DS - ‘Cool Hand’ the enigma?

[Clone]

I know of a couple companies that require a 3.2 to get past their corporate HR screen. A 3.0 can get an interview if there was a referral to a local engineering office. But- if a person has a couple years of experience, that is more relevant than the Grade point. There are also companies that don't care what the grades are, so long as you actually made it to graduation. They hire based on our reputation of teaching the students what it takes to be good problem solvers.

This is my last week teaching engineering. The data from last year shows that 100% (of the returned surveys from 6 months after graduation) of our students are either employed, grad school, have offers, are are not seeking employment. At graduation, the number is 86%. So there are jobs for folks that make it to the finish line.

 

[dirtbiker]

Your assumption is that he's going up. I'd argue that he started with a 4.0 and has gone down 25% during the easiest part of his degree. Trying to get back up to a 3.5 or better is going to be a long hard slog. Can it be done, sure, but it's not likely.

Obviously GPA isn't everything, but what a missed opportunity to not take advantage of the easy A's being offered in your history, English, nonsense classes.

I graduated with a 3.8'ish and my spouse with a 2.7. Spouse makes 10x what I do now, literally, but it wasn't easy to land that first gig. Company they work for now never would've even looked at the resume (require a 3.5 minimum for graduating engineers). GPA still matters trying to land that first gig, especially right now when everyone has a bachelors at a minimum.

It's not an assumption that he's going up. He clearly is. He didn't start with a 4.0. He started with no GPA. Then he averaged a 3.0 over his first three semesters. This last semester was a 3.76. That is a very objective improvement. Hopefully he continues.

What you call easy A's in the gen ed courses is an assumption. The gen ed 'nonsense' classes may be easier for you than your core classes, but that's not the case for everyone. Myself included. I have a very STEM-centric mind. The very objective, science and math-heavy classes come very easily to me. I often spent much more time to get worse grades in my gen ed classes than I did in my 300 and 400 level biology and chemistry courses. That's just how my mind (and my concentration) works. I still remember a BS comparative literature course that I worked my butt off in. I spent more time writing and re-writing these papers than I did studying for my core classes and for MCATs and ended up with a B in it. I was so pissed. The rest of my grades that semester were straight As. When I graduated, the GPA of my major and minor classes was much higher than my overall GPA and my gen ed GPA.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Your assumption is that he's going up. I'd argue that he started with a 4.0 and has gone down 25% during the easiest part of his degree. Trying to get back up to a 3.5 or better is going to be a long hard slog. Can it be done, sure, but it's not likely.

Obviously GPA isn't everything, but what a missed opportunity to not take advantage of the easy A's being offered in your history, English, nonsense classes.

I graduated with a 3.8'ish and my spouse with a 2.7. Spouse makes 10x what I do now, literally, but it wasn't easy to land that first gig. Company they work for now never would've even looked at the resume (require a 3.5 minimum for graduating engineers). GPA still matters trying to land that first gig, especially right now when everyone has a bachelors at a minimum.

I did considerably better in my two majors (obtained a double major plus a minor in math in three years) than in gen ED classes (what you call easy A/nonsense classes). Yes, GPA matters but matters even more is trend. If a student struggles a bit and then turns it around, that is usually seen as a GOOD thing by employers. It shows that the person isn't a quitter and can overcome obstacles and set backs.

 

[Bestwifeever]

RE GPA: DD went to a rigorous school in Houston and was way over her head first three semesters in her declared major (I think she was teetering on a 2.0, all in required prerequisites for that major), which she also realized she didn’t want to spend her life doing. She changed majors after extensive testing and although her new major was also rigorous, she ended up with a 4.0 in her major. So that is another way to present a GPA. She took an awesome job after lots of interviews.

But once you hover closer to a 3.0 than a 4.0 for three semesters, it probably becomes statistically unlikely to hit a 3.5 overall. Good luck to the OP’s son—his major sounds like it will result in a successful career for him.

 

[dg001]

For a CS/Math major, if looking for jobs - what will matter more is internship and other work experiences - even for the first job. And - at least it worked this way for me - once he realizes how much money CS majors make, even in internships, it will focus his work in school. My grades the last two years were way better than my first few semesters.

For grad school, I applied after a couple years of working, and GPA mattered a lot less than the GRE scores.

 

[foxfirev5]

Hey Ray I think it will work out OK. DS has a persona that will work in the real world. We had a similar situation with DS #2. He could calculate the minimum requirements with a skill level beyond belief. Until his junior year. One screwup and serious effort got him back on track. Years later he is probably our most successful from a monetary standpoint.

 

[ncbill]

I managed to lower my overall GPA by dithering between a hard science (physics) & soft science (economics) - finally went with the latter.

The physics department proudly boasted their majors had the lowest GPA on campus.

At that time my college did not allow double majors or minors, though it does today.

 

[JDARNELL]

.

The physics department proudly boasted their majors had the lowest GPA on campus.

.

This quote reminds me of the military assignment teams mentality. I remember being in a briefing and the guy saying. “I put 10 guys out of the service before I found someone that would take the assignment”.

I remember thinking now you have 11 assignments to fill. Then in 2009 the assignment guy says well you are gonna make 0-6 after you complete this assignment in Iraq. I said yeah then when I pin on you are gonna send me back.