College: Both university and community

[Bahamut]

Sorry, but I disagree with you on this point. GPA is important, but it's more important in college that you did things. Do community service, join a club/greek/honorary group and go for leadership positions. You'd be much better off having a well-rounded resume with a 3.6 GPA than a 4.0 with no activities.

I do agree with this, though: work your ass off. Not necessarily on grades alone, though. Work on meeting and making friends, work on special projects, work on homework and studying, and work on having fun. I also recommend getting an average of 6 hours of sleep each night, not more, because you have too much stuff to do, like trying to find a donut shop at 1:30 in the morning on a school night with 3 of your friends.

Also, stop playing one-player video games and find people to play multiplayer games. Totally worth it.

For just about every person I know, it's hard to argue with what I just mentioned - a good GPA does wonders. My lack of one in undergrad cost me $100k in debt from 2 years of graduate school, having to work much harder to get into the PhD program (I was originally accepted only to the masters program, with a clear understanding that there was no guarantee that I would be accepted eventually into the PhD program) and obtain funding. Plenty of other people I know have had their choices severely limited after graduation because they did not have a good GPA. It is something that is pretty consistent from what I've seen.

In addition, most applications after undergrad do not request your extracurriculars, much less care about them - graduate school the least of them all, with them clearly not interested in anything but stuff related to the department you're applying to. Their impact is far more minimal than a good GPA, and a great one such as an 3.8+ opens many other doors (better jobs, more job opportunities, significantly better starting income & pay raise track, etc.) that most of those without that type of GPA won't get a glimpse of.

Of course I'm not advocating closeting yourself to study all of the time without participating in things that you like, but I'm putting everything into perspective. Personally I do think undergrad's primary importance is to socialize and to connect with others, but when prioritizing things you can make up, you can always meet with people another time, but you usually can't make up work or the damage that can be caused in your performance in a class from a missed important lecture.

[Sole Signal]

In the business world, a good GPA helps in getting your first job out of college. After that, it really doesn't mean much at all. With that said, it's also much better to be sitting at, say, 3.5 with several extracurricular activities (volunteer work, student organizations) than at 3.9 with none whatsoever.

[SirChadlyOC]

For just about every person I know, it's hard to argue with what I just mentioned - a good GPA does wonders. My lack of one in undergrad cost me $100k in debt from 2 years of graduate school, having to work much harder to get into the PhD program (I was originally accepted only to the masters program, with a clear understanding that there was no guarantee that I would be accepted eventually into the PhD program) and obtain funding. Plenty of other people I know have had their choices severely limited after graduation because they did not have a good GPA. It is something that is pretty consistent from what I've seen.

Ahh, you mean for higher education beyond undergrad, then yes, GBA can be extremely important, especially for getting into Grad schools. As for getting a job out of college, I find that the other stuff is just as important. I suppose we're talking about much different goals here.

Either way, we agree that you should get outside and socialize. NOW GO PLAY FRISBEE!!

[sgx]

For just about every person I know, it's hard to argue with what I just mentioned - a good GPA does wonders. My lack of one in undergrad cost me $100k in debt from 2 years of graduate school, having to work much harder to get into the PhD program (I was originally accepted only to the masters program, with a clear understanding that there was no guarantee that I would be accepted eventually into the PhD program) and obtain funding. Plenty of other people I know have had their choices severely limited after graduation because they did not have a good GPA. It is something that is pretty consistent from what I've seen.

In addition, most applications after undergrad do not request your extracurriculars, much less care about them - graduate school the least of them all, with them clearly not interested in anything but stuff related to the department you're applying to. Their impact is far more minimal than a good GPA, and a great one such as an 3.8+ opens many other doors (better jobs, more job opportunities, significantly better starting income & pay raise track, etc.) that most of those without that type of GPA won't get a glimpse of.

Of course I'm not advocating closeting yourself to study all of the time without participating in things that you like, but I'm putting everything into perspective. Personally I do think undergrad's primary importance is to socialize and to connect with others, but when prioritizing things you can make up, you can always meet with people another time, but you usually can't make up work or the damage that can be caused in your performance in a class from a missed important lecture.

Obviously GPA is important in some fields, but in many it is not. Even for grad school. I don't think an arts grad school cares about what grades you got - they'll just look at your past work to see if you are talented.

Though I do agree that some of the emphasis some people are putting on clubs is a bit overboard. No employee cares that you were active in DDR and Rock Climbing clubs. In order for a club to help your resume it either has to be something where you learn and develop skills you would want for a career or the club sounds like it would provide such skills (even if it doesn't).

[Jarvi]

No employee cares that you were active in DDR and Rock Climbing clubs.

Obviously there's gonna be some clubs that don't matter, but it's still a good way to meet new people early on and do something fun that you're interested in.

[Maco70]

I'm a junior at a state college.

For what it's worth...

...

What is this thread about again?

