I go to a target school but I'm in a hard major and my GPA is pretty low. Think 3.0-3.5 range
If they ask me on my interview why my GPA isn't as high as some of the other candidates, what would be a good response?
I know my chances aren't as good as other people, but any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
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somewhere on this board i read about a guy who said his gpa was low freshman year because of personal problems that led him to become homeless and had to work to survive and go to school and lived out of a car. thats a pretty good excuse if you ask me, regardless of whether or not it was true. but it really only works if you have an outlier year. if youve had consistently mediocre grades then i dont know what to tell you.
going to a target school and being in a hard major is no excuse. BB firms see tons of ppl from target schools with 3.7+. if you have very strong ECs and internship experience and stuff like that, i would say that your GPA is low because you focused your efforts on proving yourself as a campus leader and achieving successful internships. this works especially well if some of your internships were during the school year.
thats the best i can think of. dont expect people on this board to help you with your GPA woes, everyone here has like 3.9+ they have no sympathy for ppl with mediocre GPAs like us :-(
tell them you really love prime numbers so you're working on approaching a 3.0? i'd buy it
I agree that extracurriculars are something you could lean on if you are questioned about your GPA. . . just make sure that it's something strong enough to support you, otherwise the interviewing group may feel that you didn't make the most of your time/experience.
I plan on telling the truth...that I developed appendicitis and needed surgery right before/in the middle of exam period. And I can actually back it up (my GPA that semester was 2.65; it's been 3.5 since).
You could claim something like that...but as others have said, consistently low grades are not good news.
explanation for low gpa (Originally Posted: 10/15/2009)
i had a lower gpa because of involvement in ECs. during an interview if they ask would this response go over well (its pretty true)?
"before the beginning of the semester i overloaded and took several leadership positions on different organizations without knowing my capacity. i wasnt in the position to quit after i started because other members didnt want to do it, so when i had conflicts b/w school and clubs i picked clubs because IF I DO POORLY IN SCHOOL THAT ONLY HURT ME BUT IF I DONT DO MY DUTY AS A CLUB PRESIDENT, ETC THE CLUB SUFFERS AND I WOULD RATHER HAVE A LOWER GPA/CHANCE AT A JOB THAN SEE THE ORGANIZATION/PEOPLE IN IT SUFFER. "
i feel that that can be perceived as you thinking you could singlehandedly change a club and be seen as arrogant. any thoughts?
sounds fruity to me, i would avoid saying that
Never delve into your answer too much for this question given your response. I'd just say that you had an unusually high level of commitment required to EC's that semester, particularly due to being head of a club.
Good extenuating reasons which are okay to flesh out a bit more tend to be things like crippling injury or medical sickness that crushed your GPA or semester for a year.
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Don't say that. Talk about how you had to step up to the plate and take on several leadership positions in addition to what you were already involved with.
Whatever you say, make it quick and short. You want to divert the interviewer’s attention from it as quickly as possible. The longer the explanation (especially one like this which doesn’t involve injury, family crisis, etc.), the longer the interviewer will be thinking about it.
Don't say "I WOULD RATHER HAVE A LOWER GPA/CHANCE AT A JOB THAN SEE THE ORGANIZATION/PEOPLE IN IT SUFFER" You're pretty much saying "I'd rather focus on my extracurricular activities than a job." Don't say "I overloaded.. without knowing my capacity" because an employer would see that as having poor time management skills.
but wouldnt they like someone who would be willing to work hard for the firm rather than pursue their own personal gain? if i was the interviewer i would say wow this kid took a hit on their chances at a job because they care more about the organization - i want someone like that in my firm
i mean like a 3.5 not really low
They won't see your undergrad club presidency as 'the organization'. They are much more likely to just see it as you trying to make excuses for a low GPA. Don't try and delve into it, follow the advice above, and keep it as short as possible.
You're going to say this because you have a 3.5, that's really kinda dumb. No one cares about a 3.5 once you have an interview so move on
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