Concerns of a graduating senior

nahneun · May 19, 2010

Hello styleforvm, I am about to graduate from an Ivy League Institute with a degree in Economics, but I have to admit that my performance has been quite unsatisfactory. My four-year college experience was plagued by depression and I was never really able to recover from it, leading to a serious toll on my GPA. It's not like I was always this way either. I wasn't the best student in high school, but I did reasonably well and graduated with a 3.8 from a reputable New York magnet school, so I don't think the problem was the workload at my university. With that said, I know my job prospects are slim to nonexistent, as most firms will consider my low GPA an indicator of my lack of motivation and my inability to work at a competent level. What would you guys consider I do in a situation like this? I would ideally like to recover from my depression as well, but psychiatrists are just too distant and "fake" for me to able to work with them again. I know it feels like I'm like some jaded Holden Caulfield, but I don't have any delusions of becoming some hero. I just want to be able to live a relatively comfortable life and be content with where I am twenty years down the line. Obviously, I will regret college, but I don't think that should ruin the rest of my life for me. Thank you for all your help

Don Carlos · May 19, 2010

Originally Posted by nahneun

Hello styleforvm, I am about to graduate from an Ivy League Institute with a degree in Economics, but I have to admit that my performance has been quite unsatisfactory. My four-year college experience was plagued by depression and I was never really able to recover from it, leading to a serious toll on my GPA. It's not like I was always this way either. I wasn't the best student in high school, but I did reasonably well and graduated with a 3.8 from a reputable New York magnet school, so I don't think the problem was the workload at my university. With that said, I know my job prospects are slim to nonexistent, as most firms will consider my low GPA an indicator of my lack of motivation and my inability to work at a competent level. What would you guys consider I do in a situation like this? I would ideally like to recover from my depression as well, but psychiatrists are just too distant and "fake" for me to able to work with them again. I know it feels like I'm like some jaded Holden Caulfield, but I don't have any delusions of becoming some hero. I just want to be able to live a relatively comfortable life and be content with where I am twenty years down the line. Obviously, I will regret college, but I don't think that should ruin the rest of my life for me. Thank you for all your help

Figure out what you actually want to do with your life before jumping into recruiting. That will help you get a handle on planning, then making a comeback, from your low GPA situation. Chances are, you may have closed a few doors at some of the more high-end, prestigious firms in the big three professions (law, consulting, banking). But not necessarily. Regardless, try to figure out your ideal job/career strategy before working on the tactics. Also, from someone who's dealt with depression before: don't ignore professional help or dismiss it outright. Consider antidepressants -- not as an instant cure, but as a way of getting yourself over the initial hurdle of being able to not rationalize therapy away, and as a small step toward getting yourself in the right state of mind to begin overcoming it. Sometimes you can't overcome it on your own, and you really do need that extra ammunition in your therapeutic arsenal. Depression may come and go, but it's never going away for good until you start tackling it head on. Back to the first point, though: figure out what you want to do with your career, not what you think you "need" to do.

unjung · May 19, 2010

250 posts on SF guarantees a $250k fall-back job so I wouldn't sweat it.

darkdream · May 19, 2010

What was your GPA? If it was low like 3.4-3.5, you should be okay. If your major GPA is high, but overall is low just state your major GPA on applications as it is much more important that how well you did in useless GE courses. If your major GPA and overall GPA is under 3.3 I would not state it unless it was required. Also undergraduate with economics is not that great of a degree since it is not very quantitative, which is why most economic graduates are mathematics majors or something quantitative along those lines.

level32 · May 19, 2010

It all depends on what you mean by low. With that said, how's the previous work experience (internships) and "leadership experience"?

nahneun · May 19, 2010

By low, I mean really low. As in abysmally low. Under 3.0 low. My major GPA is in a similar situation. I wouldn't be as concerned if it were around 3.4 or 3.5, since that is still a very workable range. In terms of leadership experience, I was very involved in one of the martial arts clubs here, and I was President this year and Treasurer last year (though I did all the president's work as well since he was incompetent when it came to administrative affairs). This mainly involved making sure the club ran smoothly from an administrative perspective, running practices, organizing the annual tournament, handling finances, and acting as a liaison for clubs from other schools. As for internship experience, I changed my major junior year and had to catch up on classes, so I didn't really have any opportunities to take any internships, not that any firms would want me because my grades were so horrendous. Given these circumstances, I feel like I should legitimately be worried about my future prospects.

