<p>I'm currently a freshman, going to be a rising sophomore. My GPA after first semester was... #$%#$. It's barely a 3.0 (with 17 hours) and I worked my butt off to get it (I took MANY upper level classes jumping in as a freshman and I was studying 24/7). By the end of this semester, I'll have around a 3.25-3.30 GPA. The GPA has made me depressed and kind of disappointed in myself. I want to get an internship Summer of 2011, so I was wondering from others who applied for CO-OPs/Internships, How important is GPA? Will my GPA hurt me alot? Will recruiters even consider the fact that I took upper level classes my first semester unlike my peers who took intro classes that boosted their GPA at a early stage? What GPA did you have and where did you get internships at? PS I'm a Chemical Engineering major at the University of Texas at Austin so I don't know if this makes a difference at all (since its a top 7 Engineering School/Program).</p>
<p>I'm aiming to get an internship at pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer, Procter and Gamble, and Pfizer.</p>
<p>That’s a pretty good GPA, don’t beat yourself up. 3.2/3.3 area has got to be a fair bit above average. If you want to try and aim high, just keep trying harder, but you are doing well as it is.</p>
<p>Around here (Michigan) I see a number of internships for sophomores. Especially if you came in and went straight into ChemE classes and such, I imagine you should definitely be well set for an internship between your sophomore and junior year.</p>
<p>employers don’t like to hear excuses like “my peers took intro level classes” or “i took 17 credits”…they want individuals that take responsibility for their actions, like “I wanted x GPA and I didn’t succeed at first, now I am doing x,y,z to change that and I know I will because I’m determined”</p>
<p>I had interviewed with P&G, if you like them a 3.3 would be great for summer 2011, you’ll get the interview with that GPA, but there’s more to it, if you want the job u need to tell them why P&G is right for you, also you need to ‘sell yourself’…to get good at this, apply to as many positions as you can early on so you can get interviewing experience; it’ll make a difference</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>I’m not making excuses- I’m stating facts. If you compare my transcript/coursework with other students , You’ll see mines is in fact extremely rigorous.</p>
<p>Agree with cyclone10.</p>
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<p>That’s fine, but I wouldn’t go in their with that attitude. Many employers request transcripts, so they will see this for themselves without it sounding like you’re making excuses. A 3.3 at UT should be more than enough to land an internship if you’re a domestic student and interview well…</p>
<p>Let’s look at the brighter side: since you took more challenging classes early on, the less challenging classes will boost your GPA, provided you apply the same level of dedication (or more) you have applied so far.</p>
<p>Now let’s look at the current issue. Many reasonable employers will focus more on the type of classes you took than on your overall GPA. Is GPA important? Certainly, but probably not as important as the type of classes you take; in my opinion, an individual with a B on <insert challenging=“” class=“” here=“”> is more attractive than an individual with an A+ on <insert gpa=“” booster=“” class=“” here=“”>.</insert></insert></p>
<p>In conclusion, your current GPA is not a liability but an asset. When you interview, make a point of demonstrating to your employer that you took on the challenging classes early on and you managed to maintain a reasonable GPA. Regardless of the outcome, make sure you continue taking on challenges and improving yourself as an individual.</p>
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<p>While I do think that it would be responsible for employers to consider such things, I dont think that most do. Ive found that many companies compare GPAs across majors, and thats it. Their reasoning is most likely that anyone in X major at Y school is going to be taking roughly the same classes as their peers. Now, of course this isnt always the case but theyre pressed for time and when sifting through a few hundred resumes its not very efficient to compare the coursework of each student individually.</p>
<p>With that said, a 3.3 is still adequate for all but a few companies. What youre really trying to do is get the interview. If you really feel your coursework is that much more demanding than your peers, bring a copy of your transcript to the interview (some will demand that you do this in the first place) and give it to them nonchalantly. Instead of having to toot your own horn, the interviewer will likely sift over the transcript while youre talking during the interview. This will avoid any possibilty of you giving the impression that you’re making excuses, bragging, etc…</p>