<p>which one is more appealing to big corps. i know goldman sachs love u mich grads while jp morgan, morgan stanley, citigroup prefer wharton(goldman sachs too, of course).</p>
<p>3.7 and 3.3 is a pretty big difference.</p>
<p>3.7 at Ross. The cutoff for many companies, especially MCs and IBs is 3.5. But as long as you have a 3.5+ GPA at either school, it is not your grades or the school that will get you the job (both are extremely respected) but rather, your interviewing skills and your initiave.</p>
<p>The GPA cut-off for IBs and MCs is plain BS. Look at the average GPA for Wharton, around 3.1-3.2, and I assure you that they do not cut off that many Wharton graduates. </p>
<p>What is the average and curve like at U Mich, that is what is interesting in comparing the two. And it is true - the interview is what gets you the job.</p>
<p>The range of GPAs in the B School hovers between 3.0 and 4.0 because to even get into the B-School, you have to maintain a high GPA at Michigan for 2 years.</p>
<p>Well now that the B school is a three year program, you just have to work hard freshman year to get into undergrad Ross, which now starts sophomore year.</p>
<p>Alexandre, do you know anything about the grading curve at Ross?</p>
<p>I am not sure how the Ross school grades. I am pretty sure it is more lenient than the rest of the university. Afterall, as it stands, the average student who gets into Ross is among the top 25% of Michigan's student body. We are talking about some seriously talented students. I cannot imagine them setting the mean at C+/B-</p>
<p>Which, incidentally, is not too far from where the curve usually is att Wharton.</p>
<p>Hence comparing GPAs between schools becomes very very hard:</p>
<p>Ross - three year program and more lenient curve
Wharton - four year program and quite harsh curve</p>
<p>Several factors would influence the GPA, and as always ace the interview and you've got the job.</p>
<p>Granted I'm not an IB/MC recruiter nor a Wharton student but from the recruiters from these idustries that I've seen present or have spoken with, the 3.5 cutoff holds.</p>
<p>Sure, Wharton students will be extended SOME leniency but i-banks and mgmt consulting firms have such stellar applicant pools that they can set such a cutoff. After all, why should they pick some 3.3 Wharton student when there's a hundred other ivy league grads with a 3.5+? </p>
<p>The Ross student, to answer the question.</p>
<p>Wharton's name alone seems to impress recruiters. I know of over 30 FRESHMAN Whartonites getting internships at top financial firms. I don't know if this is the norm for any other school, but it pretty damn impressed me.</p>
<p>Obviously, Wharton has an amazing reputation and when it comes to Finance, it is without equal at the undergraduate level. However, Schools like Haas, Ross, Sloan and Stern aren't far behind and get their students some pretty impressive internships and full time placement.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that if you want to work somewhere like Morgan Stanely or Goldman Sachs, a 3.7 from UMich might not even be good enough (and a 3.3 obviously wouldn't be good enough either)</p>
<p>I beg to differ. 3.7 is an excellent GPA from Ross and will get you into the door. If you can make the GPA cutoff and the initial screen its an equal playing field where your connections, experience, interviewer's mood, charisma, and every other little detail will come into play.</p>
<p>Yes a 3.7 from Ross is a good GPA, but if you want to work at GS or MS, you have to be really top notch. Getting past the initial screen is important, but GPA will always play a role--even in the final round. If they have two candidates that they both like, and one has a 3.7 and the other has a 3.9, there's a good chance they will choose the 3.9.</p>
<p>I would disagree yet again! The external factors: previous experience, match with the firm, interviewer's mood, answers to questions at interview is more important of a distinction than a mere 0.2 points. This is business not medical school.</p>
<p>I do agree with you in that all of those are significant factors, but I'm just trying to make that point that it'd be difficult to find a UMich alum with a 3.7 at somewhere like GS/MS/Blackstone etc. unless they had crazy connections or EC's.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that Morgan Stanely only takes one summer from UMich...</p>
<p>Botangers, I graduated from Michigan with a 3.5 GPA and had offers from Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers...and I was an Econ major, not affiliated to the B School. </p>
<p>Ross sends roughly 20% of its Finance majors to JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and another 20% to other major Investment Banks, like UBS, CS First Boston, Lehman Brothers, Merril Lynch, etc...</p>
<p>Last year, 150 students graduated with degrees in Finance. Of those, over 120 landed jobs on Wall Street. 20 with JP Morgan, 5 with Goldman Sachs and 5 with Morgran Stanley. Another 5 each to CS First Boston, UBS, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. </p>
<p>And you claim that just 1 Ross student got a summer internship at Morgan Stanley? I would say it is closer to 10. On average, 10 students intern at Goldman Sachs, another 10 or so at Morgan Stanley.</p>
<p>I would not be so quick to dismiss Ross. It is second only to Wharton, and up there with Sloan and Stern, in placing undergraduate students into major Investment Banks. And I would say almost as many from the College of Engineering and LSA end up working at major Investment banks. In short, Michigan/Ross are major hunting grounds for top Investment Banks.</p>
<p>Whoa, what's all this talk about a 3.5 GPA "cutoff"? Damn, I'm going to Chicago next year, and now I'm worried--first I hear that i-banks know that Chicago is tougher (and that a 3.3 there will do the trick), though now you guys are saying at least a 3.5 is needed...</p>
<p>Do not panic, there is no official "cutoff" point. My GPA was actually slightly below 3.5. But it is an unspoken rule that most top IBs and MCs tend to expect GPAs in the 3.5+ range. Obviously, the higher the better.</p>
<p>Alexandre, what would you say about good old Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's placement at IB's? Hahaha :(.</p>