I am currently a Civil Engineer at Lafayette. I just completed my first semester of sophomore year. First semester of freshman year, I had a 3.75, second semester of freshman year I was at a 3.56. First semester of sophomore year was hard for me. I had a concussion and something traumatic happen to me at the end of freshman year that made it hard to come back for sophomore year, so I ended up with a 2.76 for this past semester. My cumulative is a 3.23, but I am worried about this past semester and how that will affect me, particularly if I want to get a job at a competitive company. Is a 3.23 high enough for good internships? Is this considered a good GPA for my major and school?
http://www.collegiategateway.com/college-grades-and-employers-what-matters-to-whom/ suggests that the most common cut-off GPA for employers hiring college students is 3.0.
Not sure why this thread is in the AP tests section rather than the engineering section of the internships / careers/ employment section of these forums.
Sorry, I am new to this thread. How can I move this discussion?
So from the sound of it, it seems like a 3.23 is fine
You still have 5 semesters at the minimum Your GPA been trending downward every semester. Don’t let your GPA go below a 3.0 Even people with 3.6-4.0 have a hard time finding engineering internships.
My son just graduated with a civil degree. At the end of his first year he had a 3.76 and got his first internship, albeit fairly low paying for an engineering job. (The position was in the suburbs of Chicago)
At the end of his second year he had a 3.02 (he had some struggles that year) and then began his co-op (located in Alabama).
He graduated with a 2.94 (in December) and will be starting his job in about 2 weeks located back in his home state of Indiana. He could have started immediately after graduation, but chose to take some time off for the holidays and to relocate.
So, I would say it depends on what you define as a ‘good internship’ - as someone who’s spent several decades in the professional world, I’d define a good job as one that pays adequately and that you enjoy. If you are only looking for large companies with name recognition that have lots of competition for positions, they can choose to be more selective.
(I do believe the fact that my son had nearly 2 years of professional experience in his field (a year with his co-op + 3 additional summer internships) also played a huge part in his ability to find a job. Once you have professional experience, your GPA becomes less and less important.)
A 3.23 is fine. I have a 3.4 as a sophomore and interviewed at 4 Fortune 500 companies. I just accepted an offer at one of those companies along with generous compensation. Once you meet the screening mins usually it’s your skills and personality that play the biggest role.