<p>Hi all</p>
<p>Just finished my sophomore year and so far my grades have been a bit disappointing. Having completed all the core classes in the Econ Major (55,105,110,139) my GPA is around a 2.7. Aside from the Econ and Math classes (C+ in 103) I took, my overall GPA is much higher, but averages out to slightly under a 3. I feel very disillusioned because nearly all of my friends have great GPA's. I don't think it's a problem with understanding the material either, I just can never kill any test and am either average or slightly below. I never did horribly in any class (C in 110 is lowest), just I have yet to receive a solid A at Duke. :-(</p>
<p>I believe that with grades like this I'll have trouble getting employed (one of my goals was to work for a company like JP Morgan) and I was not able to get an internship this summer, granted I was just a soph at the time I applied. </p>
<p>If you were in my position what would you do, or if you have some positive stories I'd like to hear those too. I'm just down on life and econ now. Before someone says something, I do really enjoy the material. I just enjoy the material at a lowly B- / C+ avg :-(</p>
<p>Thx</p>
<p>edit: i also have not talked to my economics adviser about any of this as i have not yet met them</p>
<p>i wouldnt get too disillusioned. core econ here has notorious curves. im bio/chem and we have similar curves. upper division courses are usually smaller and not graded on a curve so its a lot easier to get Bs and As. study hard next year and talk to your advisor to get more info.</p>
<p>I know the core econ has a rough curve, and I thought I could deal with that -- but either way it appears that I will be in the bottom half of my major (thus far) and that just doesn't seem very conducive to getting internships and the like. </p>
<p>It's hard to be content with just being average or lately, slightly below, granted that it is at Duke... but still :-(</p>
<p>chip88 - my D just finished sophomore year also. She managed to pull her total GPA above a 3.0 with her 4th semester. She now realizes that classes requiring papers, lots of writing, research, etc. are her "A" classes. Classes requiring memorization or with one final being the only grade are the ones where she receives lower grades.</p>
<p>Look to your strengths - what classes did you do well in and try to find classes in your major that match your learning style more closely.</p>
<p>As a side note - my H went to a very prestigious university - had pretty lousy grades (below a 3.0) and was still hired by a top firm in his chosen field. Out of all the individuals he started with he was promoted the most and stayed with the firm the longest!</p>
<p>Grades are just another method for firms to make the cut for internships or job interviews. Many top firms have found that the students with 4.0s may have done well at university, but they can't communicate with clients. In fact some firms may even have "finishing schools" where they teach new hires manners and how to dress. Many high GPA hires end up doing back room type jobs as they just don't interact with clients well.</p>
<p>Look at your ECs and find something that makes you different from all those other students aiming for JP Morgan. Do you play sports; do you golf, etc. At his university my H was well known for organizing big social events within the Greek community - he thinks that helped him make the cut as his grades were low.</p>
<p>If you don't play golf you might consider taking lessons. And stay on top of sports - sports always make good conversational openings. Sailing is also big in the New York area and being a crew member on a racing yacht or helping out with the race committee always looks good on your resume.</p>
<p>I would also consider the DukeEngage program which offers quite a few different locations - I remember seeing something about Turkey. Think about it this way - say you do DukeEngage in Turkey - something like that on your resume makes you memorable. How many applicants for JP Morgan will have gone with a volunteer group to Turkey?</p>
<p>I agree, I just don't like planning a schedule based on if I'm going to get an 'A' or not, but I realize now that it seems to be pretty important. </p>
<p>I guess persistence is going to be important too because I feel like a lot of firms I look at will want top grades, but hopefully everything works out</p>
<p>"If you don't play golf you might consider taking lessons" -- whaa?</p>
<p>WestCoastMommy I thought you were a serious poster until I read your last 2 paragraphs. Then I just laughed for a really long time. </p>
<p>JP Morgan interviewer: So Johnny, despite your subpar GPA, what do you have to offer our debt capital markets desk?
