How important is GPA in college?

Hi Albert,

This a great question, but there isn't a straightforward answer and there are a few reasons for this. I'll touch on a few of them.

When you graduate, your employer may or may not wish to know your GPA. Either way, the GPA isn't likely to be a deal breaker. Generally, companies look at applicants holistically - meaning that look a combination of factors: GPA may be one of them, but they'll also look at your professional/volunteer/work experience, involvement in extracurricular activities, and even the way you present yourself on your resume or your LinkedIn profile.

From my perspective, a GPA of 3.0 or above is a safe zone because it's at least a "B" average. This gives you bragging rights as an applicant because you can emphasize your GPA (especially if you manage to graduate with honors). In addition, it will also help your chances of being admitted into a quality graduate degree program in the future should you choose to go that route.

It's important to remember, though, is that GPA's aren't always an accurate reflection of one's abilities. A lot of factors go into a grade - strict vs comparatively easy professor, a class that is full of tests vs one that is full of papers, and on & on it goes. Your future certainly won't be predicated on some lower grades here and there. Savvy employers know that. But if they see a systematic trend of "C" grades coupled with little to no involvement in other activities, they may well see such an applicant as nothing but "average".

I'd like to leave you with this quote:

"Don't confuse my actual skill level with your personal opinion."

In the end, you have to be satisfied with your own efforts and not overly concerned with what others may or not think about you. This is something I wish I had learned much earlier in life.

Gabriel nailed all the major points. But additionally, if you are a sophomore you are close to halfway done, and that means it's actually really hard to sharply turn the GPA before you graduate. The truth is that you will not be able to go from a B/C student to a straight-A's student if you have actually been diligent and honestly trying hard and making the most out of your resources already.

If I were you, I'd continue to try your best to get better grades, but definitely balance that with other factors that can have a much greater impact on your overall resume at this point. Internships in industry, other leadership or teamwork focused work experience, leadership and teamwork experience in engineering societies or extracurricular projects, volunteer or outreach leadership, etc. Polish up your soft skills that can impress in an interview; technical communication, confidence (see all those leadership roles I just mentioned), self-awareness, interpersonal relationships, conflict resolution, stress and workload management, etc.

I made C's in college, more than a couple. It happens, so don't be discouraged. Trend in the right direction as you approach graduation, earn the tough STEM CS BS degree, and grow your professional network. You'll get to where you want to be if you give it your all.

Skyler

You have some good answered so far, so I’ll give you another perspective. When I went to school I did better in my junior and senior classes because they were more engineering oriented, so hang in there and keep up with your studies.

I have interviewed and hired many engineers into our new engineer training program. We do look at GPA, but it certainly isn’t the only factor. If you have a GPA of 3.0 you should be fine. What is more important is your resume and especially yourinterview; where we look at your basic knowledge, any experience and/or activities, communication and interpersonal skills and problem solving techniques. If you communicate clearly and confidently during your interview, your GPA will be secondary. Continue to think creatively, work hard, and take appropriate engineering courses. Good luck.

I believe it depends on what you plan on doing with your degree. For example, if you plan on applying to a highly competitive company that is hard to get into, they will ask for your GPA. If you plan on going to Grad school, I am not sure how much your undergrad GPA will be taken into consideration.

After my first semesters in college, I found that having a balance between core requirements and electives each semester gave me a better balance.