<p>How important are cumulative grades in college to prospective employers? I’m running at a 3.93 cumulative after 56 credits of school (about the halfway mark to graduation) and am a political science major at the University of Wisconsin. Will GPA this allow me more access to highly coveted jobs than my peers with a 3.5 or 3.0 or lower, assuming they don’t have connections? What are my job prospects from a decent-but-not-prestigious school like Wisco with this major and GPA? My advisor has been of little help thus far. Thank you.</p>
<p>Not necessarily.
Your 3.93 will look good, don’t get me wrong, but once you’re above a 3.5-3.6 or so, GPA’s not a huge deal. It will come down a lot more to your experience, natural abilities, likability/people skills, and so forth.
In other words, your GPA may open some doors for interviews for your first job, but beyond that it’s much more about who you are and the experience you bring.</p>
<p>Also, might I add that your advisor probably has <em>far</em> more experience in this than any person on this board… his or her silence on the issue may represent the complexity in asking your question, but I would suggest that you focus on getting experience and developing your people skills (or whatever else your weaknesses may be) as your GPA is at a level where it’s likely to experience a bit of the law of diminishing returns.</p>
<p>I haven’t really heard of many jobs wanting your college transcript. I’ve been told that a degree is a degree requardless of GPA. A lot of times, the students with such high GPAs don’t have the work experience of let’s say a student with a 3.4 GPA. Experience+people skills=jobs</p>
<p>It’s good to put a high GPA like yours on your resume - ADVERTISE it.</p>
<p>Your employer WILL care about your GPA, especially if the job is related to the job, and may require a transcript.</p>
<p>It is very true that experience & personality will determine who is eventually hired. As OKgirl said, a person with a 3.4+experience may get hired over a 3.9 without experience. However - if both candidates have experience then the 3.9 is certainly better in the eyes of an employer. GPA does matter.</p>