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It's All About the Grades
Featured Author:
Andrew Flagel, PhD
Andrew Flagel is the Dean of Admissions and Associate Vice President for Enrollment Development for George Mason University, where he also teaches in the Department of Communication.
Dean Flagel has an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Psychology and a Master of Arts in Education from GW, and his Ph.D. in Education from Michigan State University. He has been a featured guest on C-Span’s Washington Journal, and his quotes have appeared in recent educational stories in Newsweek, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, and even Teen Vogue.
Admissions committees care most about grades in certain subjects:
Science
Mathematics
English
Social Studies
Foreign Languages
KarissaB44
5 months ago
Grades are important, however, there are lots of other things that count as well. Right now I'm a sophomore in highschool and I've had to learn the hard way that straight A's aren't exactly granted just because you got them throughout your other school years. I take all Honors and AP classes with the exception of my 3 electives. I have a full schedule and manage to keep my GPA between a 4.2-4.4. It sucks and a lot of times I wonder if it will be worth it, but after talking to my counselor I see things differently. She told me that straight A's don't mean much anymore. Good grades are great, but if you can show that you worked your hardest and were involved in lots of other things besides yourself, you'll be fine.
ThomasF441
5 months ago
Grades are not everything. I had a friend with a 4.2 GPA. He applied to UF. He was denied. A girl i know also applied. She had a 3.6. The difference? My friend only did class work. The girl did class work, band, lacrosse, national honor society, and a few more things. Please, tell me again, how are GPA's the only thing?
SierraM8
5 months ago
It is a myth that having a job in high school= poor grades. I had a 3.5 in high school and it was enough to gain acceptance into five colleges. I worked part time for fifteen hours each week. I could have made a 4.0 if I had actually studied for tests.
SierraM8
5 months ago
A 3.0 GPA is not a good GPA.
"I think that if a student work smart enough (he or she) should be able to deserve an award."
I think that students who use proper grammar should be able to OBTAIN a scholarship. You can not earn a scholarship simply by existing. I'm shooting for a 3.8 GPA in order to attend the right graduate school. Grades matter. Good grades and a couple of activitites is what most admissions depts look for.
AndrewP161
5 months ago
Dean Flagel can get bent
upnorthmonkey
5 months ago
I have a comment. Island_lover, you are a hypocrit. You lecture on the fact that other people's realities are different, yet you criticize everyone who has a different view than your own.
caseychoi8
5 months ago
grades are improtant but its not everything
some people are bad test takers which results in bad grades
they know their information but cant take tests.
we should not depend on testing to determine grades or we should make them weigh less towards our grades
RachelB1758
5 months ago
what the heck are IB courses
JustisR3
5 months ago
But, for scholarships it is not the case
JustisR3
5 months ago
It's true my test scores were not that good, but I got accepted into five different universities because I had a 3.0 GPA or higher in high school. So whoever disagrees probably is not in college yet because it is a fact that if you have good grades, you will get into many universities
JeremyR562
5 months ago
Yeah... keep thinking that.
JoannaM188
5 months ago
I dunno about colleges, but having a good GPA with a ton of extra curicular activities seems to be the trend with scholarships these days. I have like no time with full time school, 2 part time jobs and some social time to go volunteer at the local nursing home... :(
RachelB1758
5 months ago
I agree because grades are the most important thing to get in to a really good college. But like not only should they look at the persons grades, but also the activities that person did throughout, their high school career
oo2bored2careoo
5 months ago
Obviously, grades are important, but the way I see it, it looks like some collegess are more interested in the activities you participated in in high school rather than your GPA. Look at it this way: a guy who played on sportsteams and was in clubs for a majority of his time in high school and had decient grades gets accepted more frequently than a genius with a 4.00+ GPA who wasn't one for student activites. I see it all the time in my highschool. On the college wall by our guidance office, you see the names of jocks and jockettes plastered across the wall with acceptances while very few smart kids have maybe one or two in their name. It seems unfair that the future microbiologist has to get outshined by the football captain nine out of ten times
KatrinaS260
5 months ago
I should say that you should make straight A's, but I won't. My parents think that grades are important, but they also say that I need to get a job. They know I won't get perfect scores while working, but I still have to work hard. I am curently a high school senior, almost done, and I have a GPA of 2.8 (not good, not bad). I have to get a summer job, and work during the year next year.