For those who finished college with high GPAs, do you find your life turned out better than those with average grades?
By success, I’m thinking of landing a well-paid job or a position in a competitive field.
At my college, anyone with a GPA above 3.5 can enter the “honor path,” which lets them take some graduate courses while still working on their bachelor’s degree. Do you think it’s worth it?
Networking is way more important.
You don’t absolutely need connections, but they sure do help.
Unclewaffles said:
Networking is way more important.
You don’t absolutely need connections, but they sure do help.
Totally. High GPA from a regular school doesn’t stand out much. High GPA from a top school? Sure, people notice. But if you know someone high up, that’s the biggest advantage.
Unclewaffles said:
Networking is way more important.
You don’t absolutely need connections, but they sure do help.
This is right. Also, just don’t be a jerk. That’s my personal struggle.
Not necessarily. I often explain to high-achieving students that having no real work experience other than a few campus jobs or side gigs will make it tough to find employment.
It varies by major, but school gives your life structure, which helps keep you on track. But life outside of school is different—creating a career doesn’t have that kind of structure. You can do all the right things and still struggle due to economic or societal factors.
Success depends on how well you can handle the uncertainty of getting a solid job in your field and how you can turn entry-level roles into opportunities for growth.
@vinincent
This is so true. In China, a lot of college students have zero work experience and are just good at studying.
@vinincent
Honestly, I’d prefer hiring a student with a lower GPA who is well-rounded over someone with a 4.0 and no real-world experience. High academic achievers can sometimes struggle more in the workplace.
Check out discussions on forums like /gradadmissions about overcoming a low GPA.
@Grayson
Yes, many employers feel this way. I’ve seen it firsthand. Employers want candidates who can not only do the job but also fit in and understand the day-to-day grind.
vinincent said:
@Grayson
Yes, many employers feel this way. I’ve seen it firsthand. Employers want candidates who can not only do the job but also fit in and understand the day-to-day grind.
It depends on the field. In my case, there’s a 3-month training period before anyone is considered fully onboard.
I actually cold-emailed people to get the job I wanted, which I eventually did. They told me my GPA just showed I was competent, but that wasn’t a deciding factor.
Unclewaffles said:
@vinincent
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I get it, and it does help, but I’m saying knowing people is starting to matter less as recruiting is more often handled by outsourcing or AI. A lot of people don’t know anyone in their industry at all, which makes job-hunting tougher.
Unclewaffles said:
@vinincent
[deleted]
Sure, but in my work in workforce development, it’s just a fact that knowing someone doesn’t guarantee a job anymore. It’s all about finding ways to stand out beyond connections.
Big companies care about GPA when hiring new grads, and grad schools have GPA minimums.
Otherwise, it’s more of a correlation. People who keep it together in college and work hard may do better because of their work habits. But many people don’t fully mature until after college, so sometimes GPA doesn’t mean much.
It’s all about the opportunities a high GPA gives you.
If you have a high GPA, more doors are open. It won’t land you a job on its own, but it’ll keep you in the running for opportunities that need higher GPAs.
If your GPA is lower, some paths might not be available. That might not matter if those paths don’t interest you.
I’m a family medicine doctor, and keeping my GPA high while exploring different paths was worth it because it made sure I was a competitive candidate for med school.
The best advice is to figure out early what career path you want and do what’s needed to enter it. If you want to work for a company like Northrop Grumman, build connections there. A high GPA helps keep doors open, but committing early to a path is key.
Both I and my co-founder had around 3.9 GPAs in undergrad. Those skills helped us build our engineering consultancy, not just because we were smart, but because we knew when to just buckle down and do the work. Sure, our GPAs got us our first jobs, but we also interned there before starting full-time. Good relationships with professors and having that GPA probably played a role.
After a couple of years, no one cares about your GPA anymore.
But what’s your real question? If it’s, ‘Is working hard better for my career than slacking off?’ then yes. If it’s ‘How should I maximize my outcomes?’ that depends on what you’re aiming for. A job in your field? Part-time work is valuable. Becoming a professor? High GPA is necessary.
Imagine a list of about 10 or 12 things that all together determine career success. GPA is one of those, but none of them alone predicts success; it’s a combination.
A surprising factor to me was being an RA—it shows leadership and responsibility.