Should I Put My GPA on My Resume?

The Quick Rule

Include your GPA if you are a student or recent graduate and it is strong (generally 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale). Leave it off if it is below about 3.5, or if you have a few years of professional experience behind you. Once you have real work history, your achievements carry the weight, and your GPA stops mattering.

That covers most people. The rest of this post handles the situations where the answer is less obvious.

When You Should Include It

Add your GPA when:

• You are a current student or graduated within the last year or two, and you don't yet have much work experience to point to. Your academic record is some of the strongest evidence you have.
• Your GPA is 3.5 or higher. A strong GPA is a credible signal of work ethic and ability, especially for entry-level roles.
• The employer or posting explicitly asks for it. Some companies, particularly in finance, consulting, and competitive graduate programs, require a GPA and will filter on it. If they ask, include it.
• You're applying to academically selective programs or roles where the GPA is part of how candidates are compared.

When You Should Leave It Off

Drop the GPA when:

• It is below 3.5. A mediocre GPA doesn't help you and can invite questions. Better to let your projects, skills, and experience speak.
• You have a few years of professional experience. Once you've held real roles, recruiters care about what you accomplished at work, not your college grades. Experienced professionals should remove the GPA to make room for stronger material.
• It's been a long time since graduation. A GPA on the resume of someone ten years into their career looks out of place and slightly dated.
• Your overall GPA is weak but a sub-section is strong. In that case, consider listing the stronger number instead (more on that below).

How to Present Your GPA

If you include it, format it cleanly within your education section:

• Place it on the same line as your degree and school, for example: "B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, State University, 2025, GPA: 3.8/4.0."
• Always include the scale ("3.8/4.0"). A bare "3.8" is ambiguous if the school uses a different scale.
• Don't round up or inflate. If a recruiter checks your transcript and the numbers don't match, that is a serious credibility problem.

The Strategic Alternatives

When your overall GPA is borderline, you have a few honest options:

• Major GPA: If your GPA within your major is notably higher than your overall GPA, list it as "Major GPA: 3.7/4.0." This is common and accepted, as long as you label it accurately.
• Latin honors or distinctions: "Cum laude," "Dean's List," or "graduated with honors" can stand in for or accompany a number and signal strong performance.
• Relevant coursework and projects: Instead of a number, you can show academic strength through specific advanced courses, a capstone project, or research. This often demonstrates capability more concretely than a GPA does. We cover proving ability over stating it in How to Make a Resume Stand Out.

What Goes in the Space Instead

When you remove the GPA, fill the space with something that does more work: relevant projects, internships, leadership roles, technical skills, or certifications. For early-career candidates especially, a strong projects section or a well-built skills section often does more than a GPA ever could. See the ATS-Friendly Resume Template for where these sections fit, and Skills to Put on a Resume for building the skills section.

The Bottom Line

A GPA is a temporary asset. Use it while it helps, which is mainly as a student or recent grad with a strong number, and retire it once your work experience can carry the resume on its own. When in doubt: strong and recent, include it; weak or dated, replace it with something that proves your ability more directly.