In a nutshell....YES! I felt the need to address this subject because I have received tons of emails from prospective members who are interested in joining XYZ org but do not have the grades. I have heard everything from, having a low GPA due to family problems, death in the family, having to drop out of school to support their siblings and/or parents, or they partied hard freshman year, etc.... Look, I understand, we have all have or have had our problems in life. However, if the gpa is a 2.5, 2.75, or a 3.0, then THAT is what you need to have to be considered for membership. It doesn't matter if you have thousands of hours of community service (which is awesome by the way) have leadership roles, or have "seen the errors of your ways."
So, in order for you to qualify for membership for any organization, you MUST have the minimal gpa. For my organization you have to have a 2.75, not a 2.5, 2.60, 2.749999 but a TWO POINT SEVEN FIVE!!!!! The only reason why I had to put that in caps because you won't believe how many people have asked me if we would make any exceptions to this rule. And although they came up with some compelling reasons such as....
1. I didn't realize the grade requirement till after I decided I wanted to join.
2. I did horrible my freshman year and I can't boost my gpa up to recover from it.
3. I graduated over 6 years ago, and I don't feel its fair that I am still being punished.
4. They feel we are missing out on a good member b/c they are not allowed to join due to the gpa requirement.
and so on......
Here are a few tips on how you can boost your gpa:
If you have a lot of C's or a couple of Ds or Fs then RETAKE those classes. Most colleges and universities give their students the option of GRO other wise known as Grade Replacement Option. The way this works if you retake a class, and if you get a higher grade, then they will recalculate your gpa with the higher grade. Both grades will appear on your transcript, but only the higher grade's gpa will be calculated on your transcript.
If you have graduated from college with a less than stellar gpa and are either attending or have attended grad school, then your undergraduate GPA is not applicable.
So my advice to you,,,, Concentrate on your classes if you do not have a stellar GPA. That can include retaking classes or you have the option to use your Grad-School GPA if that's applicable.
My BEST advice?? I think joining an organization should be far from your mind if your gpa is really low. Remember, the main reason why you are in school is to get an education....
Ciao for now!
