Do grades in college really matter ?

[Mblova]

Originally Posted by Pennglock

That a pretty ungenerous aid policy. There are a lot of schools out there that would have given you free tuition with that kind of need.

It really depends on the individual school. One school that I got into only gave me approx 13k in aid whereas another one gave me 22k in aid. I'm very thankful for the aid that I got, because without it, I would not have been able to attend that particular college.
And yes grades matter, especially for medical school.

 

[nahneun]

I went from a 3.9 at a magnet NY HS with perfect attendance to a 3.0 at an Ivy with zero attendance. What does that make me? A lazy idiot. Regardless of what my potential may be, it doesn't matter unless I realized said potential by putting in the required effort.

 

[WRAdvisor]

They're hardly important, even in getting you're first job. In the professional world now, you're not even suppose to put your GPA on your resume...just your major and accomplishments. I landed a very lucrative Financial Advising job for a worldwide firm and never once did my GPA come up in conversation. They want to know what your degrees are, what classes you've taken and what experience you have. Also, what licenses you already have like Series 7, Series 66, Insurance Producers, etc.

 

[philosophe]

As a humanities academic, I would like to confirm LA Guy's posts. They are dead on.

 

[akatsuki]

One of my friends, after working at three major law firms and one of the larger NY hedge firms, still got asked for her SAT scores when she moved out here to a smaller fund. I've been looking for work and places ask for transcripts all the time.

 

[bananananana]

Originally Posted by WRAdvisor

They're hardly important, even in getting you're first job. In the professional world now, you're not even suppose to put your GPA on your resume...just your major and accomplishments. I landed a very lucrative Financial Advising job for a worldwide firm and never once did my GPA come up in conversation. They want to know what your degrees are, what classes you've taken and what experience you have. Also, what licenses you already have like Series 7, Series 66, Insurance Producers, etc.

Aren't entry level financial advising jobs basically sales jobs and you have get a certain # of new clients before you get into any of the financial stuff?

 

[v.freeman]

Originally Posted by bananananana

Aren't entry level financial advising jobs basically sales jobs and you have get a certain # of new clients before you get into any of the financial stuff?
Usually you start off supporting a financial adviser. If you want the more prestigious departments (Investment Banking, S&T, Research) GPA plays a huge role in it. GPA can be worthless at times if your school has massive grade inflation or if the person looking at your resume is not an alumnus of the same program. I guess that's where summas and magnas come into play.

 

[Huntsman]

Funny thing: I was reviewing over 20 resumes today, and I rejected one based on GPA. It was a default, almost gut reaction. I did skim the rest of the resume to see if something stood out, and no, there was nothing exciting. Dude was done.

When so many recent grads have such similar experience levels, it's hard for any to really stand out above the crowd. A low GPA is, apparently, a real handicap.

~ H

 

[Ajaxv2]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

People who don't fill out a FAFSA....that's just stupid.

FAFSA is a giant joke. Imagine determining the water pressure of a pipe based on the PSI coming INTO the pipe. What about leaks? What about ofshoot pipes? The FAFSA does not take personal debt into account. Fortunately, I'm out of that stupid situation now, but my hatred for FAFSA will never wane.

 

[longskate88]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

Funny thing: I was reviewing over 20 resumes today, and I rejected one based on GPA. It was a default, almost gut reaction. I did skim the rest of the resume to see if something stood out, and no, there was nothing exciting. Dude was done.

When so many recent grads have such similar experience levels, it's hard for any to really stand out above the crowd. A low GPA is, apparently, a real handicap.

~ H

What was the GPA you rejected? I thought it was common knowledge not to put anything below 3.0 on a resume, so I'm curious...

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by longskate88

What was the GPA you rejected? I thought it was common knowledge not to put anything below 3.0 on a resume, so I'm curious...
2.60 Why did he put that on his resume? Seemed doubly dumb to me. I'd give him points for pluck if he made it obvious somehow... ~ H

 

[Mr. White]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

The smartest guys I knew in undergrad owned their GPAs. My best friend Matt was definitely a rebel; lots of ink, major gages in his ears, radical (but, I thought, honest and inclusive) outlook on the world, etc. He is certainly the most brilliant man I have ever known, and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. Did his PhD three years or so, is now in research.

~ H

That might be how most people would measure intelligence or ambition, but it's zero indication of brilliance. I'd put it the other way. A guy who worries a lot about doing well on ordinary measures of intellect -- has an ordinary intellect. If he were brilliant, he'd be solving problems that the ordinary smart hangers-on didn't know existed to be solved.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by Mr. White

That might be how most people would measure intelligence or ambition, but it's zero indication of brilliance. I'd put it the other way. A guy who worries a lot about doing well on ordinary measures of intellect -- has an ordinary intellect. If he were brilliant, he'd be solving problems that the ordinary smart hangers-on didn't know existed to be solved.
Ummm.... Matt certainly didn't worry about "doing well on ordinary measures of intellect." He didn't have to worry about it at all, he just did it, seemingly without effort. Also, you'll note I said he got his doctorate in three years, which requires at least some theoretical work (that is, working on new problems), and now he's in research....doing what? Solving new and unique problems. So I'd counter that though GPA might not be a measure of brilliance (and I didn't claim it was), it certainly does not provide "zero indication" of brilliance. Brilliant people may have poor GPAs, but commonly (at least in the sciences) brilliant people have excellent GPAs. ~ H