Low GPA due to extenuating circumstances, is there a way to indicate that to consulting firms before being overlooked?

This semester I had severe pneumonia that was misdiagnosed and consequently made even worse, and was also diagnosed with depression and anxiety. This combination killed my ability to perform academically and lowered my GPA to a 3.4. I am now worried that my application to consulting firms will not even be looked at due to my GPA not making cut off's. I would write about my circumstances in a cover letter but I am afraid that firms will not even read my cover letter and just dismiss my application because of my GPA. I am trying to do as much networking as I can to get interviews because I know that I can explain my situation in person, but I do not want to be only limited to networking for my internship hunt.

2 Comments
 

Good luck with your efforts. All i'm going to say is that many times you are limited to networking for internships anyways unless your go to a super-target school in which case your GPA doesn't matter as much as you think it does. Either way, GPA is just one factor out of the many pieces of your resume and application. You still have just a good of a shot as someone with a 4.0 if your have good experiences and a good network. Ultimately, a 3.4 really isn't that low and many places have a cut off of 3.3 or lower so you should be fine.

 
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