What engineering GPA at a public European university (1-10 scale) is needed at MBB?

Hi there,

Q: How do MBB assess grades at institutions like this in Europe, and what kind of GPA do they require?

There is no unique GPA threshold, as the way they will assess your grades depends on:

• MBB firm you apply to
• Country
• University brand
• Presence or not of referral (very important)
• Other elements in your CV

Having said that, if you have 3.7/4.0 GPA equivalent or higher, in general it is considered a good one.

The best way to compensate for a low GPA is via referrals. You can find more on that below:

▶ How to Get a Consulting Interview Invitation

▶ The Exact Steps to Get a Referral

Best,

Francesco

Hi there,

This is an oversimplified way of looking at it!

MBB (and all companies) care about dozens of factors (university, GPA, GMAT/GRE, years of experience, type of experience, strength of resume, strength of cover letter, general networking, referrals, etc.)

Get as good of a GPA as you can…then, be as good in the other areas as you can as well!

GPA absolute score is important, but your relative performance (e.g., percentile) is even more important.

That said, there is much more than a rough GPA. MBB assesses other aspects such as extracurricular activities.

The percentile of your GPA within your major would certainly be more representative than comparing absolute GPAs of an engineering major vs a business major for example. So it's hard to give representative feedback on absolute GPA thresholds. 

Being within the top 10% of your class would give you good chances if your resume also checks other important buckets such as relevant internships, international experience, extracurriculars, etc.

Hi there,

Typically, the higher the GPA the better although it's only one of many other factors (background, school, degree,  extracurricular activities etc.,). On average, I would say that GPAs of 3.7+ are good though.

Mario 

The specific grade depends on country and school. Although that requires the recruiting team having some understanding of the school you are applying from. If it is a target school, that is likely to be the case. 

In general, they tend to chose grades that would put you in the top 10%, but this is not the only criteria (i.e. they may go a bit lower for the initial CV review).