3.0 lower t14. Only want PI, but gunning for agency fellowship. Thoughts? Forum

[ConfusedL1]

Seriously. Straight bs across the board. Worried I won't be competitive now. Thoughts? Too early to worry?

I'm a rising 2l. Solid PI background before school 4 years working. Strong ny connections, but want dc fed. Doing moot and journal

[k5220]

DC fed tends to care about grades, unfortunately. Even agencies that dip pretty low don't seem to dip all the way to a 3.0 (but it's worth asking your career services office for any info they might have on specific agencies and past GPAs of hires from your school).

Work to raise your grades as much as you can and start thinking about how to expand your career search. A lot of other PI is much less grade conscious.

[J90]

I hate to break this to you, but breaking into federal-government jobs is harder than breaking into most firms. A large New York firm can take on an enormous summer class (100+, or close), but an agency may take on only a couple every year, and sometimes none. "DC Fed" is not a fallback.

You'll need to work your ass off from here on out, do relevant internships - the same ones, if you can, and during the school year - and really drum up a clear narrative about your cause and your passion for the particular job, and build a great reputation with the people you work with. And even then, it's an enormous crapshoot. Good luck.

[Worker and Parasite]

I want to say most DC Feds want at least top 1/3 but that doesn't mean you're shut out. The problem is the # of actual Fed jobs out there, which might be 2-10 per agency, if the agency is even hiring at the time. What you need to do is find backup situations where you don't get into a Fed position.

[ConfusedL1]

So what kind of GPA would I need for these fellowships? Also, I'd need it by the end of 2L, right?

[k5220]

So what kind of GPA would I need for these fellowships? Also, I'd need it by the end of 2L, right?

You should ask your career services office. It varies a lot by agency. The lowest I've heard of out of NYU is in the 3.2 range, but the vast majority are substantially higher.

[ConfusedL1]

So what kind of GPA would I need for these fellowships? Also, I'd need it by the end of 2L, right?

You should ask your career services office. It varies a lot by agency. The lowest I've heard of out of NYU is in the 3.2 range, but the vast majority are substantially higher.

Like 3.6 range?

[hicrhodus]

At least from NYU, some of the less competitive fed agencies have historically been willing to take GPAs under 3.3. Not sure if that's still true. My impression is that how grade conscious agencies are varies greatly with DOJ Honors being (among) the most competitive.

State gov't and direct services positions tend to focus far less on grades, but not sure if that's your thing...