How to explain GPA drop?

During my freshman year I was in the top 1% (not that smart, just studied a lot) but I honestly lost motivation, as I feel I am not really learning anything useful, and I prioritised other stuff that I enjoy more.

My GPA is not terrible, it's the minimum required, but now I'm just leveraging the award they gave me for being in the top 1%.

I was wondering how you would explain this in an interview? I doubt telling the truth (that I just couldn't be asked to study that much, and thus, going out less) is a good idea.

I come from a "good" non-target.

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It sounds like you are putting some award on your resume that says you were top 1% freshman year, and now your GPA is clearly not that - putting you in a position of having to explain it. 

If that's the case - remove it. Don't ever reference it again, as it doesn't matter. Points in time don't matter - I had a great GPA my freshman year, and it went down like TQQQ in 2022 from there. But you need to own the GPA you have. Don't beat around the bush, tell fairytales or try and BS your way around it - it's transparent. If you get into the room, clearly your GPA was not an issue enough to disqualify you. 

My advice? Just suck it up, get a higher GPA and not worry about it. When I told my now boss my GPA years later - he laughed and said no wonder we paid you so little when you started. 

 

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