Comments on: Not always a plus

By: Ed Gray

Ed Gray — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:54:24 +0000

I graduated in ’89 with a GPA of 3.82 and can speak from experience being out of school for over 20 years now in the work place and having been on both sides of the job interview. The plus or minus and GPA mean less and less the further you get away from school. Not that you should not strive to do the best you can, but your work experience, extra curricular activities, attitude, and communication skills can mean a lot more.

The combination of having a full time job, being a co-editor of the Gargoyle, having a double minor, and carrying a decent GPA is much more impressive than the GPA alone. Even what you majored in may become less important since many of us have careers that have little to directly do with what we studied in school. I was a Religion/Philosophy major and Social Science with a concentration in Psychology minor. I now work in the IT field. The biggest benefit from college for me was learning how to learn better and to always question the world around me so that I’m always learning new things. It’s not about a grade now but meeting deadlines, completing a project, delivering good service, and working well with my coworkers.

I’m not even sure a graduated grading scale is really appropriate in higher ed. You should either complete the task properly or you don’t. A pass/fail system may better prepare students for life after they graduate.

By: A Current Junior

A Current Junior — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:34:12 +0000

I am with you on this. The pluses and minuses have hurt my GPA because this was the hardest semester for me so far in my college career. I managed to scrape by with one C, two B’s and two B-’s, despite the social, family, and academic crunches I went through. I’ve been working to boost my GPA since freshman year when I got a D in a psychology class where the professor tested on his opinions more than the actual facts. (He changed dates on a lot of Freud’s discoveries and such which messed with me when I would learn them the same day in another psychology class.) I managed to be up to a 2.9 last semester. The minuses have dropped me .2 points, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but when the only money I’m getting for free is a Pell Grant, I need to fight for it. Needless to say, I’m still proud of the miracle I worked to get those grades. I just wish it would feel more rewarding seeing my GPA go up instead of down for once.

By: Memories of Undergrad

Memories of Undergrad — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:05:03 +0000

I remember my first semester of college, making that first B and forever wiping out my chances for the 4.0. I cruised (worked) on to a 3.8-something liberal arts GPA (I used to know it to the last decimal – don’t any more), grad school and a comfortable, fulfilling life. To be cliche: don’t sweat the small stuff… the minus is one of those, as you realize in your enjoyable essay. Good luck.