Average Undergrad GPA

Quick Question: Does rigor of courses matter in undergrad in relation to IB recruitment, at all?

I attend a top 20 college (non/semi-target) where the average graduating gpa is around a 3.18. I'm currently just below the average but have been steadily increasing. I'm wondering if anyone on WSO had any insight on grade distribution and if it plays a role or not, because I feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle.

ty

5 Comments
 

It depends.

At a target school, you'll be guaranteed an audience of your alumni/peers for the resume selection process. The will be aware of the difficulty of your major and may judge accordingly.

At a non-target, there is no such guarantee. The person who picks the resume may or may not be familiar with the vigor of your school and major.

In either case, all recent studies show that even theoretically knowledgeable individuals (MBA admissions counselors for instance) don't adequately account for the difficulty of a course load and favor raw GPA in admissions.

 

I would say rigor of MAJOR matters. So if you are a biomedical engineering major at Johns Hopkins, recruiters may take that into account. If you are a philosophy or economics major, you better aim for a 3.5 or higher. Because most recruiters won't pay attention or even receive your entire transcript, they won't notice or care about your grade trend -- it can't hurt, though.

The general rule though is GPA > 3.5.

Just network your ass off and aim for MM or Boutiques

 
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