putting class rank on resume Forum

[bt53]

So I'm above median at a school with a kind of crappy curve (2.7-2.8 ). The school gives us a fractional ranking xx/xxx after each semester, but they don't put our class rank on our transcripts for some reason. My rank, although mediocre, is definitely better than my gpa would suggest. I've also heard that if you ommit your academic performance from your resume, employers often assume the worst. Should I list my class rank sans gpa in order to clarify that I'm in the top half of my class?

[A. Nony Mouse]

Include your GPA *and* your rank. (Rank without GPA looks weird and like you have something to hide; giving the rank makes clear your school's crappy curve.)

[bt53]

Include your GPA *and* your rank. (Rank without GPA looks weird and like you have something to hide; giving the rank makes clear your school's crappy curve.)

Yeah, this seems like the logical thing to do. The problem is that my gpa is a 2.98, and I get the feeling that there's something especially off-puting about a sub-3 gpa even with the rank to put it into context.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Yeah, that's a tough one. Here's hoping you can get that .02 quickly!

(Also, make sure that your school is okay with you listing the rank - if they give it to you, they should be, but find out if they don't put it on your transcript because it's not "official" or something. I really doubt it's the case here, but putting a rank on your resume either before the school's given them out or if the school doesn't rank can be an honor code violation, so just to be properly lawyer-ly obsessive, I'd suggest checking with your career office.)

[bt53]

Yeah, that's a tough one. Here's hoping you can get that .02 quickly!

(Also, make sure that your school is okay with you listing the rank - if they give it to you, they should be, but find out if they don't put it on your transcript because it's not "official" or something. I really doubt it's the case here, but putting a rank on your resume either before the school's given them out or if the school doesn't rank can be an honor code violation, so just to be properly lawyer-ly obsessive, I'd suggest checking with your career office.)

Thanks, I appreciate it. As far as the school policy goes, they said it was basically my choice as long as I gave the exact rank. I think the reason they haven't published it on our transcripts is that they probably don't want to draw attention to the low 1L curve as it normalizes to >3.0 in our 2L and 3L years.

[TLSwag]

Not to hijack OP's thread or anything, but my post asking for help on this issue didn't get no love Would really appreciate some insight here.

Basically 2 questions -

(1) My school doesn't rank, so I only have estimates of cut-offs and based on last year's data (which did vary by section, per my school's grading policy), my 3.44 would be right in the middle of top-third. This is basically all conjecture from even my perspective, so can I not include anything indicating percentile?

(2) Do I need to put my undergraduate GPA on the resume to keep it consistent? I mean it wasn't horrible (3.4) and at a preftigious university, but, as, every fellow splitter knows undergrad is a fuckin joke, and my shit wasn't too impressive. Suggestions?

[kalvano]

1) Does your school release yearly cutoffs? Meaning do you get cutoffs for your class after semester? If so, put whichever you're closest to. If not, then don't put anything. Never just blindly guess a class rank. I don't understand why you would think it would be OK to use outdated information that you're hazarding a guess from on your résumé.

2) I would put it because it looks weird without it to me. But it's not going to make or break you. Do whatever you like there.

[TLSwag]

1) Does your school release yearly cutoffs? Meaning do you get cutoffs for your class after semester? If so, put whichever you're closest to. If not, then don't put anything. Never just blindly guess a class rank. I don't understand why you would think it would be OK to use outdated information that you're hazarding a guess from on your résumé.

2) I would put it because it looks weird without it to me. But it's not going to make or break you. Do whatever you like there.

(1) Yeah, no semester cut-offs, very minimal information released which is unfortunate. Didn't really think that would be ok, I guess I was just sort of surprised there is nothing else I can indicate.

(2) And ya your right it looks pretty whack without it.

Appreciate it.

[kalvano]

If they come to your school regularly, they will know about where you are.