How to Round Up GPA on Resume?

“Your resume says a lot about you – it determines whether you will be called IN for an interview or NOT.” Author Unknown.

Adding your Grade Point Average to your resume is optional. It’s a good way to highlight your performance or a way to ruin your chance of landing the job you want. Making this decision is tricky, especially if your GPA is not good. Maybe the employer will leave you no choice and specifically ask you to include it in your CV.

In the process of exploring whether you can round up your GPA on your resume, it might be beneficial to understand what jobs you can get with a Series 7. This information could guide your career planning and open up new possibilities.

Applying for a job for the first time? Don’t hesitate and add the grades to your resume. With no prior relevant experience, it might help the employers pick you for the job. High grades portray you as hardworking.

You might also be wondering ‘Can I round my GPA on my resume? Is it legal?’ Yes, you can, and it is if you do it properly! Let’s take a look at how and where you can include it.

How to Include GPA on a Resume?

There are several ways and sections where the Grade Point Average should be included. First, consider the section in which you’ll include it.

The education or achievements sections are the right places for it. However, it does matter in which section you include it. Putting the grades in the Achievements Section means that you have very high grades. Present it as one of your achievements.

If however, your grades are not so high, include it in the Education Section or simply leave it out.

There are three types to choose from.

• Major GPA – refers to the average grades on the courses required by your major.
• Cumulative – refers to the average grade of a certain semester from one institute.
• Overall – refers to the average of all cumulative grades.

How do you decide which one of the above to choose? Generally, companies want to know your overall grades, which is the one you should use.

The major option should be used if it’s higher than the overall or if the major is relevant to the position you’ve applied for. It will be good to show the employer that your Grade Point Average is high for your major.

Should You Round Your GPA on Resume?

In general, the grades you include in your CV should reflect the one on your transcript. A 3.5 always looks better on a CV than a 3.45. However, do you round GPA up on resume?

Some experts explain that a small rounding doesn’t make much difference. Rounding your GPA to a one decimal point is acceptable.

A problem occurs if you round it from 3.90 to 4.00. The 4.00 GPA should truly be that as it is referred to as the “perfect Grade Point Average.”

If the employer asks for a minimum Grade Point Average requirement, then avoid rounding it. At the same time, some recruiters check transcripts to verify the grades. So if you know they’ll be checking, leave it as it is.

How to Round GPA on Resume

There are several ways that a GPA may be tuned-up. The method you use may be significant whether the recruiter will consider you dishonest or not.

The grades may be rounded to the hundredth or by rounding only one decimal place. Rounding to the nearest hundredth doesn’t make much of a difference. If your actual GPA is 3.44, a possible rounding will be 3.45. The one-decimal round-up means that a Grand Point Average of 3.49 becomes a 3.5.

So next time you think ‘Should I put 3.3 GPA on resume, or 3.4’, read our articles on how to round it up properly. And if you need help finding the best resume writers, we got you covered as well!

How NOT to Round GPA on Resume

There’s also a rounding GPA on resume to the nearest tenth; however, it is not recommended as it may seem dishonest. This will especially be an issue if the employer asks to see transcripts and compares the grades.

Tuning up the grades to the nearest tenth means rounding a 3.35 Grade Point Average to a 3.4, and the difference is much bigger. Additionally, if you have a 3.5, you cannot round it up to a 4 as that is considered lying rather than simple rounding up.

Be Careful When Rounding Up GPA on Resume

Tuning the Grade Point Average on a resume is a debatable issue. Employers would tell you not to do it. Why put your integrity on the line when they will check the transcript and realize that you have misrepresented yourself.

On the other hand, the best resume writers say that modifying it doesn’t affect your reputation. Many job applicants before you have done it.

Think about the worth of risking your reputation for a GPA before doing anything. Make sure you round it up the right way if you decide to do it. Avoid creating a major difference between the resume and transcript information.

Inclusion of Grade Point Average in a CV has to be done professionally. Think twice if you need to include your grades in your resume but have decided to fool the company.

Companies very often check students’ transcripts, so why be remembered as a liar. You can check our other articles if you want to learn why you should not lie about GPA – if you want to know more.