Does upward grade trend actually matter? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I understand that it's a nice narrative during OCI interviews, but do employers value a kid with a 3.65 upward better than downward?

If so, if it's extreme does that also help? I went from median (3.3) to 4.0 (3.65 overall).

I'm curious how I'd actually fare against other kids interviewing with similar GPAs.

[chasgoose]

In general, upward grade trends aren't going to help you overcome grades below a firm's GPA cutoff. Upward grade trends are most useful for giving you a way to frame a bad grade or two first semester if it comes up in an interview and allows you to move on from them quickly. Firm hiring isn't like law school admissions. Once you have the grades to put you in contention, a firm isn't going to base its contention solely on GPA's. Of course the higher your GPA is the less you have to wow them with other factors to get an offer, but it's not like they are going to be sitting around the table comparing you to someone with the same GPA but with a downward trend and give you the offer solely because of the upward grade trend...

[Anonymous User]

In general, upward grade trends aren't going to help you overcome grades below a firm's GPA cutoff. Upward grade trends are most useful for giving you a way to frame a bad grade or two first semester if it comes up in an interview and allows you to move on from them quickly. Firm hiring isn't like law school admissions. Once you have the grades to put you in contention, a firm isn't going to base its contention solely on GPA's. Of course the higher your GPA is the less you have to wow them with other factors to get an offer, but it's not like they are going to be sitting around the table comparing you to someone with the same GPA but with a downward trend and give you the offer solely because of the upward grade trend...

That makes sense. Thanks for your input.

[nonprofit-prophet]

I know someone that had a lower first semester GPA and the same second semester GPA. He ended up getting an SA at a firm that usually took 3.75+ GPAs. I definitely think the upward trend made a big difference. He said he didn't really know how to take exams 1st semester, but once he figured it out he killed it.

[Anonymous User]

Not all the firms even ask for the transcripts. So just the one GPA you gave is the one they had to do by and it wouldn't have mattered if you went up or down.

The ones that don't ask for transcripts you can certainly just put your GPA on your resume.

[Anonymous User]

I know someone that had a lower first semester GPA and the same second semester GPA. He ended up getting an SA at a firm that usually took 3.75+ GPAs. I definitely think the upward trend made a big difference. He said he didn't really know how to take exams 1st semester, but once he figured it out he killed it.

That's really encouraging. I'll definitely put it on my resume and show the cumulative by semester.

Damn, despite some of the trolling and contrarian douchebags, TLS is by far a better source of info than career services.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, it might not in and of itself make or break you, but come up with a great answer for it that you tell every interviewer: you bring it up for them. "Well, first semester was a struggle. It was something very new and I didn't do as well as I wanted to. But I went back to the drawing board second semester and really figured out what worked and what didn't. I made adjustments that led to really positive results. I think that working for a firm I am not going to get down if things don't go my way right off the bat. I will keep working hard to try to adjust." Something like that, but better.

[Lawyerhead]

I know someone that had a lower first semester GPA and the same second semester GPA. He ended up getting an SA at a firm that usually took 3.75+ GPAs. I definitely think the upward trend made a big difference. He said he didn't really know how to take exams 1st semester, but once he figured it out he killed it.

That's really encouraging. I'll definitely put it on my resume and show the cumulative by semester.

Damn, despite some of the trolling and contrarian douchebags, TLS is by far a better source of info than career services.

You put your grades on your resume? Won't the interviewer have a transcript? Anyway, my 2 cents are that getting better grades in your spring semester isn't much of a trend... The whole "I learned how to take tests" reason doesn't resonate with me either. Everyone does practice exams so there shouldn't be any surprises. Also, it's rare (for me, never) for a prof to give a detailed analysis of your exam, so usually a student would be in the dark about why he received the grade he did.

[Anonymous User]

1l sa. Same situation grade wise (B+s --> As). My boss said just to say "I'm a little disappointed with how I did first semester but I feel a lot better about my performance now after finishing the whole year." I don't really know why my grades improved so it seems like an honest answer anyways.

[rad lulz]

Yeah, it might not in and of itself make or break you, but come up with a great answer for it that you tell every interviewer: you bring it up for them. "Well, first semester was a struggle. It was something very new and I didn't do as well as I wanted to. But I went back to the drawing board second semester and really figured out what worked and what didn't. I made adjustments that led to really positive results. I think that working for a firm I am not going to get down if things don't go my way right off the bat. I will keep working hard to try to adjust." Something like that, but better.

I had very good results with something approximating this spiel.