Honestly, when will my high school GPA be used?

[Xander562]

What grade are you in? I hope a senior because that GPA and that attitude will NOT get you into college. A friend of mine got ONE D in his last semester of high school and got rejected from a college he was previously accepted to. It might not make a lot of sense (I think it's lame too, screw the college board) but it's the way they like to work. Just humor them for a little while longer.

 

[RacerX]

Well, this is more or less a do as I say, not as I did sort of thing, but I graduated high school with a 2.03 weighted GPA.

I was sick to death of school my senior year and my first wife was constantly having to make sure that I was doing my homework and studying for tests. I can remember her getting quite upset seeing me work on take home tests while she was driving me to school. She would asked when it was due, and I'd reply when I get to school. Then she would ask when it was handed out and I'd tell her a week earlier.

My heart just wasn't in it, and it wouldn't have mattered if I had gotten into any college as I just needed time off... which I took. I spent the next two years working and running (for a Track club), and by the time I started up school again I was hungry for it. I went to a junior college for a couple years, and then I transferred to UCSD.

But I should point out that by that point I also had taken a one year series in upper division mathematics and a one year series in graduate level mathematics at UCSD while I was still attending the junior college. And that even though I was a declared physics major, I had a growing list of people in the mathematics department who went out of there way to help me get into UCSD. This included the provost of Muir College (the college at UCSD I was applying to) who was also part of the mathematics department (specializing in topology). And it was also thanks to the petitioning by those people that a bunch of requirements that I hadn't completed were overlooked so I could transfer.

With that type of support from the mathematics department, it shouldn't be surprising that less than a year after being accepted to UCSD I change my major to mathematics.


But that is a lot of things that have to go just your way to get around a poor high school performance. And even though I didn't have a good GPA, I had pretty good scores on my AP exams (I scored all 4s) and had placed well in physics and other academic competitions. And even though most of my teachers were disappointed in my performances in their classes in high school, they all still thought very highly of me.

I was quite lucky in that I've always had people around me that wanted me to succeed so badly that they were willing to overlook my (obvious) shortcomings.

 

[wordmunger]

as stated above, it will be a part (or should/could be) of every resume you submit for the rest of your life

I have never ever put my HS GPA on a resume. Once you have a college degree, it's completely irrelevant. In fact, I don't even put my college GPA on there any more (almost 20 years later). It's only relevant until you've got a few years job experience.

 

[danny_w]

I have never ever put my HS GPA on a resume. Once you have a college degree, it's completely irrelevant. In fact, I don't even put my college GPA on there any more (almost 20 years later). It's only relevant until you've got a few years job experience.

I never put either GPA on my resume any more either, but I have always been asked by every employer I have ever had in the last 30+ years what my college GPA was. So while your HS GPA may become irrelevant, your college GPA is never irrelevant (at least in my experience).

 

[EMILinator]

okay, i am a junior in high school, so i am in the graduating class of 2009.

next year, as a senior, i hope to do better, i hope to stay motivated.

i guess i just want the discipline and the interest all the 4.0 students have..

i also have a part time job at quizno's..

right now, i have a 2.4 unweighted, 2.8-2.9 weighted.

 

[CalBoy]

I thought you were a senior now?

You think you're guaranteed a spot in a college more than a year ahead of time?

 

[Iscariot]

I was sick to death of school my senior year and my first wife was constantly having to make sure that I was doing my homework and studying for tests. I can remember her getting quite upset seeing me work on take home tests while she was driving me to school.

You... were married in high school? And your GPA was 2.03? This information haunts me, like a ghost. A ghost of the unexpected Christmas past.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Because negative reinforcement is always the way.
I've always loved these types of responses.

I subscribe to the Simon Cowell type of advice.


C'mon, we've all had those moments in school where we didn't want to do work. Sometimes you'd do it anyway, sometimes you'd blow it off. Ya, we've all been there, but this is shocking:

explain to me why i need an A over a D, compared to PASS and FAIL.

Sure, you all can lambaste me for my response which lacked compassion, but are you reading the same thing I'm reading? What that quote displays is a terrible mindset towards educating oneself. Not only that, but is there no shred of pride of wanting to do well in something? School gives you an opportunity to learn new things that will stay with you for the rest of your life, your Quiznos part-time job probably doesn't.

