final grade 106/110), especially for non-italian. In Waseda, I can easily get an A/A+ and there is

13 Sep 2021

How long does GPA matter in finance, asset management, or in the HF world? Does uni GPA still matter after your first job? After your second job out of school? At one point does it not matter at all if ever?

15 Mar 2021

Hello, I'm a senior at a non-HYP Ivy majoring in Economics and Government. I am working next year as an IB analyst at a top MM, if it matters (HL RX, etc). My GPA plummeted the past year due to multiple deaths of family and friends. Went from a 3.7 to a 3.4. My school does not have P/F and while my teachers were accommodating, there was only so much they can do. Will this 3.4 affect me drastically for lateral and exit opportunities? I'm sure people will understand if I got the chance to explain, but I am worried the 3.4 will not give me the chance. I am not sure what I want to do yet, but I

30 Mar 2021

Hey all, I'm a rising junior at a top five undergraduate business school double majoring in finance and math in need of a lot of advice, guidance, and frankly encouragement. I'm going into a lot of debt in order to go to the school I currently attend, about 130k. I knew this when I accepted my admission offer. Despite the shit load of debt that I knew was in my future, I accepted my admission offer as I knew I wanted to live in NYC and pursue a career in finance. Given that I got into one of the best business schools in the country, I knew it gave me the best chance to make my dream a reality

29 Jun 2020

Hey guys, I'm a rising sophomore at a target school (Ivy). Finished freshman year with 3.8 GPA, currently doing both an IB and search fund internship this summer. I've already started looking for sophomore SA programs at local boutiques and MM firms, and plan on starting the networking grind soon. My question is, given my academic record and work experience, how far ahead of the curve am I in terms of competition for junior year SA roles at BBs and EBs? Am I basically set with the freshman internships? Or is there anything else I should be doing to improve my odds?

22 Jun 2021

I go to a large public semi-target and I've noticed a very wide gap between the banks that people from my school with a 3.9 end up at for SA gigs vs those with a 3.8, and and even larger rift between those people and the ones with a 3.7. I'm wondering if this is more of a correlation vs causation thing (people with 3.9 tend to have stronger profiles all around) or if some of the more competitive banks literally jsut throw out your resume if you have below a 3.8 or something. Some follow up questions related to this: I currently have a high 3.8 but after this semester (I'm a sophomore) it'll

26 Nov 2020

Title does kind of explain it all, but essentially, I am a senior at an Ivy double majoring in Economics and History. I got COVID near the end of the semester and it knocked me out for a month+, including a lengthy hospital stay. My professors tried to be as accommodating as possible, and I passed, but my grades dropped so much that I will most likely graduate with a 3.4, maybe 3.5 if I do perfect next semester. In addition, I have a strong resume, athletics, good extracurriculars, etc. I will be working at a "top MM bank" after graduating, but I am wondering how that 3.4 will look to future

11 Dec 2020

Applying to top MBA programs Senior- I have some lower grades (B range) this semester due to getting COVID around midterms. My overall GPA is pretty solid but this semester would bring it down, and my school offers the ability to take classes P/F due to the pandemic. I have two elective classes with As but the other grades aren't great and would lower it. I'm worried if I took my major classes P/F but left a couple (the easy electives) as grades it will look more suspicious to admissions than just pass failing everything. Would it be better to just pass/fail the entire semester and then note

09 Dec 2020

Hi all, I just finished taking a summer course and saw my final course grade on Canvas on Friday. I used one of those online GPA calculators to calculate my GPA and it told me I had a 3.55 and thus, I rounded my GPA to a 3.6 on the resume I submitted on an application over the weekend. However, the grade was officially put in this morning and I checked my transcript and it said my gpa is 3.545. Is this okay to round to a 3.6 or do I need to reach out to HR of this bank and change it for the future. This is really frustrating because I took this summer course thinking that if I get an A (which

22 Jun 2020

I am a recent high school graduate from Germany. My ultimate goal to work in the US.I already lived there for 2 years and studied at a private school (GPA 3.7). Unfortunately I had to move back and finish my degree in Germany. Due to me missing 2 years of german school and my bad oral grades I was only able to get a 3.1 GPA. Now my question is, do I have a chance to get accepted into US target or semi-target school, if I got a good SAT score or am I better off applying for an undergrad at one of the european schools (Mannheim, RSM, FS, St. Gallen, Bocconi) and then later slowly transitioning

18 Nov 2020

Somebody told me that most coporate finance jobs don't look at your transcripts. They said that it is actually very rare for them to do that. Is this actually true?? How many of you have had your transcript asked for when you had to get your first job? What GPA do you need to get for corporate finance jobs??

