College GPA: Clincher, Dealbreaker, Hype?

[suguru]

Originally Posted by solomon

Hey Dudes and Dudettes.


I'm sure this has crossed the minds of many a young person, but they always wondered. Do College GPA matter as much as some say they do? Most would contend that it it factors in at least a little bit no matter what you do, but no one can come to any sort of concensus. I suppose it's because of variying life experiences I suppose.

How bout those of you already working? What are your thoughts on this?

I'm 35 and have been in the workforce for 13 years now...and although I'd never tell my daughter this, after your first job (unless you're going to grad school) I think your college GPA really doesn't matter at all. It's not even on my resume, and if it was no one would care. Even getting my first job, I think how I answered the interview questions mattered more than my GPA. Just like how once you're in college no one cares about your SAT score anymore, once you get your first job every other job you apply for your experience is what they'll be looking for, and they won't care about your GPA, or even your major or where you went to college. That's my experience at least, working as a project manager in IT (I was a physics major, so I use nothing I learned in college day in and day out...).

My unsolicited advice to college students is it's better to have more fun and get a 3.5 than study all the time and get a 4.0...because in the end, no one looks back on their life and cares about getting an A or a B on a test, they'll be more likely to regret not having more fun, I think.

[yezhanquan]

@suguru: Unless you are of those type who enjoyed what you study.

[justavisitor]

As ppl have suggested, low GPA can really limit your option...and the tricky thing is, most post-grad schools only look at your GPA, they don't really factor in whether you graduated from a more strict grading university or the more lenient grading university.

I would say 3.2 is enough to let you go anywhere, whether you want to get master or big company's job..I know that different school grades ppl differently, but the sad part is, outside ppl wont' care, so just to get 3.2 in any university you study in and you will be fine...if you can't get it, it's not the end of the world, you are already a college graduated, your future is in your hand.

One more thing, don't give up when you have below standard GPA entering the final year, some post-grad school weighs more heavily on your final year GPA!!! So never give up ppl