The more important thing here is that you at least try to do well. You don't need an A, and does anyone expect you to study twenty hours per day? No, but what you should feel compelled to do is at least make an effort to do reasonably well. I mean, you've just put forth the prospect of getting a D with such a cavalier attitude in your JUNIOR year of high school (the most important one for college admissions departments) that it's scary and mind boggling.

Remember, not everyone finds joy in learning school subjects, and not everyone is made for college, but you've seemed to resign yourself to getting a D, and just started a thread on a website (where I would guess the majority of people are intelligent) trying to get us to console you and tell you everything is alright. Have some confidence. You know how you can avoid all this uncertainty with your grades? You can try to do well and you won't have to deal with all of this stupid hypothetical crap of you almost failing a high school history class...


Sorry about the rant, but the type of attitude portrayed in the original post is one of the reasons schooling in the U.S. sucks. You can blame the public education system all you want, the under-budgeted programs, but this is a mentality that is completely self-defeating.

 

[RacerX]

You... were married in high school? And your GPA was 2.03? This information haunts me, like a ghost. A ghost of the unexpected Christmas past.

Married... in high school? Of course not!

She was still one of the teachers at my school at that point. We didn't get married until about a year after I graduated. Though she did start staying with my family before I graduated (in separate rooms) and we moved in together right after graduation. And even then the marriage didn't last all that long (a little less than 10 years).

What can I say... I'm from a small town in California (this is the backwards home of my youth). And my parents knew we were spending a ton of time together since my Junior year, and we even double dated with my parents by the middle of my Senior year (which made going to restaurants a lot easier).

Context... you have to put all of this stuff into context. Otherwise you could get the wrong ideas.




Now let the haunting begin.

 

[UWSpindoctor]

not true, and yes, i am a hiring manager for a large company

as stated above, it will be a part (or should/could be) of every resume you submit for the rest of your life

now, you can spin it, explain it, argue against the value of it, but the bottom line is... it is in black and white and is a reflection on you

You actually ask for the High School GPA for potential hires who have a Bachelors or more advanced degree? I didn't even mention my high school on my resume and it was never asked about. Although I could see it being a factor for applying for internships while in college or if you don't get a college degree.

Out of curiosity, what field are you in?

 

[operator207]

You actually ask for the High School GPA for potential hires who have a Bachelors or more advanced degree? I didn't even mention my high school on my resume and it was never asked about. Although I could see it being a factor for applying for internships while in college or if you don't get a college degree.

Out of curiosity, what field are you in?

Same here, my Wife, whom is an IT Recruiter for a large firm in DFW, does not ask for HS information unless the candidate does not have any College on their resume. And then its only to see if they have a GED or did they Graduate HS. Her and her clients are more interested in work in the field they are looking to hire in, than HS education. If the Field they are hiring for would require a College education (VP of IT would be one field she has hired for) that is normally when she would look at College Education. Never HS at that point.

It seems if the candidate has the qualifications for the job, but does not have the college education, companies are starting to wain in requiring a college education. I am NOT (read that as NOT) saying a college education is going to be worthless in the near future, but I am saying college by the time my children will be of age, is going to be only for the richest and elitist.

I have worked with many people in the IT industry, some with College educations some without. I could not say one way or the other that a college education was worth it. At least for the IT Admin field that is.

 

[themadchemist]

Can't help but echo what someone else said...My friend, it's awfully presumptuous (unless your parents donated a building or something) to assume that you're going to be admitted to any university with a 2.4 HS GPA. So, to answer your question, your high school GPA will be used to reject your butt from college unless you start showing some commitment.

 

[63dot]

I am already going to be accepted into the nearby university..

what else will my high school GPA be used for?


i am so unmotivated to do my english and history finals. my finals are projects, so i didnt really have to study. by bombing these finals, i will go from a C to D in both classes, as i have C's in those classes.

explain to me why i need an A over a D, compared to PASS and FAIL.

congrats on being accepted into university

try and take a moderate approach and enjoy some extra time off, but don't completely go off the deep end and blow off school completely

i know of one guy who was all A grades and when he got accepted to a very good school, he instantly got a girl friend and became very amourous...well, you know where that led

keep a sound mind and always be humble