26 Sep 2021

I am a junior @ a target and have accepted a summer analyst offer at a BB in the U.S. I did not include my GPA on my application or resume. To be frank, I have a bad GPA. You can shit on me, but I don't care (I've learned and have improved). I don't want to get into why I have bad grades. No one throughout the entire recruiting process asked about my GPA, and I did very well in my interviews. I know that I will have to do pre-employment processing and a background check before the summer. There was never any mention of "transcripts" by the firm. I am very concerned that they will ask for my

03 Dec 2020

So I had a first round interview for an IB role at BB bank and ended up getting a superday for next week. Here's the issue: my interviewer had asked me what my GPA was (i did not list it on resume) and for some reason, probably because I'm an idiot, i blurted out 3.45. In reality, my GPA was a 3.3. I understand how dumb this is, so please do not tell me how much of an idiot I am -I know already. How do I proceed if I'm asked in the superday about my GPA? It is not listed on my resume and it was not asked for on my application. What are the chances my first round interviewer forgot what I said

13 Oct 2020

I have heard mixed thoughts on this from senior people. Some seem to say they don't care about your GPA once you have interned at a firm/got the job...and it should not be included on your resume after you graduate...some say it should be included on your resume after you graduate? There is no requirement from the firm saying you need to list your GPA on your resume after you got the job. This probably isn't that big of a deal but once you graduate should you just take your GPA off your resume and just list your degree and honors / cum laude/honors/deans list/societies whatever applicable etc

03 Jun 2020

Hey guys, I'm currently going into 3rd year at a nontarget Canadian university studying Finance (my school is mostly known for our accounting program & consulting exit ops). I hadn't really known what I wanted to do till this summer but want to get into IB now. Background: - My GPA is not competitive : currently sits at 3.1ish due to me working during the school year and partying a little too much. - Work experience : I've worked in a customer relations roles this past school year (hotel front desk) and at a financial services firm (don't really know how to describe it - sell insurance

02 Sep 2018

I know sometimes it's alright to pass/fail some courses, but if I am a freshman, should I do this with Accounting and Statistics II? This is in the wake of covid19. I am at a school which is not really a semi-target, but can get into some certain banks.

25 Mar 2020

I just recently finished my freshman year with just above a 3.7 GPA at a target school and I want to double major in either Math and Economics OR Math and Philosophy (and maybe add a minor if I have time). I'm also involved in 4 organizations on campus, and I'm on a committee for 3 of them. 3 of the orgs are also business related. As I'm going into my sophomore year, I'm curious what exactly I need to do to make myself stand out to most banks and have a shot at the top ones. I'm currently doing a financial services internship so I'm getting experience but I'm also debating if I should take a

24 Jun 2019

I know it varies by banks, but what is a "good" or "impressive" Wharton undergrad GPA for elite boutiques/GS/MS or Bulge Bracket? Thanks!

10 Sep 2020

Fellow aspiring monkeys and experienced gorillas, I'm currently weighing the options on whether to pursue an MBA or a Master degree in order to break into Investment Banking (BB, EB, MM) and would like to hear your thoughts. I graduated in 2018 from a non-target on the east coast with a few finance internships (PE and IB) and a 3.6 GPA. Upon graduation I returned to my home country (developing country: not yet recognized as an emerging or frontier market) to work in a small (10 people) family owned government supplies business. I'm planning to give my GMATs soon in order to apply to the

12 Jan 2021

The single biggest screening tool used in Wall Street recruiting is the legendary GPA. Get yourself a 3.8 at a target school, a decent internship or two, and you're all but guaranteed the interview. But is the candidate who pulled A's in Marketing and Greek Mythology really going to be a better banker than the kid who got B's in these classes (but outperformed in Finance coursework) because he didn't give a sh*t? If you asked me, I'd prefer to read a 150 word description about the candidate rather than rely on their GPA (past a certain threshold) in making an assessment on who I want to

20 Mar 2012

Hi!!! I just had a question!! I was wondering so like my GPA was prob like a 3.7/3.8 when I recruited and got my SA position last year and now after senior year it has dropped like a lot like .4 to like 3.3-3.5 range and i'm wondering if it is okay to just keep my GPA when I got my SA gig on my resume instead of my new lower one when I upload and submit new resumes? I really want to keep it at that but would I get my offer rescinded if I do that or like is that okay? Bulge Bracket M&A IBD

13 May 2020

Hey Everybody, I have a quick question about how to bring up GPA improvement in a networking call. I transferred to my target school with a 3.7 GPA, but my first semester at the target was pretty dismal with a sub 3.0 due to some personal issues. Since that semester, I've maintained a 3.9 GPA. Should I bring this up only if they ask, or should I let the person know what happened. I think the added context may prevent me from getting rejected solely based on my GPA. Thanks in advance.

