What to Know About Including a GPA on Your Resume

Updated July 12, 20231.1k

Deciding whether or not a GPA belongs on your resume can be difficult. What should you know about including or choosing not to include a GPA on your resume?

GPA on Resume

Your GPA, which stands for grade point average, is an important aspect of your academic experience. High school and college students typically need a specific GPA to graduate, and a higher than average GPA can say something about who you are and how much you know. As a recent graduate trying to get a job, featuring your GPA in your job application can be a great way to make up for the fact that you might not have much professional experience. Here’s what you should know about adding a GPA to your resume.

How To Decide if You Should Put Your GPA on a Resume

You can include GPA if:

Your GPA is above 3.5. A fairly high GPA shows academic achievement, and this can place you above other job seekers whose resume is about the same as yours, but with a lower GPA.
You have less than two years of work experience. Work experience will always outweigh academic achievements because someone can do very well in school and very poorly on the job market or vice versa. If you have limited work experience, your GPA can show off your work ethic.
The job description requests it. If the job description specifically requests that you include your GPA, include it even if it’s not very high. For a lower GPA, you’ll just have to compensate with skills, training, and work experience.

You shouldn’t include your GPA if:

You have a GPA under 3.0. Openly listing a low GPA on your resume will do nothing at best and hurt your chances of getting the job at worst.
You have lots of educational experience. If you have lots of experience, you’re best off only listing your GPA from your most recent education. If you have a bachelor’s degree and a grad school degree for example, list only the GPA for your grad school degree.

You have at least three years of work experience. Most career experts suggest ditching your GPA after 2-3 years of work experience. At this point, it’s no longer relevant.

Where To Include a GPA on Your Resume

If you are going to include your GPA, put it in the education section, right after your high school or college name. Label it as GPA or as whatever specific type of GPA you’re listing, like cumulative GPA or major GPA. A resume builder may offer you the option to either include your GPA or pass over your GPA. If you’re still not sure about adding your GPA to your resume, look through different resume examples and see how it looks with and without a GPA.

Tips for Presenting Your GPA on Your Resume

Before you add your GPA to your resume, here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

List your GPA before extracurricular activities and coursework if you’re planning to add either of those in your education section.
The decimal place is important. GPA is graded on a 1.0-4.0 scale, so those decimal points make the GPA more helpful than just categorizing students into four tiers. Add the full, specific GPA, including the decimal.
Remember that there may be a difference between your major GPA and your overall GPA. List whichever one is higher.

The last point to remember is that GPA isn't the only way to show off academic excellence. You can also include your other graduation honors. For example, if you attained the Dean’s List or received a cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude, this can be more impressive to potential employers than just stating outright that you have a 3.6 GPA. Generally, opt for honors over GPA, even if you had a very good GPA. You can include honors on your resume for much longer than your GPA.

FAQ: GPA on Resume

Is a 3.0 GPA too low to put on a resume?

This depends entirely on what job you’re applying for, why you’re applying for it, and why you include your GPA on your resume. If you’re hoping to show off your academic prowess during your job search and you have under a 3.0 GPA, you probably shouldn’t include it. However, if the hiring manager specifically requested it, a 3.0 GPA definitely won’t kill your chances of getting the job. You’ll just have to showcase through experience and skills that you’re still a great choice for the job.

Should I include my GPA on a resume after I graduate college?

If you’re going to include GPA on your resume, you need to only include your most recent education experience. That means if you just got your college degree, you should no longer be including your GPA for high school. Most career advice states to remove your high school experience entirely from your resume once you have college experience.

Is it a good idea to mention my GPA in my cover letter?

This depends on why you’re planning to mention it. If you have a high GPA and you’re applying for an internship based on academic prowess, yes. If you just graduated high school and you’re looking for a trade job based on a certification that you have, probably not. The more you want to shine a spotlight on your GPA, the more likely that you’ll want to include it in your cover letter.

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About The Author

Cindi Cervone Carlson

Cindi Cervone Carlson is a Senior Vice President for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Cindi is responsible for developing, delivering, and implementing a dynamic, world-class organization dedicated to delivering outplacement consulting, training, support, and executive coaching. Cindi started her career at Challenger as a client who had lost her job. Over the past nine years, she has risen from an entry-level, part-time professional to Senior Vice President.