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I will be mass mailing my materials in a few days, and I was curious if I should list my GPA on my resume. My school does not calculate rank for those students who were not within the top 25%, and I (obviously) did not make it within the top quarter. My 1L GPA is not impressive (3.2-3.3), and I'm not sure whether to put it on or leave it off. If it helps, I'll be mailing my materials to smaller-medium sized local firms, banks, and possibly local real estate developers.

Posted anonymously because (I think) very few schools have the same policy as my school.

TIA for the help.

Two points:

First, TCR is to usually put the GPA on. The thinking is that the average employer assumes the worst if you leave it off altogether. Employers may also have other ways of determining your rank, even if you do not. As an example, law firms may subscribe to publications like the BCG guide to law schools, which includes estimates to help employers figure out what the median/curve looks like at many schools (here's the guide from 2012, just so you can see how it works: http://www.bcgsearch.com/pdf/BCG_Law_Sc ... e_2012.pdf ). The employer may also be able to figure out the curve simply by comparing your application against others - but if you leave off your GPA that's no longer possible. Even if you aren't top 25%, if you're top 33%, or top 50%, you still may want to make that known, so put down your GPA.

Second, the ONLY exception is if you have reason to believe your GPA is REALLY bad (as in, would put you well below median), then you might want to leave it off, basically for the same reasons that you would otherwise want to put it on (comparison to other resumes from your school, etc.). With a GPA above 3.2, it's hard to believe you fit in this category, but without knowing your school...eh, who knows.

TL;DR If you leave it off, employers may assume the worst, so only leave it off if it really is the worst.