# Should I be killing myself to maintain a 4.0 GPA? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642 "2015-04-02T18:39:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/21 "2015-04-03T17:35:37Z")
> [@CinnamonBabka](#): > > It’s yet another selling point – all other things being equal, you’re going to win out over someone who doesn’t have a 4.0 GPA. Not after your first job. ---
**Author:** ![CinnamonBabka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@CinnamonBabka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CinnamonBabka)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/22 "2015-04-03T18:37:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not after your first job. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/23 "2015-04-04T04:04:31Z")
> [@CinnamonBabka](#): > > Agreed. Yeah, just to echo this. I had pretty bad grades in undergrad. But through a combination of developing in-demand skills and networking, I was able to land a pretty good job with a prestigious company. But it took a few years while some of my friends with better grades landed good jobs right out of school. Also keep in mind, not all “first jobs” are created equal. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/24 "2015-04-04T11:56:15Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Plus I assume to sit for the CPA you need prior relevant work experience? Not in my state. The process is a little wacky, and has changed over the last few years and varies form state to state. For my state(and I think this is true for most states) you do not need any work experience to sit for the exam, you just need to have a passing grade in the required courses. Once you pass the exam, you have three years to fulfill the 2000 hour work requirement to obtain a license. Even without the license though, if you pass the exam, your employability skyrockets(or so I’ve been told). Only about 5% of CPAs do work that requires the license, but having a CPA shows that you have a very high level of proficiency. There is a certain irony in taking the courses at CC also. They are geared toward being able to ass the CPA exam; so they are actually very hard. In a class full of college graduates, nearly half will fail, and only 1 will get an A on most of the tests. So, it is pretty difficult to get an A - but no employer (or hardly anyone else for that matter) would really know that. Some of the accountants sitting next to me are impressed when I score higher then them, but they seem harder to network with than the people who I meet when I’m at social events or meet ups. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/25 "2015-04-05T04:25:51Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > Because I am not sure there is a material difference. Employers seem to care whether you have passed the CPA exam or not. Once that box is checked, I don’t know if they even look at GPA, but only care about work experience etc. Good networking is more likely to open doors. There is a difference. People will always be clucking about a 4.0 GPA. Especially YOUNGER ones. May give the employer a few doubts as to why he needs Mr. Nylock, who only had a 3.8, costs the company more, and, btw, ain’t gettin’ no younger. 4.0 GPA IS good networking. ETA: Just read your last sentence on the above post: If this doesn’t shriek 'bust your hump for a 4.0" nothing else will. Those accountaints…impressed by your grades…just wh_om else_ would you plan to network with, as an accountant? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/26 "2015-04-05T06:27:26Z")
You will always be able to drink a beer. You have the one opportunity to get a 4.0. Toast yourself the beer later, again, and again, and again, by getting the 4.0. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/27 "2015-04-05T13:07:40Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > ETA: Just read your last sentence on the above post: If this doesn’t shriek 'bust your hump for a 4.0" nothing else will. Those accountaints…impressed by your grades…just wh_om else_ would you plan to network with, as an accountant? They are just accountants; not people who hire them - they’re impressed that I can do well on an exam, but that doesn’t really translate into them going out of their way to help me get a job at their place of work. Mostly the other students are just there to get the credits to sit for the exam, not to meet new people - they just are not particularly social. When I’m out socializing, especially doing something like riding with a cycling club, I tend to meet more higher level people and these people are social and want to network. One of the people I met recently, for example, is a CEO of a small audit firm, and we hit it off pretty well. Probably my situation is kind of peculiar, where I live it is so wealthy and the general education level is so high that just going out and doing something you have in interest in you will be likely to meet established professionals; so it’s not like I’m in the middle of padookaville hanging out at the local bar. I think so far **msmith** kind described the situation pretty well. This is accounting, and while grades may be important to a degree, a small difference in GPA does not have as much utility in the real world as a few good connections from what I can tell so far. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/28 "2015-04-05T14:19:49Z")
> [@CinnamonBabka](#): > > I’m an engineer. I’ve interviewed engineers, and have a rough understanding of how HR handles resumes that come in. _shrug_ I’m an engineer too. I had a fair-to-middling GPA at university (3.0) but you know what did the most to secure me a job after graduation? The fact that I had done co-op and internships. I didn’t hire into the company I co-oped with, but one of the managers who went elsewhere tapped me for his team at his new company (a fairly well-known electronics manufacturer.) ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/29 "2015-04-07T12:26:55Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > Because I am not sure there is a material difference. Employers seem to care whether you have passed the CPA exam or not. Once that box is checked, I don’t know if they even look at GPA, but only care about work experience etc. Good networking is more likely to open doors. I think a 4.0 is a significant advantage. It immediately attracts attention during that all-important networking. I know that when I read resumes and quals, I don’t differentiate between a 3.8 and a 3.6 (for instance). But a 4.0 sticks in my memory. IMO, it will pay off. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/30 "2015-04-07T12:37:58Z")
It didn’t really penetrate that these are CPA test-prep courses. Obviously if the courses won’t go on the resume, a 4.0 won’t help. I can’t see someone casually dropping a 4.0 on a the test-prep courses into a conversation at a party. But I have no knowledge of this track-perhaps everyone has to take these courses? If established CPAs in a firm will be interested in the 4.0, then it is worth it. Otherwise, not so much. Mind you, the OP has only one chance to get a 4.0 and to me it would be worth it just for the self-satisfaction, but it won’t be worth it if it interferes with getting a job or causes health problems. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/31 "2015-04-07T12:51:02Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > It didn’t really penetrate that these are CPA test-prep courses. Obviously if the courses won’t go on the resume, a 4.0 won’t help. I can’t see someone casually dropping a 4.0 on a the test-prep courses into a conversation at a party. But I have no knowledge of this track-perhaps everyone has to take these courses? If established CPAs in a firm will be interested in the 4.0, then it is worth it. Otherwise, not so much. Mind you, the OP has only one chance to get a 4.0 and to me it would be worth it just for the self-satisfaction, but it won’t be worth it if it interferes with getting a job or causes health problems. They may or may not go on a resume. They are normal university accounting courses, not just test prep courses. They would have to go on a grad school/MBA application. After this, there are CPA prep courses (Becker, Roger for example) that are just to prepare you for the test but are not university courses. I do have more than one chance to get a 4.0 though, I can always retake a course:cool: ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/32 "2015-04-07T13:16:12Z")
> [@CinnamonBabka](#): > > It’s yet another selling point – all other things being equal, you’re going to win out over someone who doesn’t have a 4.0 GPA. Not a given. I know a woman (now an MD) who did not get into her first-choice medical school because of her 4.0. They were looking for “more balanced applicants”. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/33 "2015-04-07T18:09:22Z")
Engineer here. My GPA was far less than great, 2.9 overall, but the one time it came up in an interview I simply explained that, no lie, I was also working myself through school between 20-40 hrs per week. I spun it as being a hard worker that can successfully manage priorities. I got hired 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642/34 "2015-04-07T18:42:27Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Not a given. I know a woman (now an MD) who did not get into her first-choice medical school because of her 4.0. They were looking for “more balanced applicants”. This is actually one of my concerns. From what I have found from various accounting forums is once in a while someone will be complaining endlessly about how they got a 4.0 in accounting and they are having trouble finding a job. I have yet to hear any stories about people who spent a lot of time networking but got unremarkable grades and had any trouble finding a job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-killing-myself-to-maintain-a-4-0-gpa/716642.md?page=1)