Can you talk to me about your GPA during undergraduate/graduate school?
A significant and defining part of Jeff Bezos' pre-Amazon journey is that he graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University in 1986. Although no formal degree is required company-wide to be considered for employment, many leadership and corporate positions require a bachelor's degree. 51% of their employees are entry-level, 29% are in senior positions, and 14% are managers. When it comes to the level of education of Amazon's employees, 50% have bachelor's degrees, 26% have master's degrees, and 17% of them hold a degree in business administration.
"I graduated at the top of my class and am very proud of my accomplishments during University. The experience taught me to study hard and set goals for myself."
"I had a 3.8 GPA but did strive for a 4.0. I understand where I fell short, but I also achieved a spot on the football team and earned two scholarships."
"I graduated summa cum laude and had a 4.0 GPA."
Whatever your level of education, make sure you meet the requirements of the description of the role. Share details that provide deeper context to what you gained from your collegiate experience and any of the more significant successes as a post-secondary student, and what those experiences and what you learn will lend to your experience and have prepared you for this role.
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I had a 7.46 out of 10 for my bachelor's degree. Although I did strive for a higher grade, I'm satisfied overall because the cause was very demanding, and this grade is far more than the average. I also learned practical experience due to my internship. For my master's, I'm also expecting an excellent grade. I learned a lot of new things and pushed myself to put more effort into each coursework.
Rachelle's Feedback
Great! You did a very good job defending your grade and sound very confident. If you have information on what the average was, it would be great to include that information. I have provided a slight revision below.
"I had a 7.46 out of 10 for my bachelor's degree. Although I did strive for a higher grade, I'm satisfied overall because the cause was very demanding, and this grade is far more than the 6.57 average. I also learned practical experience during my internship at Company ABC. For my Masters', I'm also expecting an excellent grade. I learned a lot of new skills and pushed myself to put more effort into each coursework."
Anonymous Answer
My overall GPA is 4.0, while I was working full time while attending classes. All in all, I did learn a lot about discipline and commitment.
Rachelle's Feedback
Awesome! You sound confident and capable. It's terrific that you added in what you learned. Now, try adding in what you will do to apply this discipline and commitment should you be hired by Amazon.
Anonymous Answer
Sure, I had a 7.3 GPA out of 10 in my undergraduate and had a 3.7 GPA out of 4 in my Master's. I'm sure I could've done better in my undergraduate if I've focused more, but anyways I think I did good in my Master's and learned so many things.
Rachelle's Feedback
This answer is a good start! You mention doing better and focusing more during your undergrad. I suggest including a positive statement around this time. Otherwise, you could signal your interviewer to view that time as underachieving. You should be very proud of your accomplishment during your Master's! It would be beneficial to discuss the action steps you took to achieve this high grade and speak in detail of the greatest lessons you learned.
Anonymous Answer
Although I was targeted to be the best in class, I was second with a GPA of 8.5 out of 10.0. Nevertheless, this GPA gave me the opportunity to win a scholarship to advance my studies internationally, in Belgium.
Amanda's Feedback
Terrific! You've taken the opportunity to share that you were highly ranked in your class and what the positive outcome of your academic efforts was.
Anonymous Answer
I graduated as a Textile Engineer from Istanbul Technical University with an average of 2.9 points out of 4 and that was a really high average in the textile engineering department. Because fifty percent of our courses were shared with the mechanical engineering faculty and it was really very difficult. If I'm not mistaken, the highest average in my department so far was around 3.20 points.
Amanda's Feedback
You've answered this question directly and provided context that helps the interviewer grasp how you compared with your peers. You can enhance your response further by sharing which areas or subjects you excelled in.
Anonymous Answer
I set myself high standards - a distinction wasn't enough to satisfy me. So when I did my master's degree, I averaged a high distinction, with a GPA of 4.0, and I won the Chancellor's award for academic excellence.
Marcie's Feedback
Whoa! Quite impressive :) Any interviewer would view this highly because it shows how hard you work and how smart you are. Awesome! If you want to build your answer out more, you could go into some of the details about how challenging it was to achieve these commendations and successes.
Anonymous Answer
I was last in university 30 years ago. Whilst I was known for being intelligent, I was not an A student. Beyond the GPA, it was the connections that I made at university that influenced the rest of my life. As part of the MBA program, I studied with a lot of students from around the world which made me wonder what it would be like to live somewhere else. Eventually, that opportunity arrived when I was working for a multinational tech company. The position became available near London, England. I applied for the role and got it. I moved to the United Kingdom 24 years ago from America.
Marcie's Feedback
Wow! This is a fascinating background story. Consider, however, eliminating the sentence about last being in school 30 years ago (it's not really relevant and shouldn't matter to the interviewer). Otherwise, excellent job! It's awesome that the people you met at university inspired you to travel and work overseas.
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