How important are high school grades?

[Twin Beadles]

Similarly, how important is it which college you go to?

please aware me brahs.

[Jameerthefear]

higher you act/sat is, the less important they are.

[L.Kizzle]

Depends on what you wanna do after high school.

[9erempiree]

Very important bro.

Try to get the best grades, do sports and score high on your SAT.

Get into a good college and finish as fast as possible.

You find immediate work based off the college you went to.

[HarryCallahan]

Not even remotely important. Unless you're going to a school like MIT/Yale/Oxford etc. which college you go to isn't that important either.

If your parents are paying, go to a good party school. If you're paying, go to a community college to get some course credits and then finish at a four year, that'll save you about 50k in debt.

[bladefd]

Believe it or not, but it is not very important which college you go into. In fact, you might be better off going to a college that is under the radar or within the state you live in to end up with lower debt once you get out. Trust me, it doesn't make much of a difference - of course, if you're deciding between a county college or some respected state institution, you may be better off going with the latter. As far as intro courses are concerned, the curriculum is very similar across the board. People often start off at county colleges for lower level intro courses to save money and then transfer to state institutions or something.

I laugh when I see people on Facebook boasting about what awesome big name college they went to. Then they end up working in the same company/position as somebody that went to a much lesser prestigious college. While having MUCH bigger debt to pay back. :roll:

[tpols]

Universities have huge databases for the applications you fill out that rank you on your gpa + SAT scores for acceptance. The bigger the school the more automated and impersonal the selection process is..

[fiddy]

OP looking for an excuse to be dumb?

[9erempiree]

Let me give you the low down with a family friend.

He got good grades and scored high on his SAT's. He got into Harvard. Graduated in 4 years and immediately got a job lined up for him making 80k. He works with a firm that deals with merger/acquisitions.

Look at the big picture and scale back the road to where you are right now and get into that big college.

It also depends what you want to do. If you are into business, get into a school with a fantastic Business School. You will have people offering you jobs.

If you want to be an accountant or engineer...any school will do.

Aim for the stars....if you fall short you will be on the moon. :cheers:

[imnew09]

The UC System requires at least 3.0 gpa. So your grades are extremely essential when applying for a good university.

[AintNoSunshine]

You can always find exceptions like Jobs, Bill Gates but in general students from good colleges produce better careers afterwards. So if you want to convince yourself that you don't need to work hard to try to get into a good university because it doesn't guarantee anything then you're lying to yourself.

[Balla_Status]

Just get good grades dude. Don't be an idiot.

[DukeDelonte13]

if you are a really good student it matters where you go. If you are a straight A student at a big conference school you have a higher likelihood of getting recruited by a big company versus being a straight A student at a smaller conference school.

If you an average student it makes no difference whether you go to a big conference school or a smaller conference school, in many ways the smaller conference school could be more advantageous depending on the relationships they have with local companies/agencies.


Price matters though. Scholarship offers should be an important factor in your search. Don't ever listen to people who say cost doesn't matter. You'll be kicking your own ass when you are in your 40's paying back loans when you have colleagues with the same type of job debt free.

[DCL]

if you even have to ask this question, it means you don't know the game and you don't know where you're going in life.

[STATUTORY]

very important

a lot of path dependency in life.

[ballup]

How much gas do you want to pump?
Or better yet, how many burgers do you want to flip.

[DeuceWallaces]

It would behoove you to do well, but anyone saying they're terribly important doesn't know shit about life. If you ****ed up in high school all you have to do is go to your local state school and do well for 2-3 semesters, maybe less, and then apply to the school you really wanted to go to. In the end, you'll save some money, and probably get a very nice transfer scholarship.

Furthermore, if you want to go to grad school and ****ed up your start of undergrad, just get your shit together for the final two years and take the GRE; you'll be fine.

[rufuspaul]

None of it is important. Tune in, turn on, and drop out.

[Le Shaqtus]

Take dem AP classes son.

