What GPA and WAM is considered to be quite good ?

[Zlatan]

Pretty much the title. Would a GPA >3 and a WAM >70 be considered good ?

[keltingmeith]

It depends what you're going for. Plan to go into industry straight after uni? Nobody cares, internships and vacation work is so much more important. Wanting to go straight into a PhD afterwards? >80 minimum.

[Aaron]

Plan to go into industry straight after uni? Nobody cares, internships and vacation work is so much more important.

Second this. I know a few people that took ages to get a job even with a WAM in the upper 80s/low 90s. Load up with volunteering and experience related to the field you want to go into post-graduation.

Grades are good and clearly will help, but they aren't the only deciding factor.

[extremeftw]

 From what I can tell, most employers/graduate programs use grades as a 'filter'; you mostly just need to meet their minimum requirement (often a credit average) and after that point grades aren't usually important relative to work experience and extracurriculars.

I personally think the value in getting high grades comes more from being more competitive for scholarships, internships (need a distinction average to get an Arts faculty sourced internship, for example), overseas programs, and of course honours.

That being said, of course it depends on where you want to apply. You aren't likely to get in the Reserve Bank's graduate program with anything less than first class honours, for example.

[spectroscopy]

for academic things usually >80 is considered really good. at a lot of places this is the minimum score you need for things like honours/phd etc. and some competitive scholarships. if you aren't thinking of that sort of stuff, then a 'good' wam is super subjective, there are people with wams in the low 60's who are happy with it and get pretty good jobs after graduating and there are people in the high 70's who are super dissappointed and feel like failures because they can't get into the honours course they want. its all subjective. In commerce at melbourne for example if you are looking at finding work in a graduate progam after the 3 year degree then here is a super rough breakdown:
<59 wam = not good. probably need to pursue postgraduate study to get into a good graduate program
60-65 wam =  solid wam. you can get into some decent graduate programs at companies with big names but probably nowhere elite. but at this point you can definitely get roles in industry
65-70 wam = good. you can get into some good graduate programs at some really good companies that are very relevant and good in their space. alot of people with wams in this bracket work for the big 4 banks in their graduate programs.
70-80 = your wam is getting very good now. if you have a good resume and extra-curriculars/experience you'll progress past the inital screening stage (where wam really matters) of job selection for even the most elite companies. You will have to compensate for your grades in other areas at these top tier firms but they are within reach. you will also be SUPER competitive at middle and lower tier companies where lots of people with wams in the 60's apply. achieving a consistent wam in the 70's is the aim for many people in commerce (at melbourne)
80+ = your wam is super high now and becomes a huge positive for you in the early stages of job applications. for the really highly desired roles at elite companies you will still need to be well rounded with good extra-curriculars, but this wam is super strong and will have a positive effect on your job applications + open the door for academic pathways. a common rule of thumb for finance honours at melbourne uni is that you need an average of at least 80 across your finance subjects + econometrics to have any realistic chance of getting into honours.

of course this is completely different for different degrees at different unis, and you must remember that the atarnotes population in general is skewed towards high achievers and the consensus on 'good' here is quite different to what is 'good' for the regular population.