1ee304

I just finished my first year at Indiana Universitiy Bloomington... the Kelley School Business... i have a CUM GPA of 3.87... and I am Strongly interested in Investment Banking... can anyone tell me what i should be doing/reading/etc/...

phantom1234

I am a freshman from a sorta target school with a 3.6 year end gpa. I was lucky enough to run into an MD from a BB firm on campus and I started talking to him. I must have impressed him because after I got his business card I emailed him and I now am getting a good amount of attention and special consideration. I am becoming as aggressive as possible now so I have options later. I am light years ahead of even most college juniors at my school (top tier, top business program). One of my contacts in the firm already let it slip that I have an interview with them next fall and that someone was going to help me prepare for it.

I have talked to a lot of recruiters recently and I asked them the age old question about GPA's and here is what they said...

Gpa is important for any firm so keep it as high as possible. But even if you have a 4.0, you may not even get an interview. This is due to the fact that some people (based on their resumes) just don't seem like a fit for banking or maybe even just the firm. On the other hand, some with lower gpa's may have a greater chance of getting interviews with more banks. There are key indicators that HR looks for in addition to gpa. The interview confirms these indicators.

1ee304

phantom1234... lets be friends and help each other out.

mcon51093

Do these grade requirements only apply to Walll Street, or are they this high for other markets, like LA, Chicago, San Frncisco, HOuston, Miami, etc. Do these requiremnts vary by what type of IBanking your doing, for example, wouldn't they be higher for m&a than sales and trading?

YOU

what gpa do you need to get into a small boutique from a top 5 LAC?, is 3.5 enough?

IPBear

1ee304 - Your chance at Wall Street is good; your chance at GS or MS is slim to none. If you want to do investment banking on Wall Street, keep your gpa as high as possible.

mcon51093 - In general, NYC, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, and SF requires highest GPA. Chicago, LA, Toronto, etc. accepts something a little lower. I don't know about Houston, Miami, etc.

YOU - 3.5 is fine for a small boutique. However, it's not high enough for elite boutiques.

THEAjay89

Can someone tell me if I even have a chance as a sophomore in this market for a summer internship (between soph and junior years)? I go to CMC but transferred from W&M where my GPA was a 3.9. Very little work experience but solid ECs. Should I even bother or should I go for some of the lower tier firms in order to try to get some experience before applying next year? Career services really hasn't provided me with any specific answers.

BigMike3541

I know some one from one of the claremont colleges that worked in GS IBD. regional office but still got the internship.

so I would think its worth a shot for sure

THEAjay89

nice! Yeah, a lot of juniors here at CMC go to great places but as a soph I'm not really sure if i can get anything.

newlife237

I have a question for which I hope someone/anyone can provide me with honest/blunt feedback as to what I should do:

I am 27 years old and was wondering if it is possible to get into investment banking if you have a solid background in retail banking (in my case over 7 years)? I am Series 6/63 and Life/Health/Variable insurance licensed as I had to obtain these license per job requirements, and I have vast knowledge and experience with wealth management, mutual funds, investments, retirement planning, mortgages, loans, credit analyses, in addition to being familiar with many of the federal banking rules, regulations, acts, etc. I have always wanted to transition into investment/corporate banking but my lack of a college degree has hindered me from doing so. I am currently in my last year as a finance student at a top ranked university in NJ but I am honestly very intimidated by the seemingly strict requirements to obtain an analyst position. My gpa is not good and I am working on bringing up by the time I graduate in May 2010, but I would really like anyone's insight on my chances of getting into an analyst position at any of the major investment banks in the ny tri-state area (Barclays, GE Finance, Goldman, Credit Suisse, Bloomberg, Citigroup, etc.)? I almost forgot to mention that I have a friend that works at credit suisse, one at bloomberg, and one is a bank examiner for the federal gov't with similar backgrounds as mine but they had their college degrees prior to me so they were able to get into these jobs, they've all offered to help but I just get scared when i hear that Ivy League students with almost 4.0 gpa's don't get in and it makes me wonder if my work experience and how I "sell" myself during the interview is what will really make a difference.

I appreciate anyone's advice, thanks

newlife237

I have a question for which I hope someone/anyone can provide me with honest/blunt feedback as to what I should do:

I am 27 years old and was wondering if it is possible to get into investment banking if you have a solid background in retail banking (in my case over 7 years)? I am Series 6/63 and Life/Health/Variable insurance licensed as I had to obtain these license per job requirements, and I have vast knowledge of mutual funds, investments, retirement planning, mortgages, loans, credit analyses, in addition to being familiar with many of the federal banking rules, regulations, acts, etc. I have always wanted to transition into investment/corporate banking but my lack of a college degree has hindered me from doing so. I am currently in my last year as a finance student at top ranked university in NJ but I am honestly very intimidated by the seemingly strict requirements to obtain an analyst position. My gpa is not good and I am working on bringing up by the time I graduate in May 2010, but I would really like anyone's insight on my chances of getting into an analyst position at any if the major investment banks in the ny tri-state area (Barclays, GE Finance, Goldman, Credit Suisse, Bloomberg, Citigroup, etc.)? I almost forgot to mention that I have a friend that works at credit suisse, one at bloomberg, and one is a bank examiner for the federal gov't with similar backgrounds as mine but they had their college degrees prior to me so they were able to get into these jobs, they've all offered to help but I just get scared when i hear that Ivy League students with almost 4.0 gpa's don't get in and it makes me wonder if my work experience and how I "sell" myself during the interview is what will really make a difference.

I appreciate anyone's advice, thanks

BigMike3541

It'll be pretty tough. I'd leverage whatever network you have, get your GPA up as high as possible. It might be easier to get some experience at a boutique or some place and then go get an MBA (at a top school) as a means to get into banking.