20 Aug 2020

Hi all, I transferred undergraduate universities and am unsure what GPA I should use on my resume. The transfer was mostly lateral and mainly due to financial reasons as the institutions are relatively equivalent in their national ranking. However my new university is ranked slightly higher. My GPA from my new institution is a 3.75, while my Overall GPA from both institutions is a 3.61. My new university denotes my "cumulative GPA" as my the 3.75, as it only takes into consideration the classes I have taken at my new university. My question is what GPA should I include on my resume, or should

31 Jan 2020

I just finished an internship at a BB and received a FT offer. During recruitment, I had my major GPA listed on my resume (which I calculated at ~3.4) however my cumulative is a 2.9 (got hurt on a religion course and an economics course). I didn't think I'd get the internship but I did, and they never asked for my transcript though I signed a contract giving them the right to confirm my education. Now I got the FT offer with a year left of school, and am sure as a bulge bracket they'll ask for my official transcript upon graduation. I'm nervous considering they'll see the 2.9. Also, if it

18 Aug 2018

Accepted an SA offer from a top BB for Tokyo office. Everything was dandy until background check, I was asked for an official transcript. I did not lie about my cumulative gpa. I dont know if the transcript for my school (US) is typical. They way my school does it is that it categorizes by semester in chronological order and list courses + gpa for that term. At the very end of the transcript it shows the cumulative gpa. My transcript is two pages. The first page lists my coursework and gpa for Fall 2007, Winter 2008 and the second page list my coursework and gpa for Fall 2008, Winter 2009, Fall 2009, and my current course work, and at the very end of the second page were two lines listing my cumulative gpa (which is exactly what I list on my resume). I had really crappy gpa my freshman year (3.03 and 2.97) and I have been getting 4.0s every since so my cumulative gpa is up to 3.65.

16 Mar 2010

Hi all, I am looking forward to get an MBA soon and I would like to get some "reality check" for my chances at top 20 MBAs with 5 years work experience, as my undergrad was a sad story. Nationality: 100% Thai Final undergrad GPA: 3.13, Engineering, 2-3 D+ and 2-3 C in quant subjects ( first year calculus I, II, so bad :( ), upward trend, last semester 4.00 (awarded academic excellence in senior year), 1st rank undergrad school in Thailand both in overall rank and engineering rank. Got some scholarships in high school and undergrad. Other certificate: Coursera Wharton's Business Fundation

19 Jun 2017

I've seen one or two discussions on this topic but I think each situation is a bit nuanced, so I'd appreciate any feedback. I am considering whether to continue with pursuing a second major, realizing that it will likely negatively impact my GPA. My options are a single major with one or two minors and a ~3.95 GPA or two majors with a ~3.85-3.90 GPA. I realize that this difference is pretty marginal, but I go to a total non-target, so my I would expect my GPA to play a fairly significant role in my possible business school applications. I am not set on moving to the buy-side or going to b

25 Apr 2018

Hi fellow monkeys, I know this type of question has been asked a few times, but I wanted to get a more modern perspective on GPA. Once your GPA is higher than a 3.5 (the cutoff), how important is it in terms of getting selected? I understand that if all things were equal, you would pick the one with the higher GPA, but generally how significant is GPA in terms of making a decision if you have one person with a 3.7 and the other with a 3.9? At that point, would it just be a decision of who you liked more, or who networked more? I always heard that GPA was more of a checkbox in that as long as

10 Oct 2015

Hey everyone! I am a current sophomore at a non-Ivy target B-school in the Midwest (think Michigan, IU, ND etc) and am curious about how my GPA will affect my recruiting in the Fall. I currently have a 3.47 GPA but will have a 3.5+ and am majoring in Finance. I have recently become interested in Private Debt/Credit Funds in Chicago (like Maranon, Madison Capital Funding, Deerpath etc) and want to know how my GPA will affect me, since it is not above 3.7. I have strong club and leadership experience so far at school, have even started a couple projects/initiatives, and have a good LMM IB

