<p>thats weird considering even the lower class investment banks like abn amro and others have a cut off GPA of 3.0</p>
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thats weird considering even the lower class investment banks like abn amro and others have a cut off GPA of 3.0
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<p>I think we're talking about two different things here.</p>
<p>First off, there is the 'traditional' of 'official' recruiting track that you might undergo through your schools' career office or official career fair. This sort of track often times does require that you have a decent GPA.</p>
<p>But then there is the 'unofficial' track, which basically consists of networking and schmoozing your way to get your resume in front of the right person. This works especially well if you know somebody who is on the inside, like an alumni of your school who already works at that company. If that person knows you and likes you, that person can then give a 'warm' recommendation to the person doing the hiring. Under such circumstances, you can usually skirt any GPA requirements. This is how certain people with rather mediocre GPA's nonetheless get into the major banks.</p>
<p>As Alexsandre said, Whartonites are considered for IB jobs with a 3.3 GPA.
The Wharton curve is infamous and it is very difficult to get high grades. At Wharton undergrad, a 3.3 GPA student will graduate with Honors.</p>
<p>From Michigan, if you want a good chance with top IBanks, I'd say a 3.5 GPA is in order. I had a 3.45 GPA and I got offers from Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. </p>
<p>I am not sure if IBanks really recruit at Illinois. I could be mistaken of course, but I suspect that most IBanks do not actively recruit at UIUC. </p>
<p>Bern, I am not surprised that some Wharton students with 2.8 GPAs got jobs at IBanks. I have never met a Ross student who got a job with an IBank with such low grades, but I have heard of the occasional few at Ross who did. However, those students usually had a hook, like a billionaire parent with huge accounts at several large IBanks or parent at a very high position in an IBank. All things equal, if a student from Ross wants a good shot at getting a job at an IBank, I would say a 3.5 GPA is in order. From Wharton, I'd say a 3.3 GPA. That is not to say that a student below thoselevels has no chance. As we both know, some students break the mold, but we are talking about maximizing chances.</p>
<p>Btw sakky the vast majority of the people I know with low GPAs that got offers from ibanks did so through the general application process and not through networking and ass kissing (although there are some cases of this). </p>
<p>all I know is that if you come to wharton getting into banking tends to be relatively easy (even with a "below average" gpa). very very few people get rejected from every bank they apply to.</p>
<p>Bern, perhaps your experience with Whartonites with low GPA getting into iBanking is with recent graduates. I know those who graduated in those lean years 2001-2004 had a hard time landing the jobs they desired with GPA under 3.3.</p>
<p>well thats becuase the market was crap after 9/11. Those soon to be graduating are lucky right now becuase many companys such as bofa securities are stepping hiring up close to 20% for undergrad and even more for grad (for international though, not US)</p>
<p>Not to digress to far off the original topic but what would you guys recommend for my situation.</p>
<p>I can with probable certainty get into the Columbia GS program where I can study economics, or I could also wait a year or so, bring my community college grades up and possibly get into a Stanford or UC Berkeley business/finance/econ.</p>
<p>I don't think it needs to be mentioned but just incase, my goal is to land an analyst position with a bulge bracket firm.</p>
<p>There's not much of a difference between Columbia, Stanford and UC Berkeley. I would either go Stanford or Columbia though. There isn't much of a difference between finance and econ. Finance is just the application of econ and trains you for a career.</p>
<p>If you want to work at IB, I would advise not going the CC route. You wouldn't want that on your resume.</p>
<p>"If you want to work at IB, I would advise not going the CC route. You wouldn't want that on your resume."</p>
<p>If you don't earn a "degree" from the CC, you don't necessarily have to put it on your resume. You could, but you don't have to. And you don't need to earn a two-year degree to get into Stanford or Columbia GS--the degree is pretty much worthless (unless you are planning to go to a state school with some sort of special transfer agreement that requires the degree. But then again why would you do that?)</p>
<p>WF</p>
<p>You are right. However, if you only attended "prestige U" for two years ,you have to account for the two year gap that you left out in your resume.</p>
<p>"However, if you only attended "prestige U" for two years ,you have to account for the two year gap that you left out in your resume."</p>
<p>True. But, if one's degree says Columbia or Stanford and is accompanied by a very high GPA, I don't think there will be any dispute regarding one's ability. Being that the case, the applicant should be in good shape (assuming, of course, that one fits the mold [personality/look] for I-Banking.)</p>
<p>Furthermore, there are may ways to "tweak" resumes in order to enhance your positives and eliminate your negatives. For instance, you could just list the year you earned your Bachelor's.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, there should be a good reason why you are attending a community college; and you should address that if asked--which is likely. (Financial reasons, may be?)</p>
<p>How much do Bulge Bracket Firms recruit at Tufts vs. NYU or Michigan (econ major)?</p>
<p>Would it be harder to get an investment banking job with a degree from Tufts than say, Michigan or NYU?</p>
<p>I dont care about columbia much, but they send the largest amount of graduates from their masters program to hedge funds</p>
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If you don't earn a "degree" from the CC, you don't necessarily have to put it on your resume. You could, but you don't have to.
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<p>Heck, even if you do earn such a degree, you still don't have to put it on your resume. I know people who have sundry bachelor's and graduate degrees from their resume if they feel that it may make them 'overqualified' for a particular job. Heck, I know a woman who got a PhD in a nontechnical field, but then retrained herself on computer networking (designing and implementing computer networks) Her resume never mentions her doctorate because she feels (probably correctly) that it would raise questions about why she entered the computer field and so forth. She explains the gap on her resume by simply saying that she wanted to raise her child and be a housewife. It's not a lie - she really was raising her child and being a housewife during those years, while finishing her doctorate.</p>
<p>Would getting a econ. degrees from Columbia be better then getting a finance degree (undergrad) from NYU. I want to become an investment banker, so i was just wondering which school would help me get a job easier.</p>
<p>HSDropOut: NYU</p>
<p>Also, did you really drop out of High School?</p>
<p>no, i didn't drop out of high school, i just thought that it was a kool screen name</p>
<p>you must be kidding me.</p>