Screwed up sophomore year. What do I do?

I'm currently a rising-junior at a semi-target majoring in economics and am looking into getting a BB SA position next summer. I'm did a spring IB boutique internship last quarter and am currently doing a summer boutique IB internship in NY. Last winter and spring, my family had a really big emergency that caused my cumulative gpa to drop to a 3.1. My major gpa is 3.8 though since I didn't take any econ courses last year (finished prereqs freshman year and upper divs are only open to juniors/seniors).

How should I go about formatting this on my resume? Should I just include my major gpa?

4 Comments
 

Also, I spent 2 quarters at a nontarget before coming to the school I'm at now. Another option would be to average out my gpas which would give me a cumulative gpa of 3.5.

So my options are: 1. Show current school cumulative gpa of 3.1

  1. Show current school major gpa of 3.8

  2. Show old + current school cumulative gpa of 3.5 (I would list the nontarget under my current school but only include cumulative gpa under my current school). Also, my current school doesn't combine transfer gpa's but they do list the courses and grades you got in them in your transcript.

 

I'm in the same boat as you to a different degree. My cumulative is 3.5 and major (also an econ major) is 3.8. I put put on my resume. I'm under the impression you have to include your cumulative, but if you talk about your major GPA that should offset it quite a bit. Just talk about the rando classes you did poorly in. I don't think banks should care much about how I bombed religion, psychology, politics, etc. (although you should be well rounded to a degree)

Your experience is awesome to where you are in college though, congrats on that!

 

You're fine. Just put your major GPA on your resume. Be honest if you have to explain your "low" cumulative GPA, they'll understand.

Hell, my close friend died of cancer in college, I wigged, graduated with a 2.9 cumulative. My cumulative never really came up in interviews, I was able to network with the right people who knew my intellectual capacity and understood my situation. Just be sure to network effectively so your cumulative GPA can take you out of the stupid screening process.

 
Best Response

Non laudantium reiciendis dignissimos rerum aliquam est quo. Tempora repellat nobis et sint inventore atque sint.

Perspiciatis est in et et porro. Laboriosam vero nisi ut hic sint excepturi. Qui ipsa et nostrum corporis. Et fugiat numquam sunt neque quo aliquam a.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”