I am in the army national guard as an mp and have previous experience as a legal intern have a mid high school gpa go to a mid college with a 3.2 gpa as a freshman studying financial technology and I want an accounting or other finance related internships at the cia would I make it or how competitive is it? Would it help to go on active duty orders to improve my resume?

Hello,

I know this comes up often, but I wanted to get some opinions since LinkedIn hasn't been much help and want to try one last time.

Like some people, I've been interested in joining the CIA as an intern (intel analyst) since I became a US citizen. I'm a college sophomore and chose this specifically since they (the uni) have told me they have some agency's employees who work here as a recruiter. They misled me after almost a year of emailing back and forth people. So now I'm left to apply the standard way.

I'm not getting into specifics, but I'll humbly say I do fit into the agency (one being speaking Russian since I'm from a former Soviet country) and have relevant skills, leadership, experience, etc. You get the point.

But there's one problem. I have a 2.91 GPA. Yes, that's very low. The minimum qualification is a 3.0. Some say it's a hard cutoff; others say I have a chance. I’m considering applying with a 2.9 (and a year early for a Summer 2026 start date) because I secured a federal internship for Summer 2025 in DC, even though their minimum was a 3.0 based on overall strength.

With that being said, I need a quick opinion on this:

1. Bold yet risky - Apply now (a year and few months early) with the 2.9 GPA and risk a second rejection

2. Average but safe - Wait until May 2025, raise my GPA to around 3.1, and apply later (but less ideal timing since the process takes a while)

Before you suggest other options, yes I have looked into other agencies, talked with former employees, and did my homework on what to expect.

Many thanks in advance. Cheers