[atmuh]

Though I do agree that some of the emphasis some people are putting on clubs is a bit overboard. No employee cares that you were active in DDR and Rock Climbing clubs. In order for a club to help your resume it either has to be something where you learn and develop skills you would want for a career or the club sounds like it would provide such skills (even if it doesn't).

ya like for example if you are a civil engineer and you dont join asce you are an idiot

[Elex Synn]

Well I'm currently going through a community college here in SE Michigan. Washtenaw Community College to be exact. Decent enough school. Originally I was aiming to major in Criminal Justice. Ended up changing my mind and wanting to pursue computer programming. After realizing it is absolutely more of a side hobby then a real "passion" I am currently trying to figure out what type of degree meteorology falls under being it's something I've always been into since I was a little'n. Point of this story? Knock out your general electives first cause you don't wanna waste a bunch of time taking degree specific courses

[Barnsalot]

Been at a military college since June and I'm as stressed out as can be.

Gotta keep a 3.0 or I lose my scholarship, which wouldn't be difficult under regular circumstances, but grades are just one aspect of many to pay attention to here.

[Synchronicity]

Man... some people post a lot of info.

Here I am in the fourth year of my pursuit of the mystical bachelor degree of computer science. I'm (beyond) ready to graduate, that's for sure. Already got it all planned out... job and all...

Degree(s) will get your foot in the door but Experience speaks more to employers than anything else in my experience. Remember this grasshoppa....

[kamoh]

Why are so many of you going to weird, out-of-the-way, technical colleges? It seems like over half of the people I meet online are going to Some Institute of Something that I've never heard of.

GO TO A PUBLIC SCHOOL PEOPLE.

Lol.

I'm joking btw, but seriously I'm puzzled by it - I went to a big high school, and my main requirement for college was that it was big...so I'd have a LOT of different opportunities. I guess I did some - I played rugby, was in marching band, and had my own radio show(s) for several years.

[SoulinEther]

GO TO A PUBLIC SCHOOL PEOPLE.

...

I'm joking btw, but seriously I'm puzzled by it - I went to a big high school, and my main requirement for college was that it was big...so I'd have a LOT of different opportunities.

It's strange that for me the main requirement for college, after already having finished applying to the colleges I thought I wanted to get into, was that my school be small so that I would have many different opportunities to be very personally involved with others and not be a number. It was for that very reason that I chose a small college in Connecticut over California's biggest public university.

..lol, then my life got all changed up and i'm attending california's second biggest public university (and i'm not even dorming).

Moral of the story: apply to many colleges/university of different shapes and sizes, both local and afar, because you never know what you're going to want. And Yale, Princeton and Stanford are hard to get into

[Imagist]

It's strange that for me the main requirement for college, after already having finished applying to the colleges I thought I wanted to get into, was that my school be small so that I would have many different opportunities to be very personally involved with others and not be a number. It was for that very reason that I chose a small college in Connecticut over California's biggest public university.

..lol, then my life got flip-turned upside down and I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called bel-air

it had to be done

[kamoh]

It's strange that for me the main requirement for college, after already having finished applying to the colleges I thought I wanted to get into, was that my school be small so that I would have many different opportunities to be very personally involved with others and not be a number. It was for that very reason that I chose a small college in Connecticut over California's biggest public university.

..lol, then my life got all changed up and i'm attending california's second biggest public university (and i'm not even dorming).

Moral of the story: apply to many colleges/university of different shapes and sizes, both local and afar, because you never know what you're going to want. And Yale, Princeton and Stanford are hard to get into

So what's the second largest.

Cause according to wikipedia the largest was my #1 choice.

Was #2 my #2 choice? I THINK MAYBE.

or maybe not.

LA is hueg.

[SoulinEther]

it had to be done

Great, now I'm to be likened to some black man on the telly, eh? Don't you (we) have critiquing to be doing?

So what's the second largest.

Cause according to wikipedia the largest was my #1 choice.

Was #2 my #2 choice? I THINK MAYBE.

or maybe not.

LA is hueg.

#1 is UCLA, #2 is Cal State Fullerton.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Really, I find that in experience alone that a school name really doesn't mean shit. It's all about the faculty's expertise in actual teaching (screw them if all they care about is their own academic ventures. Schools boasting about their achievement is just that: boasting. It typically doesn't help the students unless they're interested in joining in on the action themselves).

Just worry about the learning, getting comfortable (dorms, proximity to shopping/eatery areas) and getting the degree. Everything else is really the sparkly topping they use to attract students.

Hell, I would have gladly skipped school altogether if I was able to get a good internship. College is bullshit for the most part (unless you are aiming for purely technical education).

[Bahamut]

Obviously GPA is important in some fields, but in many it is not. Even for grad school. I don't think an arts grad school cares about what grades you got - they'll just look at your past work to see if you are talented.

Though I do agree that some of the emphasis some people are putting on clubs is a bit overboard. No employee cares that you were active in DDR and Rock Climbing clubs. In order for a club to help your resume it either has to be something where you learn and develop skills you would want for a career or the club sounds like it would provide such skills (even if it doesn't).

Talent alone doesn't get you into grad school for any department, whether it be the arts or humanities, or sciences. If you have a low GPA, it is construed as a sign of a possible slacker, and is grounds for many schools for rejection, especially private schools. Funding is competitive, and there are more deserving people out there who show that they are capable of working hard. There are other major factors such as ability, but the GPA is often the make or break factor regardless of department.

[Katsurugi]

gpa doesnt seem like its gonna mean crap for me

I think we're the only people here that can say that. I think that if you can get out of Cooper with a 2.8, you're pretty awesome. Sadly, some schools don't share my opinion.