Hi! I finished my first semester of college at American University (16 credits) with a 3.51. I know in future semesters I can do far better, as towards the beginning I struggled a lot figuring out my study routine and what exactly college required. That aside, I’m looking to apply to internships potentially next semester, and I’m not sure if that GPA would be particularly off-putting, or if it’s decent enough not to raise any alarm. Basically, I’m not entirely sure what a good college GPA looks like. Are 4.0s common? Thoughts?
Typically any GPA over 3.5 is competitive. Not everyone’s going to have a 4.0, but some employers for internships will use GPA as a cutoff to reduce the stack of applicants. In other words, they’ll look straight for your GPA on your application and just throw it in the garbage if it’s not above a certain threshold. It’s unfortunate, but it does happen. It happens solely just because it takes time and money to review applicants. Which do you think is preferable to a hiring manager: review 300 applicants regardless of GPA or review a reduced stack of about 40 applicants who have a GPA of 3.5 or higher?
And no, 4.0s aren’t really all that common. For example, when I graduated undergrad only 3% of graduates graduated with a 4.0. This past December, even fewer people got the honor with twice as many graduates. Go figure. It’s relatively common maybe freshman year, but after that very few people get to keep it.
Any college GPA over 3.5 is pretty much viewed as the same except for when it comes to transferring, grad school, and other types of places. Anything over 3.0, particularly in any STEM subject, is considered to be good as well. For many STEM majors, a 3.0 cutoff may be used rather than a 3.5.