Johnny: WELL, I take GOLF LESSONS! And I like to play in BOATS!!
JP Morgan interviewer: Ah yes, NOW I remember why we screen for GPAs before granting interviews....</p>
<p>Biomed6 - I took that advice with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, screening for GPA's is a legitimate concern for me. While I feel like I've hit rock bottom (all my core classes and other requirements are completed) my GPA has taken a serious hit. However, as it stands now I got 0 call backs for summer internships (I can only assume it was GPA related?). </p>
<p>I truly believe if I had the opportunity to interview, I would be able to address the issue (and hopefully my next two years I put together a nice case for myself, ie strong GPA) and they could look over it, for some of my other merits (not golf ;)).</p>
<p>biomed6 - yes, I thought someone might have that reaction to playing golf or boating - it does seem laughable when you have not seen it happen yourself! Just wait until you are in the workplace and see the top execs inviting one of your peers who plays golf to fill out a fourth with a client. </p>
<p>BTW - I don't golf, am uninterested in sports and haven't set foot in a racing yacht since my college days which did give me some interesting material for conversations with corporate interviewers.</p>
<p>And, my H had what could be considered a subpar GPA (between 2.0 and 2.5), but got hired by the top firm in his field. He played golf and was/is a huge sports fan. His first year of employment out of college he was invited by partners to play golf when they needed a fourth. So, he got more face time with partners and clients. And when they had an extra ticket to sporting events they thought of him. Got invited to their parties, too, when other first and second year hires were not.</p>
<p>Welcome to the Real World.</p>
<p>People, people - GPA is not everything. It may get you in the door, but it won't help you keep your job. You have to have something to offer an employer besides GPA. There are literally thousands of students and graduates out there with great GPAs from prestigious universities. You have to think about what will make the recruiter/interviewer remember you and want to hire YOU. When you move on to your second job whether with your first employer or a new company your GPA will be irrelevant.</p>
<p>Take a look at the post by Faline2 at the very bottom of this thread. Note what she says about her son's boss:</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/duke-university/505239-academic-warning.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/duke-university/505239-academic-warning.html</a></p>
<p>I am helping to move our son to a huge city far away tomorrow, so he can work in a real world job, which he landed after 12 disappointing rejection letters. Duke students bring so much pride to their parents, but we have to help them accept imperfection to get them ready for the turbulence ahead in life as adults. Duke students have big dreams and goals which is part of the high spirits at Duke, but they can also measure themselves sometimes very harshly. By the way, my son's boss attended a third tier college, and from what I know, didn't take school very seriously and fumbled some classes. He is successful in a financial business he built himself because he has a wonderful social IQ.</p>
<p>By no means, shooting for a perfect GPA should not be what college is about (unless you're aiming for WashU medschool...then you just gotta buck up). And, I am in total agreement that there are some fields wherein great social skills can take you further than pure intellectual capacity. </p>
<p>But, for 99% of all college students, telling them to simply just take up a sport is inappropriate. The fact of the matter is, less than 1% of all graduating high school males (even less females) have developed any golf game, much less gotten good. Moreover, most of my senior friends who landed jobs at elite firms are hardly athletic...just very, very, smart (+ reasonable social skills of course), and it's so absurd to say they might not be successful because they won't get enough facetime with a high rollin golfing boss. They're just so far above that nonsense it's not even funny. In the real world, if you find yourself and your dreams being held back by something so trivial, you...probably need to reconsider this so-called dream career and what it really means to you. I'm sure there are cases when new hires have convenient (albeit coincidental) skill/interest similarities as their boss, and that's great, but almost by definition your hobbies need to be something you PERSONALLY enjoy doing regardless of what anyone may think about it.</p>
<p>I play golf, I'm off to ship my clubs home right now.</p>
<p>Why do you think beginner golf has a waitlist within minutes of the beginning of senior registration every semester?</p>