When you're in high school you may put an enormous amount of time working toward getting into college. Your academics may be a top priority, as well as your test scores and extracurriculars. Once you actually get into college, do your grades continue to matter?
In many ways, yes, your GPA still matters in college in small and large ways. Some of the ways your college grades matter include:
You may be able to save money in certain areas or save your parents money. For example, as a younger driver, you probably already pay some of the highest insurance rates of any age group or demographic. However, if you are enrolled in college and you have at least a B-average, you might be able to save money with good student discounts.
If you're planning on pursuing higher-level education after you finish undergrad, you'll need to have a certain GPA.
Many companies and in particular larger companies look at academics and GPAs when selecting candidates for internships and jobs.
If you receive money from certain scholarships or financial aid programs, they may require that you maintain a particular GPA.
If you can excel in college, you may be able to finish faster, which can then help you graduate with less debt.
Basically, your college GPA is important for your future plans. Even if you aren't sure what your future holds, you might want to give yourself an advantage by keeping up your GPA. This will give you flexibility in the future, and you won't have to worry about a poor college academic record sidelining you.
The following are some tips to help you keep your GPA up when you're in college.
Attend All of Your Classes
Sometimes getting a good GPA in college comes down to doing the basics. Going to class is the most important thing you can do academically, but sometimes it can feel like the most challenging.
When you're in college and have freedom possibly for the first time in your life, it's tough to force yourself out of bed and into class, but if you go to class you may be able to absorb a lot of information and get it in context, even if you don't do a ton of studying later.
When you're in class, think about handwriting your notes.
While it might be easier to type them, when you handwrite notes, it's forcing you to think more about them and stay more engaged, whereas if you're typing you might zone out or become more robotic and absorb less information.
Of course, if you can't keep up when you're handwriting your notes, typing them is better than nothing.
When you start a new class, go through the syllabus carefully. This will give you a great outline and plan that you're going to follow so it can help you prepare, organize and manage your expectations. It can also help you from forgetting about something and then pushing to get it done at the least minute.
Often class information and content are available online ahead of time, and if that's the case and you have the chance to work ahead a bit, take advantage.
Try to Meet Your Professors in Person
For your large lecture classes, make an effort to meet and talk to your professors. This will give your professors a face to go with your name, and it will make you feel more engaged in the classes. It may also improve your accountability in terms of actually showing up to class.
If you can try and be active in your classes too. When you're active then it means you're engaging with the content.
If you find yourself in a tough spot in a class, it can make it easier to go to your professor and ask for help or guidance if you've already built some sort of relationship with that person. Professors want their students to succeed, and they're going to be more willing than you might think to help you if you need it.
Your professor should have office hours, and they have them for a reason, so go to them.
Study Incrementally
Everyone has their own way of doing things and their own ways of learning that work best for them, but nearly universally, waiting until the last minute is not the right approach to studying in college.
Sure, you can still do a last-minute cram session, but it's better to work on studying and learning materially incrementally throughout the semester.
Try to master small chunks of information as you go along, and then revisit those chunks as you need to.
Take Advantage of Campus Academic Resources
There are many different programs and resources most colleges have available to help students. For example, many offer tutoring which can range from group to one-on-one sessions, as well as various forms of academic counseling.
You might also be able to find help developing general skills, such as writing.
Don't wait until the situation is dire to get help-as soon as you start to feel like you could have a problem or be falling behind, ask for help.
Create a Daily Schedule
When you were in high school, you probably had a pretty regimented schedule. You probably woke up a certain time, went to school, did extracurriculars studied, and went to bed all at a similar time every day.
When you're in college, that might all go out the window, but it doesn't have to.
Set a schedule for yourself so that you are carving out time to study every day but be reasonable. Don't pack your schedule so much that you get overwhelmed or aren't able to balance other things you might enjoy.
Finally, realize that college is going to represent new challenges, and you will have to step outside of your comfort zone to be successful. Even if high school was a breeze for you, college might not be so let yourself adjust and experiment to find the routines and things that work for you academically and also socially.
