Importance of the GPA

Grades are used as a gage to indicate how well you are doing in a particular subject. This however is not to be construed with how intelligent a person is. Many lower achieving students don’t understand this and unfortunately are affected in their scholastic endeavors. Making high marks in school are unarguably important, especially for those planning on attending college. However, your study skills and consistency in doing your work both in class and at home are what will ultimately give you a high GPA (grade point average). Once students acquire good study habits and practice them routinely until they become second nature, grades aren’t so scary anymore. As you practice what you are learning, you will become more confident in your ability to show and model your proficiency in your academics (e.g. homework assignments, tests/exams and group projects as well as class discussions).

Colleges not only look at your GPA in middle and high school, but also evaluate your courses. High school students need to be aware of this. The rationale that taking lower ranking classes on to have a higher GPA will not make you collegiately competitive because you have not been challenged enough academically. Many students find this out the hard way when they have to take lower level courses of study in college before they can even begin to work on their degree program.

To avoid this potential headache, make a point to do the following: a) Talk with your teachers to find out what you should be doing to keep your grades up and ask about your performance in the particular subject to find out the areas your need to improve on b) Talk with your student counselor to make sure academically and course wise you are on a progressive track in your studies and c) seek out likeminded students who are high achievers academically and find out what are some of their studying strengths .