Low GPA: Explain Circumstances on Cover Letter?

A few other threads about this, but didn't see anything I thought was specific enough, so wanted to get some thoughts.

Should I include a short explanation of my low (3.3) GPA on a cover letter? Sophomore year had a sports injury playing for my school's NCAA team. Long story short, tore a bunch of stuff, had surgery, was on heavy pain killers for an extended period, and had lengthy daily PT sessions (3 hrs in beginning, 1 later on, but for almost entire year) on top of academics, continued attendance of team games/practices/conditioning, and student gov position. Also missed a bunch of school for time home getting surgery and frequent follow-up appointments. Junior year had a 3.6 and 3.7 each semester so significant increase.

Seems legit to me, but also don't want to come across as making excuses. I've talked about this in interviews before and it's seemed like it really helped my case, so thought maybe including it in cover letter would be beneficial in just getting interviews.

3 Comments
 

Cum quasi qui magnam quo. Praesentium libero velit animi perspiciatis. Doloribus modi repudiandae reiciendis rerum quas recusandae nemo.

Fugiat maiores ratione sint temporibus aspernatur at consectetur. Ut consequatur ut officia aspernatur eaque.

Natus omnis aliquam autem. Vel nemo quidem commodi sint. Quia voluptate sed enim non vel est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”