<p>It is fine to use 2.5 as a first cut for screening. Just saying that in my experience it is not the best predictor of success - at least not in my field.</p>
<p>Curious - for those using it - is the GPA only used for brand new graduates?</p>
<p>In my field, GPA was only used for new grads. For those with prior experience, we also looked at that experience, and letters of reference. Very often, we had folks with extensive experience apply (often due to family relocation of a spouse). If someone had 5-10 years of relevant and recent experience with excellent LOR, they would likely get an interview. Transcripts were required of all applicants.</p>
<p>As a note…<em>I</em> did a long term leave substitute last year. I had 38 years of experience in the field and my letters of reference were great. I had to submit my (very old) college transcripts…and for the life of me, I could not figure out why. I also had to submit my state certification, state license, and my ASHA certification…which all required a masters degree. At least they didn’t ask for my SAT scores:). I should add…I was the only applicant for the job!</p>
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<p>From the ones I’ve seen, yes. Once someone has a few years of relevant work experience, the GPA becomes less important.</p>
<p>This is all interesting and insightful. I’ve read every post up to this point and am thankful for all the comments.</p>
<p>I feel a lot better about where we are and still feel determined to help motivate my S to be organized and to study harder and boost his GPA.</p>
<p>He is in a talent-based major and will be pursuing illustration after graduation. His GPA won’t be as important as his skill and his portfolio. </p>
<p>That said, he is so talented at what he does that there is little excuse for not getting better grades. All his grades are good but not all his assignments are graded because he forgot to do them </p>
<p>So, I’m looking at the end of his first year as a success and a building block upon which he can build up from.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your son, Madaboutx. It sounds like your son will benefit from improved organization / assignment tracking . If he’s eager for improvement, things may go better next year. Many freshman do indeed have a bumpy road when the “wing it” methods from hs are not enough.</p>
<p>My D’s GPA after fall first-year was in OP’s son’s range and will be slightly raised this term by a bit (grades not in yet). Normally I would have been VERY concerned b/c she has always been a top student, but the differences in grades from school to school varies so much and since being at her chosen school, I’ve been schooled on the notion of grade deflation. </p>
<p>D says she knows many seniors who have never received an “A”.</p>
<p>The article from post 29 was interesting and useful for me - seeing it on paper: “Wellesley had a GPA of 3.55 in 2000, the highest GPA I can find anywhere from that year; in 2004, it implemented a new policy on grades. Wellesley’s GPA for 2007-2008 was 3.31. When people say that grade inflation is a problem too difficult to solve, I have to disagree. It can be done. It has been done.”</p>
<p>They were the only private school on the chart (for that time period and I think it has not changed for W). Kind of hoping employers are aware of this for the schools that have this policy.</p>
<p>Very timely discussion; would LOVE for some huge magazine/website/news source to do a survey in different industries to actually see some hard data on this topic…</p>
<p>My D who is a sophomore has a smidgen below 3.0 and is convinced she will never get a job (yet she already has significant intern and leadership experience and tremendous soft skills)…just can’t handle finals…</p>
<p>I guess we’ll see what happens…she has already made huge adjustments to her study skills etc with little results…</p>
<p>Nobody has asked for her GPA…yet…but I fear that will change</p>
<p>To everyone worried about a low GPA freshman year- don’t fret!
I was in the same boat as you guys (ended with a pretty low GPA my first semester), but I ended up graduating with a 3.7 with a 3.8 in my major. I was completely bummed when I came home for Christmas break after my first semester in college. I busted my butt all 7 semester to made sure that my semester GPA was at least a 3.9+. It will take some sacrifice- you might lose some friends/gf/bf, might not have a social life on some weekends, and takes some extra commitment- but it pays off. I got into a graduate programs (M.S. and other school) and got 2 consistent summer offers at top companies.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who posted. It is interesting for me to learn about hiring policies of other fields.</p>
<p>DH and I are in software, both have hired for various companies we worked for. In our experience, GPAs are only used for new college grads and the cut off is usually around 3.0. Although one time I was interviewing with a very well know company, the recruiter asked my GPA/SAT score, I just couldn’t remember. I told him I have to look it up since it was so long ago and no one has ever asked after my first job out of college.</p>
<p>S1 is in consulting. In his field, it seems very difficult to get a job unless you are in a top college with a top grade. The software field seems to care less about the college/GPA than consulting in general.</p>