05 Feb 2019

Be straight with me guys, regarding SUMMER ANALYST POSITIONS IN NYC OFFICES: -Do background checks actually have access to and check GPA? Doesn't FERPA prevent any sort of request from seeing personal info i.e. GPA? Aren't these checks just to comfirm enrollment and graduation year? -BB people, does HR ask for unofficial or official transcript? Edit: state your BB or at least one that it is not Edit 2: I have the minimum GPA, I just inflated a bit

03 Apr 2018

I'm currently averaging an 83.3 at Queen's Commerce. If I apply to a bschool for my MBA in the US, what would my grades convert to on a GPA scale for any of the top schools like Harvard, Wharton, Columbia ect? All my grades are above 80 except for one and next to my transcript all of them say "A" and my one 77 grade says "B." I have heard that Canadian grades are curved up to American grades during the admissions process, is that true? What is a 4.0 GPA on a Canadian Grading Scale? Below are some tables I was able to find while searching the web. I hope you find these useful. **Alberta to U.S

11 Jan 2013

Before last year I had a 2.7 (parent died freshman year + lazy) . I took a year off due to financial reasons (worked the whole time to pay off school) and now I have a 3.1. I took the max # of classes and got a 4.13. I have been busting my ass although I was definitely a lazy POS when I had the 2.7. I go to a target school and I am in a science major. I am going to do the same thing this semester and will end with around a 3.35. Should I bother including my GPA on my resume right now? Is there any way to explain on resume (probably dumb question :) )

24 Jan 2021

Hey all, Looking for some advice on best next steps. I am currently in the process of interviewing for an off-cycle internship (during the Spring) that is semi-related to finance (they do modeling, and my role would be as a consultant). I have one concern though. My GPA is currently a 3.63, and by the end of this semester it will hopefully be edging into the 3.65+ range. If I were to take next semester off, I would obviously be stuck with that GPA (slightly below a 3.7) for Junior SA recruiting. So my questions boils down to this: would it be more worthwhile to not take the semester off and

27 Nov 2017

So I have a 3.3 GPA. If I do not include my GPA on my resume, would recruiters assume it was even worse or would they not be turned off by actually seeing it?

31 Jul 2018

Hi monkeys, I'm going to enroll in a M7 MBA program (CBS/Kellogg/Sloan/Booth) next August. My post-MBA goal is to join a BB bank as an investment banking associate and I think the best solution is through a summer associate internship. The problem, though, is that I had a very bad-looking undergrad GPA (roughly 2.7/4.0) although my ranking is fair (roughly 60% in my class). But frankly, the GPA number is EIGHT years ago. My question is, will my undergrad GPA from eight years ago affect my post-MBA Investment Banking recruitment? If so, how can I remedy that? I don't think I can have any MBA

27 Dec 2017

Hi guys, I go to a school that is ranked 45-40. I have had two real estate internships and I want to break into banking. I went from a 2.87 gpa for my first 2 years to 3.27 gpa that I round to a 3.3 on my resume. I am not qualified enough for an analyst position realistically, even though I am very knowledgeable about financial markets, corporate finance, and financial products. I'm trying to find a job that I could have at a bank for 1-1.5 years and work on my cfa to pivot to an analyst role in NY. Also, I have a strong personal connection with a pretty high up employee at a particular bank

25 Mar 2018

Alright everybody, I get it. I am an asshole. I am sorry. I am never doing this again. I lied about my GPA. BB is asking for a transcript. I have three options: 1: tell them I wrote my major GPA instead of my cumulative GPA by mistake (which is true) 2: fake transcript 3: send transcript in and hope they won't notice. 4: turn down the offer to save my reputation and stay on a good page with HR for the future. What do you think? i really feel guilty and I really want to work for them. Do you think it's a good idea if I just bluntly talk to HR about it, say it was a mistake. i am sorry...etc

24 Jan 2016

There is a lot of talk about GPA on this forum, but I would like to hear some discussion on the role GPA plays in recruitment at target schools (think W/H/S). I currently have a 3.65 going into recruiting next semester (my school has a policy against rounding GPA so I can't put 3.7 on my resume). I would imagine that my GPA meets the cutoffs for interviews for all the BBs, but what about elite boutiques? Some firms only take 15-20 interviews, is my GPA too low to even qualify for positions like these? What internships/jobs would my GPA prevent me from getting an interview for (if any). I know

02 Jan 2012

I see couple of questions on BB background check for FO jobs every day. There are several good threads, explaining the process and everything, but advices almost never come from someone who actually worked at the BB HR. Either people speak from their experience which is kinda random, or they just preach 10 commandments. I would like to know how exactly are GPA, ECs, test scores, references, criminal history, etc. are being checked. I understand that some of those are often random, but I would like to hear from somebody who actually works at a London/NY/etc. BB bank and knows the stuff. There

