A 3.64 GPA is good. It sits well above the B+ mark on a 4.0 scale, places you in the upper tier of most college classes, and keeps doors open for graduate school, competitive internships, and employer screening thresholds. Whether it feels “good enough” depends on what you plan to do with it, so here’s how a 3.64 stacks up across the situations that matter most.
Where a 3.64 Lands on the Scale
On the standard 4.0 scale, a 3.64 falls between an A- (3.7) and a B+ (3.3), leaning closer to the A- side. The national average GPA for college students has drifted upward over the past two decades and now hovers around 3.1 to 3.2 at most four-year institutions. A 3.64 clears that average comfortably.
Context matters, though. A 3.64 in chemical engineering carries different weight than a 3.64 in communications, because average GPAs vary significantly by major. STEM fields tend to have lower class averages, so a 3.64 in a science or engineering program may actually place you closer to the top of your cohort than the same number in a humanities program.
Graduation Honors and a 3.64
At many universities, a 3.64 is enough to earn cum laude (“with honors”) at graduation, though this varies by school and sometimes by college within the same university. Cum laude cutoffs typically start somewhere between 3.4 and 3.6, magna cum laude around 3.7 to 3.9, and summa cum laude near 3.9 or above.
In practice, though, grade inflation has pushed actual cutoffs higher at competitive schools. At some universities, the real cum laude threshold lands closer to 3.75 or 3.8 because so many students cluster at the top. Schools that base honors on class rank rather than a fixed GPA number can shift these cutoffs every year. If graduating with honors matters to you, check your specific school’s registrar page for the most recent cutoffs in your college or department.
How Employers View a 3.64
Most employers that screen by GPA use a 3.0 cutoff, and the more selective ones (investment banks, consulting firms, large tech companies) typically draw the line at 3.5. A 3.64 clears both of those thresholds. For the vast majority of entry-level jobs, your GPA will not hold you back.
That said, GPA matters most for your first job out of college and fades quickly after that. Once you have two or three years of work experience, hiring managers care far more about what you’ve done than your college transcript. Many professionals drop their GPA from their resume entirely after a few years. So if you’re an upperclassman worried about whether 3.64 is “enough,” it almost certainly is for the job market.
Graduate School Competitiveness
This is where a 3.64 starts to matter more, and the answer depends entirely on the type of program you’re targeting.
For most master’s programs, a 3.64 is a strong GPA. Many graduate programs consider 3.0 the minimum for admission, and a 3.64 positions you well above that floor. Programs in business, education, public policy, and the social sciences will generally view a 3.64 favorably, especially paired with solid test scores and relevant experience.
For top-tier law schools, a 3.64 faces stiffer competition. The median GPA for enrolled students at the highest-ranked law schools runs in the 3.9 range. Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Chicago all reported median GPAs between 3.96 and 3.97 for their most recent entering class. Even schools ranked in the top 20 posted medians above 3.88. A 3.64 would fall below the 25th percentile at most of these programs. That doesn’t mean admission is impossible, since a strong LSAT score can offset a lower GPA, but it does mean you’d likely be more competitive at schools ranked outside the top 20 or 30.
Medical schools follow a similar pattern. The average GPA for matriculants at MD programs nationally is around 3.7 to 3.8, so a 3.64 is slightly below average but not disqualifying. A high MCAT score, strong clinical experience, and a compelling application can compensate. DO (osteopathic) programs tend to have slightly lower GPA averages, making a 3.64 more competitive there.
Can You Raise a 3.64?
If you’re early in your college career, a 3.64 gives you a solid foundation to build on. The math works in your favor: pulling a GPA up from 3.64 to 3.7 or 3.8 requires consistent A-range grades but is entirely realistic over several semesters.
If you’re a junior or senior, your GPA becomes harder to move because you have more credit hours locked in. Each new grade has less impact on the overall number. At that point, focusing on strong performance in upper-level courses within your major can still help, since some graduate programs look at your major GPA or your GPA over the last 60 credits separately from your cumulative number.
The Bottom Line for a 3.64
A 3.64 is above average nationally, clears employer screening cutoffs, qualifies for honors at many schools, and makes you competitive for most graduate programs. It only starts to feel limiting if you’re aiming at the most elite law, medical, or doctoral programs, where median GPAs push toward 3.9 and above. Even then, GPA is one piece of a larger application, and strong performance in other areas can close the gap.