<p>I have a so so grad school GPA, 3.2.
I was told to put the GPA on the resume only if its 3.5 and above. </p>
<p>I was also told that if I don't put it on, recruiters assume that it is below 3.0. </p>
<p>What would you do in such situations? </p>
<p>I'm applying for summer programs in trading and risk mostly.</p>
<p>Grad school is definitely harder then undergrad… I would be satisfied with the 3.2 GPA. I don’t believe you should be ashamed of a 3.2 grad school GPA… imo</p>
<p>Hey photonxyz,</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. </p>
<p>Any more opinions? </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Not putting it on lets employers immediately think sub 3.0. I would put it on as any serious employer will find out what your gpa is before you get hired anyway.</p>
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<p>This is generally not true. While the coursework itself may be more challenging, graduate level courses are graded on a different scale. A “C” in a graduate course is considered failing and average gpas are generally much higher than undergrad coursework. </p>
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<p>Most grad programs will not let you continue or graduate if you have a sub 3.0.
I think the assumption is that if you are still enrolled in the program, you have above a 3.0.</p>
<p>Who was it that advised you not to put the gpa on if it was sub 3.5?
For someone in a grad program, that might not be bad advice.
If this were undergrad, obviously include the gpa.</p>
<p>Hello angryelf,</p>
<p>This is not completely accurate. C is not a failing grade.
The program requires that the student get C- or above. Otherwise, the student doesn’t get credits for the course (but its not an F)
The average is similar to undergrads (B or B+, haven’t seen a B- average yet).
And, the program (which is a top engineering program) requires a minimum GPA of 2.5…</p>
<p>The person who suggested 3.5 was the director, but I don’t know… last year we had people with 3.3-3.5, they put their GPAs on the resumes and had excellent internships (don’t know if there was a direct correlation).</p>
<p>Plus, I doubt that the recruiting manager knows all of these points to say that a grad GPA of below 3.5 is no good…</p>
<p>Your best bet in my mind is to ask alumni in trading firms for advice as to what you should do. They will have a better idea.</p>
<p>If the hiring manager is doing his job correctly, he will ask to see your transcript. So, he will know what your GPA is anyways. I was only concerned if it was below 3.0.</p>
<p>A C is considered failing in many programs. I’ve been in three graduate programs in my time. The first had a policy that no credit was awarded for a C (you had to retake the class), the second had a policy that 1 C was probation and a second C (or 1 D) was dismissal, the third had a policy that 1 C was dismissal. Also, in all three programs a 3.0 was the minimum GPA to graduate, so there really wasn’t a threat of a sub-3.0 graduate.</p>
<p>As a hiring manager, if I see a GPA below 3.5, I view it as below average, so I would leave it off the resume. No one is going to assume it’s incredibly low because graduate schools do not allow students to graduate with incredibly low GPAs.</p>
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<p>Not initially. The hiring manager will make a decision to interview or not interview based on your resume. Once you get into the interview room, you advance based on your interview quality. They’ll ask for a transcript at some point, but unless there are major issues on it, the transcript won’t have much sway.</p>
<p>CFB53B,
My program allows a min GPA of 2.5… It’s a very hard engineering program and the school is known for deflating grades… so I guess that’s why.
Having said this, I don’t think the recruiting managers really know or think that below 3.0 for grad schools is not possible.
I need to consult an HR person</p>
<p>I think that, and I’m a hiring manager.</p>
<p>@KobiCA1</p>
<p>Your program is unusual. Most people - including hiring managers - are going to expect C to be failing, unless they know better. You can tell them it’s not, and prove to them it’s not, but first impressions count big in lots of things, and are king when it comes to getting a resume through HR.</p>
<p>I absolutely agree with CFB53B: anything below a 3.5 GPA sounds like it’s below average, assuming that grades are A’s and B’s. Employers understand that you’re taking courses you’re more interested in, and that grading tends to be more relaxed in graduate school (despite the more advanced material), so expecting higher GPAs is not uncommon.</p>
<p>What school are you from? If it’s as prestigious as you say it is, employers will probably be impressed you got in and graduated. They’ll eventually find out what your GPA is, but who cares; first impressions are what count. Try to find a way to format your resume so that it’s not obvious you’re omitting the GPA information. Focus on research and experience.</p>
<p>Follow aegrisomnia’s advice. As a hiring manager myself, when I see a 3.2 GPA from grad school, I usually move on to next resume. If there is no GPA information, however, I look for what the applicant has done in classes, labs, special projects, or internship. Describe in details (no one page resume for me.) Remember your resume will get you an interview, and the interview will get you a job.</p>
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<p>Ummm…it depends on how one selects their coursework. Yours truly POSSIBLY constructed the most non-challenging M.S. in Engineering program ever…since my main objective for my M.S. degree was for resume decoration. This was the line-up:</p>
<p>Linear Algebra (500-level…taken with undergrads but I got grad credit. I was a friggin math major)
Applied Statistics (see Linear Algebra)
Data Warehousing & Data Mining (I was already a data architect/DBA in data warehousing)
Technical Writing
Project Management 1
Project Management 2
Quality Management
Optimization (grad version…I had Optimization as a math major)
Systems Engineering Management (if you have done SoftE…SysE is not much different)
Design of Experiments</p>
<p>No thesis, no comp exams, no project…30 credits and done.</p>
<p>Global, how were you able to come up with your own MS schedule and what school did you take this at? I’ve been looking at following the same route you have with getting a Masters degree but I don’t think I would qualify for Masters in CS.</p>
<p>Casper…</p>
<p>[Master</a> of Science in Engineering | UW-Platteville Distance Education](<a href=“http://www.uwplatt.edu/disted/engineering.html]Master”>Services for Distance Students | Karrmann Library | UW-Platteville)</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>mepp.engr.wisc.edu</p>
<p>Note: These are not graduate programs for research or to be used to compete for jobs where employers are curious about your research. These programs are for more for working engineers who need that “M.S. or M.Eng” on their resume.</p>
<p>It helped me in a place like Washington DC where in government contracting, having a M.S./M.Eng is more about “having it and checking off the box” than what your research thesis was about.</p>