As May quickly approaches, many upperclassmen are suffering from senioritis, and the rest of the student body is just trying to make it through the remainder of the semester.
The phrase “C’s get degrees” begins to sound more logical, and mediocrity starts to sound more appealing.
C’s may get degrees, but will your mediocre GPA get you into graduate school or land you your competitive dream job?
Maybe, but you’ll have a tough time doing it.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 67 percent of companies said they screened candidates by their GPA.
Although not always true, letter grades and GPA can reveal your work ethic, drive and intelligence level to most employers.
According to Forbes, Dan Black, Director of recruiting at Ernst and Young in North and South America, anticipates seeing a GPA on all potential candidates résumés.
“It’s really one of the only indications we have of a student’s technical ability or competence to do the job,” Black said.
Sometimes, employers simply use grades as a weed-out process. Your GPA may be the deciding factor for whether you or another candidate gets the job. If two people have the same qualifications, the employer will feel more comfortable hiring the person with the better transcript.
You might oppose going back to school once you finish your undergraduate studies. However, you’ll probably change your mind when you find a job that requires a master’s degree and will sufficiently increase your salary.
According to About Education, “Generally, most master’s programs require minimum GPAs of 3.0 or 3.3, and most doctoral programs require minimum GPAs of 3.3 or 3.5.”
In that case, your options are limited because you won’t even meet the minimum GPA requirements to obtain that degree.
Work hard now, so you’ll have options later. Also, work on building your résumé. Employers and graduate school admissions want to see a stellar GPA, but they also want to see more. Jobs and graduate schools want to see the organizations you joined, your work in the community and any other qualifications to set you apart from other applicants.
Employers won’t always pick the person with the best-looking transcript, but they will certainly look hard at it. So, don’t slack off now, and hope and pray they’ll make an exception for your GPA. You’re better off safe than sorry.
Hopefully, now you’ll have some fire under your feet. We’re almost halfway through the semester. Let’s finish strong and work toward making a beautiful transcript.
Clarke Perkins is a 20-year-old political science sophomore from New Orleans, Louisiana.
OPINION: Meeting the minimum graduation GPA may hurt you in the future
By Clarke Perkins
@ClarkePerkins
March 3, 2016
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