<p>I know that most companies have a GPA requirement of 3.0, but truly what GPA does a company accept? Does a 3.5+ look good without experience or a 3.3+ with experience?</p>
<p>My experience is that most companies have a lower bar for interns’ GPAs. If the organization has a bar at 3.0, they’ll prefer the candidate with a 3.01 and experience to a 3.99 without. Similarly, if a company has a 3.5 cutoff for first-round picks (not uncommon at some places), they’d take the 3.51 with experience over the 3.99 without. Some companies simply try to maximize GPA, in which case experience is a tie breaker, and some companies don’t have strict lower limits on GPA (well, most require that you’re passing) and GPA will be the tie breaker.</p>
<p>What kind of work are you looking for, and what companies are you looking at? What is your GPA vs. experience?</p>
<p>just asking because i have a decent GPA at a top 10 university (not a 3.7-4.0 but its good) and I heard one of my professors talking about how anyone with a 3.1 is not a genius. But I’m having a hard time finding an internship with relevant experience.</p>
<p>What field? Civil?</p>
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<p>Well, to be fair, most people with 3.1’s aren’t geniuses. However this doesn’t mean geniuses are the only ones to get internships and/or jobs.</p>
<p>What field are we talking about?</p>
<p>I just interviewed for an internship and (fortunately) they did not ask my gpa. Nor did I reveal it.</p>
<p>Experience trumps all.</p>
<p>but yeah, the internships that are widely advertised tend to put out a minimum gpa requirement. But I think they just do that to limit the number of applicants they have. It’s stupid because a 2.5 at a certain school (mine, for instance) could easily translate to a 3.0 or even higher at some other school.</p>
<p>uclacee, I hate to break it to you, but that’s no excuse for a low GPA. If someone gets a 2.0 at Harvard they just can’t say “oh well… the classes are hard… but it’s still good.” If you’re at a top school, it would make sense to try and get good grades.</p>
<p>Company I retired from would advertise internships and require a 3.0 GPA. We would get so many resumes that the true cutoff was around 3.5 and nothing less than an upcoming senior. Experience didn’t matter. Also would not matter which school as far as screening for GPA. During the final selection process and with similar GPAs, the students from the better schools got the nod.</p>
<p>The internship really became a summer long interview for a job at graduation.</p>
<p>@skbryan</p>
<p>You are correct. Thanks for your words.</p>
<p>I’m below 3.0, which, of course, is my own fault. But I can’t help but feel a little resentment because I feel that I could make >=3.0 at some other school with a lot less trouble. My being below 3.0 has disqualified me from applying to a bunch of things.</p>
<p>As a retired manager who did a fair amount of hiring of college grads, I have a problem with the “if I went to a lesser school, my GPA would be greater” arguement. You were admitted to your school, so they have evaluated you and decided that you could do the work. You made the decision not to work up to your school’s standards. I would believe that if you went to a lesser school, you would have probably made the same decision and would end up with a similar GPA. </p>
<p>My advice would be to work hard and get your GPA up from now on. Show that you now “get it” and are willing to work hard. I hired several college hires that started low and finished high as far as their GPAs went. They were all good workers. Other managers I know have had similar experiences and will make similar hiring decisions. </p>
<p>Ball is in your court.</p>
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<p>I don’t understand this. GPAs aren’t based on deciding to work or not work to the school’s standards, they are based on your performance relative to the rest of the class. Some schools have stronger classes than others.</p>
<p>Thank you, HPuck. Will do.</p>