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Please note, this is an opinion piece based on my experience as both a hiring manager in a previous position and my personal career experience. This may not apply to everyone the same and may not apply outside of the United States.
Throughout college, you are always valued by your number. It tells you what your abilities are, what scholarships you can get, what schools you can get into.
Your GPA.
But how much does it really matter?
This is a question I always struggled with as a college student. I was always the A achiever and when I didn’t get an A, I was pretty bummed. I’d accept a B if I knew I did my absolute best, but if there was a C on the horizon (happened once because I had a horrible teacher and struggled immensely) I did everything in my power to not let that happen – office hours, extra credit, begging if I had to. I had no shame because I wanted that A.
It all reflects on that GPA and that defines you in college, future colleges and even entry level jobs!
I remember the conversations with friends. Someone would say they were a 3.9 and you knew they were smart. Then someone would state they had a 2.0 and everyone assumed they were dumb. No one accounted for what their major was. Maybe the 3.9 was in an incredibly easy course and took some really simple electives that handed out A’s, and the 2.7 was drowning in sciences or just struggled with life that semester. But these numbers literally defined you. And continued to define you.
I’ve written a little about GPA’s before but I’ve been thinking about it a lot more recently. I graduated undergraduate Magna Cum Laude, which is with great honors. I graduated my masters with a 3.7 GPA (I think?…I stopped paying attention because you’ll learn why). That wasn’t even really in my head. You have cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude and when that appears around graduation time those with magna and above are somehow ‘special’. But people, once again, don’t look at what you studied. But these numbers and words define you. It goes on your resume.
But once again, I ask, does it really matter in the long run?
If you are planning to apply to graduate school? Yeah, it just might. You need a certain GPA to get into grad school and if you didn’t meet that, you may be lucky with an amazing application essay or crushing the GRE’s, but still. You will face challenges and if the school relies on automatic systems, which some are, you may not even get to show your skills because the system will deny you immediately.
I have taken classes that I struggled in and didn’t do as well as I wanted to, but I learnt so much! I learnt from my mistakes, put extra work in and know a lot about the topic now. But my grade may not completely reflect that.
So does having those little letters on your diploma really truly matter?
Honestly, not really. After you graduate, you can choose to put one of those on your resume or not. We all know those who got the highest grades certainly will, but employers more look at the school name, if you completed and your work experience. But no one will know about your GPA except you. Internships are one of the few ones that ask for your transcripts. Jobs do not – sometimes they may ask for proof of degree if you are going straight from school though.
What matters are your skills.
- What experiences were you able to have (I’ll delve more into this at a later point)?
- What is your knowledge and speaking ability in an interview?
- What is your practical knowledge?
- How does this practical knowledge apply to the position – i.e. great you learnt a lot from books but can you now use this for the position you applied for?
- Do you have any certifications that you aced that you can use in lieu of your degree?
I’ve interviewed many who weren’t the best academically on paper but excelled in the interview and the position. And I interviewed many who had a flawless education but were lacking in a lot of other skills. your GPA does not define you forever.
So while you may be reaching graduating and panicking a little bit. “Oh my gosh, my GPA is terrible. I’m not graduating cum laude!”
Don’t.
Brush up on your interview skills, attend career fairs and learning sessions, built your skills for what you want to do in your field. And never, ever, ever, say no to applying for a position because you think your GPA is too low or you weren’t smart enough.
Fortune favors the bold.
Apply and you just may be surprised.