HRoi · May 20, 2010

an Econ degree from an Ivy League school would still get some attention. just keep trying and work on polishing your interview technique. even if you don't get into a bulge bracket firm or similar, you'll probably eventually land a decent job.

the depression, if you can't keep it under control at work, will be a major drawback though. it's hard for any manager to deal with an employee that for whatever reason is unpredictable and/or unreliable. good luck with that (sincerely)

Piobaire · May 20, 2010

Two words: Big Law

Davidko19 · May 20, 2010

Originally Posted by darkdream

What was your GPA? If it was low like 3.4-3.5, you should be okay...

Originally Posted by nahneun

By low, I mean really low. As in abysmally low. Under 3.0 low. ...

Originally Posted by HRoi

an Econ degree from an Ivy League school would still get some attention. just keep trying and work on polishing your interview technique. even if you don't get into a bulge bracket firm or similar, you'll probably eventually land a decent job.
this was exactly my train of thought. Dude, I graduated from a MUCH shittier school than you, probably paid just as much, have a useless major and had to bust my hump to bring my overall GPA to a 3.0 (On the dot

) and Im not exactly giving up on life. If I had finance and an Ivy League school on my resume Id be happier than a pig in ****. It might close a few doors, sure, but I think having either of those 2 thing would open more than nothing.

Pantisocrat · May 20, 2010

3.8 is not low. Mine was 2.9 and I was still able to find a job. Have courage grasshopper.

Don Carlos · May 20, 2010

Originally Posted by Pantisocrat

3.8 is not low. Mine was 2.9 and I was still able to find a job. Have courage grasshopper.

He said he got 3.8 in high school. He's talking about college now.

Makeshift_Robot · May 20, 2010

No need to fret, man. I know that when you are so close to "making it", having a setback that keeps you from your goals can really bring you down. But there is so much in the world that you can do with a degree from an Ivy and a low GPA. Really, after the first few years of work, people won't even want to see your GPA -- all that will be on that resume is the name of the school you went to, and an Ivy would be great for that.

I'm in a situation much like yours (except I'm at ******* U of I because I'm too poor for the Ivy League), but I hold out hope. It sucks that your grades don't represent your intelligence and work ethic, but thousands of people graduate from Ivys doing poorly, and they manage to find a way forward in life. Good luck. Dress sharply.

Pantisocrat · May 20, 2010

Originally Posted by Makeshift_Robot

It sucks that your grades don't represent your intelligence and work ethic, but thousands of people graduate from Ivys doing poorly, and they manage to find a way forward in life.

This needs repeating. Grades only help you get your first job.

Valor · May 20, 2010

Was in a really similar situation last year (graduated 09).

Had really solid numbers in HS went to an Ivy and graduated with a 3.0. The best advice is to keep trying. You probably won't be able to snag interviews to any of the top end firms you're looking for and Law school is probably no longer an option along with many graduate programs, but there are still plenty of companies who would love to have some ivy leaguers. You may want to consider not writing your GPA on your resume and focusing a lot on work experience if you have any. My resume, other than GPA, was fairly strong in terms of extracurriculars and work experience and I think that got me a decent job. You may also consider going into nonprofit where the competition isn't as fierce.

Best of luck, and don't give up!

Cavalier · May 20, 2010

You're graduating from an Ivy League -- you'll be fine. Will you land the most uber prestigious job from an on campus recruiter? No. You'll have no problem finding a job though, don't bother putting your GPA on the transcript

Concerns of a graduating senior

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