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I haven't seen anywhere that considers high GPA a negative. Remember, we're talking about recent grads who have little to no experience. GPA is an indicator, though I'm not sure how good. You and I do agree, as we've discussed, that calculating GPA out several decimals is way, way beyond the ability to measure. I don't believe it's driven by a "just world" fallacy so much as government HR looking for any metric they can use to differentiate between candidates. I believe there is some value to it, but not as much as HR believes.
That's probably why the HR role in the hiring process should be more tightly limited. IMO, their primary role should be "keep us out of trouble with the law," and much more of the hiring process should go to management.
We might even find out that not nearly as many jobs even require college degrees.
Heck no. My undergrad GPA wasn't anything to boast about, but I wasn't ready to be a college student either. I started out strong, then faltered the last couple of years due to anxiety and lack of focus.
My grad GPA is a 4.0. But I am a much more serious and focused student/adult today than I was then.
The thing about it is that no one has ever asked, other than old school orgs or hyper competitive churn-&-burn consulting firms.
For the most part, my (business) work product has always been commendable, and people also like me as a co-worker.
So no, I don't think GPA is a determinant of anything other than how hard you worked and how well it went for you at a particular moment in time. I think of it as any other sports stat. Miguel Cabrera was one of the most feared hitters of all time in the MLB. In 2017, his batting average was only .249 (24.9%) with 16 homers. Those are not good numbers. Is Miguel Cabrera a bad hitter because he had a bad year? Is someone a bad worker because they had a couple bad years in school?
I'm not saying that the employers are right, just that it's the way many employers think.
And I'm saying employers don't even *think* that way. Nobody is seeing a 2.5 GPA on a resume and thinking "Wow, this low GPA shows this person really has good life skills and strong character borne from financial difficulty." A low GPA requires some explanation (mom died, got sick, had to work 3 jobs to raise little sister, etc.) while a high GPA never does.
Middle aged folks talking about the importance of GPAs decades removed from undergrad/academia is pretty sad to be honest. You may as well accept fate of your middle-aged crisis, buy a Corvette or F150 Raptor, and showcase to everyone else your major insecurities in life.
Most companies that you will be working for do not care about what your college GPA was or is. People who are overly concerned with this sort of thing are either almost always autistic or have some other prevalent psychological/mental disorder.
The diplomas for my bachelor degrees (yes, I have multiple degrees) has my Latin Honors printed on it so yes, some give an indication on GPA. People with low GPA's are told to leave them off their resume when starting out in the workforce. Yes, a C student is typically not going to be an outstanding employee and they're competing against A and B students who put more effort into their studies. Graduating with a 4.0 as an undergrad was incredibly difficult.
Someone said high grades meant that the student didn't struggle academically or financially. What a load of hogwash! High grades mean you worked your butt off. I studied until the middle of the night many nights and got up and went right back at it in the morning. I spent every minute I could on my studies. I have student loans so I'll be paying them off until I'm dead.
Many positions in many professions are highly competitive. The person with the higher GPA is almost always going to be the one who gets hired when you're fresh out of college. I mean who do you want as your lawyer? An A student or a C student? Do you want a C student to be operating on you? Probably not.
I spent every minute I could on my studies. I have student loans so I'll be paying them off until I'm dead.
Thank god you were very hard working and smart and got a high GPA. Seems to have been worth it, and you'll always be reminded of that.
Joking aside, I think this is a terrible example to give about the importance of GPAs, because it clearly illustrates that it means literally nothing outside of academia. I don't think that was your point, was it?
Thank god you were very hard working and smart and got a high GPA. Seems to have been worth it, and you'll always be reminded of that.
Joking aside, I think this is a terrible example to give about the importance of GPAs, because it clearly illustrates that it means literally nothing outside of academia. I don't think that was your point, was it?
Notice you only copied 2 sentences and not the entire post? Maybe re-read it and you'll see where I mentioned specific careers and industries.
As for the student loans, practically no one goes to college without student loans in America. It's been this way for many, many years.
All I can say about some of these responses is wow.
People running complex organizations are not stupid. If grades and other markers didn't mean much our good, better and best companies and organizations would not prostrate themselves fighting over new grads with top marks. Further, over time the other side of the market would not bother fighting through the grief in order to earning high marks.
All the top law schools, all the top medical schools and all the top in demand grad schools are brimming with students who earned 3.5-4.0 undergrad marks, lots fewer who earned 3.0-3.49 and those from the 2.00-2.99 cadre are hard to find.
Notice you only copied 2 sentences and not the entire post? Maybe re-read it and you'll see where I mentioned specific careers and industries.
As for the student loans, practically no one goes to college without student loans in America. It's been this way for many, many years.
If you're going to be in debt for the rest of your life, then your high GPA doesn't mean squat to me. Sorry, but it clearly has not set you apart from the rest of the pack. I probably had a lower GPA than your undergrad, but I'm debt free and have never had issues finding a good job. In my Master's program, I'm carrying a 4.0, so it clearly isn't due to a lack of ability or effort. I will also be nearly debt free at the end of that program.
So please remind me again why you think that your high GPA means anything at all?
FWIW, OP works for a government agency, which is known for its bureaucratic red tape and strict hiring policies. Not all, obviously, but a lot of them. So yeah, it doesn't surprise me that his agency has very strict limitations about the new grads they hire. But the job market is a very big place, and a lot of places do not put that sort of onus on academic success, especially the further out you are removed.
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