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A High GPA Is Not All What It Seems To Be
I know some people think that you are smart if you have a 3.7, 3.8 GPA, etc. But does your GPA tell you everything about that person? Does a high GPA mean that you are a smart person?
I have heard from a few professors that grades do not always reflect how smart a student is. So, in context, the professor was trying to say that someone who has a 3.5 GPA is not necessarily smarter than someone with a 2.5 GPA.
Think about it. After high school, everyone started fresh. Once the first days of classes started, it didn't matter if you had a 3.5 GPA or 3.7 GPA in high school.
After college it is about the same. My communications professor is on the review board for interviews. She said that a lot of times the people with the highest GPA's didn't get the jobs.
Think about it. Would you hrie someone with a high GPA who doesn't dress professionally or doesn't have good communication skills? You most likely wouldn't.
In conclusion, my point is that you shouldn't stress so much about your GPA. I am not saying to not try to get a high GPA, but you shouldn't worry about it. I bet you 10 years down the road you won't even remember your GPA.
I have heard from a few professors that grades do not always reflect how smart a student is. So, in context, the professor was trying to say that someone who has a 3.5 GPA is not necessarily smarter than someone with a 2.5 GPA.
Think about it. After high school, everyone started fresh. Once the first days of classes started, it didn't matter if you had a 3.5 GPA or 3.7 GPA in high school.
After college it is about the same. My communications professor is on the review board for interviews. She said that a lot of times the people with the highest GPA's didn't get the jobs.
Think about it. Would you hrie someone with a high GPA who doesn't dress professionally or doesn't have good communication skills? You most likely wouldn't.
In conclusion, my point is that you shouldn't stress so much about your GPA. I am not saying to not try to get a high GPA, but you shouldn't worry about it. I bet you 10 years down the road you won't even remember your GPA.
Comments
I find that science courses are generally pretty difficult...
Personal experience: Calculus 1, Calculus 2, Discrete Math, etc.
Friends' experiences: Chemistry, Physics, Engineering
Whereas arts courses are relatively easy in my opinion.
Personal experience: Phil 100, Crim 131
Friends' experiences: English, History
It's frustrating that I have to work my ass off just to get a B (or even just to pass) these tough math and science courses but I can take an arts course, play video games all class and still pull off an A.
Yet, they're all lumped together into my GPA as if all the courses are the same.
Ugh.
I heard a story about a top-notch student, great undergrad GPA, and they went into grad school straight off. Very rapidly, the shine went off the metal, because said individual fell apart when having to do research work. These things do happen - someone will not be suited for largely self-directed work, and not realize this because undergrads tend (even in fourth year) to be put into structured environments where there's a fairly good deal of handholding by the prof and TAs.
Perhaps GPA is more a measure of anxiety: one fears for the future because he may not find a job. As such, he studies to such an extent so as to increase his employability (because he knows employers will look at his grades).
Perhaps GPA is a measure of conditions conducive to getting good marks: Student A does better than Student B because the former does not have to worry about bills to pay or working while Student B may be a single mother who is not only trying to get an education but has to work and raise her children.
GPA can also be a measure of commitment, which as we know is not always correlated with intelligence. The one who is more committed will get better grades while the truly "intelligent" (I have problems using this term because I believe there is no set definition) rely on their brains and are hence more lazy and perhaps even procrastinators.
I'm sure GPA can be correlated with many other things but it is at best marginally related to intelligence. There can even be a negative effect: those who study more and get higher grades sacrifice elements of their social life and will have problems socializing. As such, they will actually become less employable because they would perform worse in interviews as a result of their diminished sociability.
Needless to say, however, all other things being equal, a higher GPA will likelier land you a job or increase your chances for acceptance at a graduate program.
40% Work experience (relevant or not)
30% Extracurricular activities (clubs, etc.)
20% Networking
10% Grades
I can make more money than an open scholarship if I worked a second p/t job (which I do; I get good experience as well).
and it sucks if employers do use gpas to filter, but thats just the reality of things, high gpa = higher probability ur a brighter person (not necessarily true, but its a filter as mentioned above)