19 Mar 2013

How far along in your career is it appropriate to remove your GPA from your resume? Asking specifically about moving between PE firms after 2-3 years of experience (so ~5-6 years after undergrad), or perhaps when applying post-MBA? Thanks

08 May 2019

Hey so I have lurked around this forum for a little while, and I have a request for anyone that is willing to meet it. I was wondering if people wouldn't mind sharing their resume so people could compare and maybe ease a bit of the stress that occurs with the IB recruitment process (especially in this economy). There is a site called CollegeConfidential where prospective college applicants go to. There are many threads in which people post their high school GPA, extracurriculars, and more while showing what schools people got into and were rejected from. I know I, and many, found those threads extremely informative, helpful, and relieving in dealing with the college admissions headache.

19 Dec 2008

I usually write my GPA with two decimal points, but I was talking to a junior analyst at a top BB (think GS, MS, JPM) who told me its industry standard to round it to 1. As this next semester finishes, it looks like my GPA is going to be 3.846. Is this fine to round up to 3.9, or could I get dinged for it? I've seen online that you can round up to 0.09 depending on where your GPA falls, but doing anything more than 0.05 seems a little bit questionable to me. I know the difference between 3.846 and 3.9 isn't massive, but I'd like to put my best foot forward with recruiting.

09 Nov 2019

Long story short: 23yo; just finished a 3yr B.Sc. in Finance; private Norwegian university; lousy 2.35 GPA (EDIT: 3.04); lots of extra-curricular activities; ~ $60k in student loans; ~ $90k gross cash; no relevant job experience; been doing okay with stock investing/trading for the last three years. Now I am faced with the classical decision of choosing between 1) improving grades, do GMAT/TOEFL tests and pursuing graduate studies or 2) finding a relevant and fulfilling job that could lead the way to a desirable career path.

05 Jul 2013

Hi guys, Just wondering what are the chances of getting into Deloitte/Accenture technology consulting with a Canadian GPA of 3.54 for engineering master program. I know it's a bit low..but what is the reality? My undergrad cgpa was even lower so I don't even put it in my application. I have done internships (hardware engineering, not relevant), some IT experience, and was also involved in university student associations in a target school in Toronto. I have been facing rejections...I am not sure is it because of my GPA or I need more work on my cover letter /resume. I am targeting Toronto consulting firms. Thanks guys, I would really appreciate some help.

20 Nov 2012

Hey Guys, So I am new to the board but I have been reading WSO for the past three years. I know finance is cutthroat but how do you guys deal with those utter douches (either in work or school) who just want to screw people over and have a god complex. I have always been an advocate of modesty and helping others as I believe we need to help others to keep moving forward. I don't mean to sound that I am making a big deal out of this, but I am just curious how you guys deal with these assholes. Do you fight fire with fire? or just ignore it? Also is it that a more aggressive attitude will

02 Jun 2012

I just calculated my grades and I end up with a 3.0 (if I'm lucky, possible 2.9) for my freshman year. I'm absolutely stunned and never thought this could happen to me. My only worthwhile marks are Economics with an A and Accounting at a B+. Everything else is absolutely disastrous and it feels like everything I've wanted and hoped for is going to be overshadowed by the fact I didn't do so well in absolutely BS courses my school mandates first year (Marketing, OB, etc.).

19 Apr 2011

Hello All, Quick Background: I worked at Merrill Lynch PWM for 6 months during the summer after my freshman year, continued while in school in a different city. Immediately after (currently) interning as an analyst at a boutique private equity firm. I have been networking a ton but go to a non-target however with a 3.45 GPA. My question to you all is this: Should I do a prestigious summer abroad program, noting that if I receive an A in both courses my GPA will be a 3.502. Or should I take an offer for a boutique IB SA internship in restructuring (sophomore summer). Basically, which will set me up the best for MM and BB IB for Junior summer recruiting.

01 Feb 2012

Hey all, I only started frequenting this website a short while ago so forgive me if this has been asked to death already. Is the rep that MBB/other "top" consulting firms have for mostly/only hiring undergrad applicants with relatively high GPAs (3.75+) accurate? I am a rising junior at a semi-target with a 3.5 GPA; would this be good enough to be worthy of serious consideration (assuming equivalent work exp/leadership/EC's with other candidates), or should I consider other options?

22 Jul 2010