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Resume Tutorial - Education

Demographics | Objective | Education | Skills | Experience | References | Appearance | Final Thoughts

Your education section should include the following:
  • Begin with your most recent college experience. For most of you, that may be Texas A&M University. When writing this, include the university's full name as well as the city and state in which it is located. For example, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
  • You should include each university or college in which you were primarily enrolled. If you were enrolled at Texas A&M and took 6 hours of summer school at HCC, as long as you passed those courses, it does not necessarily need to be included on your resume, especially if you are running short on space.
  • Include the degree you plan to receive (Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Education, PhD, etc)
  • Major and any minors or areas of specialization. For example:
    Bachelor of Science in Biology with minor in Business, May 2005
    Bachelor of Science in Geology, specialization in GIS, May 2006
  • Graduation date. Employers are not interested in how long you have been in school, but do want to know when you are available to begin work.

Grade Point Ratio (GPR)
You should include your cumulative GPR on your resume. If you do not include your GPR on the resume, many recruiters will assume that it is low. Low GPR is typically defined as anything below a 2.2 or 2.3. For those students struggling with GPR issues, please make an appointment with one of our career advisors so we can help you to deal with this on your resume. Some students will include a cumulative GPR as well as their major GPR to highlight academic success in relevant courses. Some students who did not do well their freshman year of college will include a GPR for the last 95 hours. Any GPR not cumulative should be well labeled and easily identified.

Relevant Courses
You should include relevant or specialized coursework if employers will not know you have such courses by your major, minor or area of specialization (a biology major with computer science coursework, for example). List no more than 4-6 important classes by their titles, not their course numbers.

When choosing free or directed electives, keep in mind the career options that you wish to pursue. Such coursework can definitely help you to build a strong resume. For example, a History major wanting to pursue a career in the computer industry may take courses related to computer programming or information systems. A biology major hoping to pursue a career in pharmaceutical sales may take communication and marketing classes.

Financial Responsibility
If you are currently responsible for funding all or part of your college education, be sure to include this on your resume. Typically, we encourage students to include this statement if they are paying for 50% or more of their college expenses. An example is:

Funding 75% of college expenses through loans and part-time work.


Honors/Awards/Scholarships
Include any academic honors received, including Dean's List, Distinguished Student Award, National Merit Scholar, Presidential Achievement Award, Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society, the National Deans List, Who's Who, etc. If you have several awards and honor societies, you may choose to list them in a separate "Honors" category instead.

High School Information You should only include high school information on your resume during your freshman and sophomore years. By the time you reach your junior year of college, you should remove high school information and replace it with your experience and activities in college. However, there are organizations in high school that are relevant, regardless of where you are in your academic career. 4-H, FFA, Eagle Scout, or other activities that most other high school students do not participate in should remain on the resume. We can help you with questions about what activities to leave on or take off your resume.

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