What is an ideal GPA to leave college with?

Typically, the higher the GPA the better. However, it's more important to get extracurricular activities/jobs to have experiences that help you stand out and give you items to talk about in an interview. Plus, after a year or so out of college, most people won't care about your GPA.

Hi Katelyn,

I would tend to agree with Lindsay that the higher the GPA the better, but it is also important to have experiences that are good for interviews. When I was setting a "goal" for myself in college, I looked at some next steps that I might be interested in after college, such as a job in finance or graduate school. With these goals in mind, I reached for the GPA that I saw other people had in the positions I wanted after college. Generally speaking, it is always great to be above certain 'thresholds'. For example, the difference between a 3.02 GPA and a 2.96 GPA might be one letter grade in one class, but the 3.02 GPA person "sounds better". Likewise, there are some institutions that when hiring staff or admitting students will have a minimum level that they want individuals to achieve, and then above that they will start to look at activities and experiences to differentiate from those groups. Thus, if you are currently at a 3.14 GPA, strive to push to be a 3.20 GPA and get in the pool of "3.2x GPA people". As a final point, it is also somewhat dependent upon your major and the job that you are looking at. For example, being a biology major with a slightly lower GPA is going to help in fields that are health or biology specific.

Cheers,

John

That depends on your goal. If you're primarily interested in being a strong job candidate, the MOST important thing is simply finishing your degree. There's a huge gap in employability between college graduates and people who've attended some college.

The NEXT most important thing, as Lindsay said, is having relevant work experience upon graduation. You don't need to know exactly what you want to do, but do an internship or two in a field that interests you (marketing, engineering, sales, IT, supply chain). Even if you decide a different direction, this will show employers that you have experience setting and pursuing goals in an office environment.

To your question, though, a 3.0 or higher will give your job application more credibility. Moreover, many professional graduate programs (MBA, M.Ed., etc.) have minimum requirements of 3.0 or 3.2. These requirements can sometimes be waived with a certain amount of work experience, but you want to keep the options open in the first place.

Finally, if you're really aiming high, the top business and law schools (think Ivy League) want grades as high as possible. These programs often have exit salaries of 150K, and mid-career salaries of over 250K. The careers they prepare you for require long hours and often come with very high stress. Most people prefer more balance in their lives, so be honest with yourself before chasing these goals. That said, a 3.7 will give you a shot here, but a 3.9 would be preferable.