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
CoursesYou 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 ResponsibilityIf 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/ScholarshipsInclude 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.