Hey There! :)
So this week, I found this tweet thanks to one of my followers who happened to retweet it. I thought it was such a great reminder to us college students that while GPAs matter, they do not define us.
We have all been afforded such a wonderful opportunity to attend such a great university like Penn State. And with the academic greatness that Penn State is known for, there also comes much competition between students. Ultimately, we all want to succeed but I've noticed that here, one's GPA definitely seems to "say" a lot about the person and their character. We are all quick to make assumptions to explain why someone's GPA might be whatever it is, "Oh he parties all the time, no wonder his GPA is so low" or "Her GPA is only so high because she lives in the library. She has no social life." And with these assumptions typically come judgments about how "smart" or "dumb" a person is. As we all know, a higher GPA usually means someone is smart. But is this really the case? That then brings about the question, "what constitutes as being 'smart'?" Just because someone might not be able to score a 95 on an exam, that does not mean that they are not smart. Maybe they just aren't the best of test takers? I know from my own experiences with classes, most grades are almost solely based on test scores. While the argument of whether or not this is fair is a whole other situation, it is the reality. Therefore, if someone is not a good test taker and their grade is largely based on test scores, then their GPA might obviously be lower. But a test score and even a GPA really does not reveal much about that person's intellectual ability, as this tweet implies.
In fact, I think it's important to mention that the late Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple and Pixar, dropped out of college after only one semester. We all know of the amazing things Jobs managed to do during his lifetime (one might argue that he single handedly changed technology forever) yet he dropped out of school. Jobs presents a perfect example of GPA not defining intellectual ability.
What's your take on this matter? Do you think a GPA is a reflection of intellectual ability or is it merely a number?
I'm glad you wrote about this because I strongly believe that a GPA does not define how smart you are. There are so many factors that can alter a grade and a single letter does not define someone. Some of the smartest people I know have gotten GPA's that most would consider below average. I think as a society we need to stop putting so much emphasis on grades and just about learning the information in school.
ReplyDeleteThe GPA is probably one of the most aggravating things to deal with as a student. I have a real problem with them, because you can never get a good impression from a person from a number. It's unfortunate because many employers use the GPA to determine whether or not to hire a person. I may be the most qualified for the job, but if my GPA is not as high as my competitors, I might as well give up. The same goes when applying to college. It really bothered me that the students who lived purely for school were the ones consider the most prepared. How can you hope to go on and live an interesting life when all you know is how to study? The GPA is useless when it comes to determing the intelligence of someone
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I don't think that a person should be told that they aren't smart enough because of a number. Everyone learns differently, and for some the school environment isn't the most conducive to learning. I think that defining people in this way is very discouraging and perhaps deters people from pursuing careers and majors they are passionate about because they are told their number isn't high enough.
ReplyDelete