Explaining Bad Grades

im in a similar situation but with an engineering degree and what keeps me hopeful is i'v done so much extracurricular stuff that i can show i have experience and capabilities despite my poor grades. the industries you're going into may be different but if you can show you have an interesting personality or you can prove your skills outside of academia then your grades may not matter.

>>18547673
This, I'm basically the same but it's my high school grades that were total shit - that being said, I worked at entry level in a relevant field for a while, went to Uni, got really good grades and now have a much better job. Not all employers are overly picky about grades, of course having good grades helps but even if they're mediocre, if you have some industry experience, even an internship, and if you can show your potential employer that you're a human being who can do good work and has an interest in the subject then you'll do fine.

>>18547673
>>18547689
Hey guys, thanks for the advice, I have done a fair bit of extra-curricular stuff to try and beef up the resume. I'm still a bit concerned though - it seems that GPA is how you cut through the initial batch of applicants, so the concern is even getting to the interview stage in the first place.

My international relations grades were good, and as I said, I did really well on my thesis - and that's the field I'd like go into. My concern is that those damn law fails are stuck there on my transcript, and while having a law degree should be an advantage in this area over people who don't, in my case it's almost like a disadvantage now.

>>18547707
I think employers would be more interested in seeing if you can explain why those grades were the case, instead of rejecting you outright solely because of that. Employers know that things don't always go to plan and people trip up, that doesn't necessarily mean that they'd be bad employees. They'd want to see that you can accept the fact that you failed, and have learned from your mistakes and moved on.

We could even pretend you've been asked that right now. So tell me, what happened with those grades?

>>18547729
I would explain that I achieved highly in high school without putting in much effort, and this resulted in me entering university with some bad habits formed. I also over-extended myself with studies and work, and struggled to achieve a balance. I would say that I then readjusted my schedule, learnt to balance my studies and life better, and I feel that my grades toward the end of my degree are a better representation of the person I became. If anything, it taught me the value of time-management and fully committing myself to my work.

How's that sound? Is it too wanky or arrogant? The truth is, deep down I think I'm a smart guy, but my fuck ups early in uni kind of rattled my self-esteem and I think I have a bit of imposter syndrome when I do well now.

>>18547749
I think it's good, you've got the general idea. While accepting that you've failed, always put a positive spin on it and show that you've learned from the experience.

One little niggle I have is that it's not really clear how those bad habits you mentioned played into you failing and learning. You sort of mention them briefly and then they don't ever show up again: what were they? Laziness, arrogance? How did you resolve those? But the part about life balance is good and makes sense.

>>18547768
Those bad habits were me thinking I could achieve highly by doing things that night before, the way I'd always done in school. So it's laziness born of arrogance I suppose. I suppose I just realised (after the bad grades) that this wasn't how the world worked, and I needed to actually put in work to achieve at university.

>>18547777
Yep, that's pretty much it. I only asked because an employer most likely would too. It's good that you're honest, but not self-deprecating, and have shown that you're more mature now.

So anyway, like I was saying, the grades themselves are certainly useful but aren't that important compared to you as a person. Someone might have amazing grades but be completely socially inept and wouldn't fit in with others at all. You want a combination of grades and personality.

>>18547798
Is saying I struggled to combine work and uni a bit pathetic in explaining the grades? For what it's worth, the work I had at uni while my grades were bad was working as a waiter and in the army reserve.

>>18547661
>dual arts and law
So you mean arts?

>>18547838
For all intents and purposes, sure.