By Zachary Finkelstein

A high grade point average (GPA) may not be as valuable as other factors in pursuing a career after college, according to a recent report by a career recruiting website.

The report, which appeared earlier this month on CareerBuilder.com, said students are generally not required to maintain an exceptional GPA in order to be hired by a competitive company, because employers tend to be more concerned with an applicant’s experience and interpersonal skills.

However, Director of Career Services Maria Stein said a student’s GPA is important for pursuing higher degrees.

“If you are a student considering graduate school, your GPA is going to matter,” Stein said. “These programs have the luxury to pick and choose whoever they want. GPA is just one tool graduate schools use to separate the top of the top from everybody else.”

Stein said emphasis on a student’s GPA varies not only between industries, but from company to company.

“Employers understand that not every college student is on a level playing field,” she said. “Some students are forced to work other jobs out of necessity. Companies oftentimes will look past the GPA and weigh factors such as previous internships, transferable skills and interpersonal relations more heavily.”

Regardless of how much (or little) GPA matters after college, most Northeastern students, like middler biology major Shirli Filip, tend to take their studies seriously. Filip referred to Snell Library as her “second home.”

“There is only so much you can gain in the classroom,” she said. “We live in a world where people go from job to job quicker than ever before in an attempt to advance their standing in their field.”

Filip said she plans on attending medical school after graduation. She said her grades will matter because of the high standards medical schools have for admittance.

“However, even if medical school was not in my future, I feel that I would still be conscientious about my grades,” she said. “One cannot say with certainty that their GPA will never become an issue for a potential job.”

Despite placing emphasis on her GPA, Filip said she feels job experience is an integral part of preparing for the real world.

Employers choose candidates who do not need training, Filip said.

“The individual who can step onto the work floor and perform immediately will get the job over the equally qualified candidate who has yet to learn the ins and outs of his profession,” she said

Sophomore business major Kevin Connors said the opportunity to build his r