<p>I am a junior majoring in Aerospace engineering at USC. The summer is approaching and am looking for an internship in the defense industry but my GPA is a low 2.8. How can i get around a low GPA considering that most companies have a cutoff GPA of 3.0. I have not held any previous internships, done research, but have a good amount of project experience.</p>
<p>find companies without a 3.0 cutoff
find a bright spot in your gpa and communicate that to the company (gpa is on the increase, good gpa in engineering itself, good grades in difficult courses)
meet with rep from company and explain your extensive project experience
get recommendations from faculty
look at NASA summer internships</p>
<p>You can look at an internship with the gov’t at Los Angeles AFB. I don’t know if they have a more relaxed grade requirement but it wouldn’t surprise me.</p>
<p>Look into a high level security clearence. Ignore the so-called cut off and apply anyway.</p>
<p>do they not have advisors and a career center at USC?</p>