.jpg)
I graduated from undergrad with a 2.7 GPA. Not very stellar. But, like many of you, I always heard that having a resume full of leadership accomplishments was more important. Well, it's been 20 years now, and I think I was wrong.
I should have cared a lot more about my grades. I sincerely wish I had graduated with at least a 3.0. Working 30 or more hours a week didn't help, but the truth is that I put fraternity and relaxing way ahead of my academic requirements.
I've regretted that many times. When I decided a decade later to go to grad school, they didn't give a damn about my IFC position. Mostly, it bugs me that I didn't TRY HARDER.
I had an email exchange this week with our speaker, Michael Poll, who does a program called "Straight A's Won't Get You the Job." That's him pictured. I wanted his opinion... is a student leader's GPA that important?
"If you're applying for grad, medical, or any other professional school, you must have a least a 3.0 or better," he said. "Otherwise, probably not as important depending on your field. Having said that though, it might raise red flags if you have below a 3.0."
What about the very active student leader who has lots on the activities resume, but has a terrible GPA?
"All is not lost," Michael said. "But you will need to be prepared with a confident, non-cocky answer when your GPA comes up in the interview." Be ready with a portfolio of other items that show your proficiency, he said. Be ready to show them what you can accomplish. You don't have to have saved the world, but it's important to show your practical skills and what you've accomplished with them. If you can do that, he said, your GPA won't be the most important thing.
"You need to stay focused on your academic and professional goals, however," Michael said. "Just because you were a member of this, president of that, coordinator of another thing means squat if you haven't mastered the skills required to do the work in your chosen field after college. Engage and learn from practicum experiences, volunteer opportunities, internships, campus life commitments, etc. Then, be prepared to talk about them and make them relevant."
For the student leader closing in on graduation, is it worthwhile to focus on bumping up that GPA a few tenths of a point?
If you are trying to get into grad school, then yes, Michael said. But, if grad school isn't an issue, then focus on developing work related skills such as public speaking, project management, and facilitating work groups and meetings. Again, build a portfolio that demonstrates your talents and the results you generated.
Michael has a book called How to Make $1,000,000 After Graduation that you might find interesting. Read about it at his website here.
My conclusion on this is that GPA isn't the make or break for a person's future success. But, it sure is nice to graduate with a student leader resume full of cool experiences AND a grade point average above a 3.0.
I've hired a number of people in my career, and I know that I definitely prefer applicants with something above a 3.0. I don't like hiring people who didn't do at least as well as I did.
