Long story short, I’ve heard that you absolutely need a 3.0+ for any chance after graduating. I’ve been working full time (at a high paying but unrelated job) while in school so burnout and not being ‘present’ has been a factor in my performance so far. That also means I was unable to fit an internship into my plan.
Credits Left: 14
Points at a 4.0: 56
GPA: 213.69/73 = 2.93
I can’t retake anything so I can’t reach a 3.0 by graduation without some extra help.
I can take 5 additional credits at a 4.0 to reach a 3.0 GPA. That’s risky since I’m averaging a 3.5 in engineering classes nowadays - with 12 additional credits I can pretty much guarantee a 3.0 on graduation.
The 12 credits also gets me a Pre-MBA certification (whatever that’s worth).
Cost per credit is $460 so 5 additional credits will set me back $2300, 12 sets me back $5520.
Is the added cost worth escaping the sub-3.0 garbage bin when applying to jobs or should I just graduate?
It might be worth it if it all works out but one B and your back at 2.xx, still the job market is hot so you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with a sub 3.0 GPA.
For large companies, the 3.0 can be a hard break point. However, many of those large companies also get so many resumes that the real break point can be much higher.
I’d take the 14 credits and make s ure I get good grades.
Focus your job search on smaller companies who won’t have the hard 3.0 break point.
NACE surveys suggest that about 70% of employers have GPA cutoffs for new college graduate hiring, and about 60% of those use 3.0.
But that does mean that those with under 3.0 are not completely shut out, though they need to apply more widely and be less picky about where they apply and what jobs they are willing to accept.
It helps to graduate when unemployment in your target field and in general is low.
FWIW, the average graduating GPA in my son’s program hovers around 2.7, and year in and year out, about 99% are employed in their field by 6 months.
As @CU123 said, there’s some risk chasing those last points. Also, some schools limit the number of excess hours you can take. GPA isn’t really considered once you’re beyond your first position.
Do make sure your resume makes it clear that you were going to school AND working a lot of hours (even if not in our field). Also make sure to some how communicate the upward trend in GPA.
Thank you for the advice so far, especially @ucbalumnus for providing that data. I’m rather positive I can get a 3.0+ with 12 additional credits. I can also spin the 12 credits as “thinking about pursuing my MBA” which is truthful if I find a management track and my employer pays for it. I also never mentioned my field which is mechanical engineering.
So the question now is:
Is staying above the 60% cutoff worth $5520 in Mechanical Engineering?
The real question is how much do you want a job after graduation ? While not impossible with a sub 3.0 GPA, the odds are not favorable. How much is the additional cost compared to what you have already invested ?
A data point of one. My son just graduated as a CS major with a 2.9 final GPA. Completed an 8 week internship program at a small startup and was offered an entry level Cybersecurity Analyst position in San Diego 2 weeks later. I think GPA is important, but the skill set you can bring to an employer and how you interview are also important.
Do the best you can and start your job early. Also do not discount any post graduation internships since many could lead to a full time position.
@Gumbymom: I don’t think that CS is a fair comparison because demand is extremely high. Plus your son had a chance to show off his talents with an 8 week internship.
Although not clear in OP’s original post, his GPA seems to be a 2.67 which is much different than a 2.90.
@Publisher: I agree that the comparison is more apples to oranges, but there is still hope if you have below a 3.0 GPA. I was very concerned with my son’s job/internship prospects but his GPA did not hamper is ability to get 2 internships and this new job so GPA is not everything. Being an ME, I would think that the job prospects are very good especially if OP has some internship experience under his belt. Also do not dismiss the fact that having good job interviewing skills can help. My other son learned the hard way and really worked on these “soft skills”.
Don’t do the “thinking about MBA” spin. They’ll question your desire to do engineering. All the work will be for nothing.
Also, just because 60% use 3.0, doesn’t mean 40% use less. Many use a higher cutoff.
@Publisher, I realize that. I also realize that the math does not favor 4.0 from here on out and there are limited hours that the OP can use to try to accomplish the task. As @ucbalumnus said, 30% use no GPA cutoff. That’s still a reasonable market.
I’d also say this as some more info for you, my DD graduated from a top 20 ChemE program two years ago with 3.0 and has since become the lead engineer on her project (that is how fast things are moving). Since San Francisco is too cold for her she out her resume out (no GPA on it) and is being flown out for an interview with a top engineering consulting firm. The GPA is the first thing that drops off the resume.
Indeed, some will consider large numbers of business courses on your college record as a negative, as they see it signaling a desire to use engineering merely as a stepping stone into management, rather than as a longer term career choice.
I find this all fascinating. My son’s at Michigan for IOE (industrial). At the open house one of the first things they said was “congratulations all you A students. After the first semester till graduation you will be a 3.0-3.3 student. You will get your first” c" or worse " then went on to tell about how the head of engineering had" ds" and worse his first year and beyond … They said a “b” or “b plus” avg is really great at a top 10 school etc. This is all if you make it through… Ha.
Yes the kids all cringed… Lol… So if this is the norm and the industry knows its the norm then why the hard stop at 3.0? I just met someone from IOE and he dropped out after a year. He had tests that 35 was an “A”… Seems kinda crazy to a mortal dad…