[boozehound]

higher you act/sat is, the less important they are.
This is not really true. It really depends on what you want to do. If you want to go to a top school straight out of HS, you better have very solid grades. If you don't really care and are willing to spend a couple of years at a CC before you transfer to a 4 yr school, then those are the most important.


For the most part, HS grades are more important than college grades (outside of passing obviously). If you goal is employment right out of college rather than grad or prof school, your grades probably arent that important. Of course, its a competitive job market, so any edge helps. In my experience, where you went is generally more important than if you have a 2.8 or 3.2

[Rake2204]

higher you act/sat is, the less important they are.This is not necessarily true. I think the importance of high school grades are dependent upon a number of factors. For instance, if you have a particular set of colleges you wish to attend for four years, high school grades can be quite important.

My little brother has found this out the hard way. He dilly-dallied through high school and worked up a 2.2 GPA heading into his senior year. His ACT score, considering his GPA, wasn't too shabby (a cumulative 29 based on his two attempts). However, that ACT score wasn't nearly enough to allow him entrance into even mid-level MAC schools within our state.

Further, even when plotting a one or two year community college run, I still think it's worth working toward good grades in high school. Sometimes bad grades can mean one is just too lazy to complete assignments. But many other times, bad grades can mean one is not learning the material, nor the proper habits needed to succeed in an educational environment. And true, there's always time to change those habits and grow, but you may be making things easier on yourself by applying oneself to begin with.

Also, sometimes it's like, why not get good grades in high school? Is what you're choosing to do as an alternative really worth it? Often, it's not hanging out with friends that leads to ignoring school work. In my brother's case, a lot of the time it was just him opting to watch four hours of Netflix every night and opting not to take 30 minutes to go through some worksheets.

In short, the stress that's come with not doing his work has far exceeded what he would have had to go through by actually doing his work.

[STATUTORY]

It actually becomes harder and harder to excel as life goes on. It should be easy to do well in high school, and doing so afford you the luxury of going to better college where u don't have to be the best to secure good post grad opportunities. Sure you can compensate for poor high school grades after th fact in college, but i would guess that takes more effort than having just done well in high school to begin with.

If someone already messed up hs I would say just work hard later and it will be fin but the the first best outcome is definitely do well in hs.

[Bosnian Sajo]

It would behoove you to do well, but anyone saying they're terribly important doesn't know shit about life. If you ****ed up in high school all you have to do is go to your local state school and do well for 2-3 semesters, maybe less, and then apply to the school you really wanted to go to. In the end, you'll save some money, and probably get a very nice transfer scholarship.

Furthermore, if you want to go to grad school and ****ed up your start of undergrad, just get your shit together for the final two years and take the GRE; you'll be fine.

This x100

I did not give one **** in high school and graduated with a 2.4, right now I am at SPC and have a 3.0 gpa. Once I am done with my 2 years (60ish credits), I am going to transfer to USF or UCF and go for engineering. I save money and honestly, going to a community college is better, for your aa at least. Class size is smaller (USF has an average of 300 students per class compared to SPC's 40) so the class is more hands on.

[ace23]

You can always find exceptions like Jobs, Bill Gates but in general students from good colleges produce better careers afterwards. So if you want to convince yourself that you don't need to work hard to try to get into a good university because it doesn't guarantee anything then you're lying to yourself.
Uh, Bill Gates went to Harvard.

[ace23]

if you are a really good student it matters where you go. If you are a straight A student at a big conference school you have a higher likelihood of getting recruited by a big company versus being a straight A student at a smaller conference school.

If you an average student it makes no difference whether you go to a big conference school or a smaller conference school, in many ways the smaller conference school could be more advantageous depending on the relationships they have with local companies/agencies.
Lol, why are you talking about conferences? It's all about each school's individual reputation.

[DukeDelonte13]

Lol, why are you talking about conferences? It's all about each school's individual reputation.


lol, because depending on your region the only place major companies, e.g. IBM, Microsoft, are going to actively recruit from are big conference schools.

[rufuspaul]

lol, because depending on your region the only place major companies, e.g. IBM, Microsoft, are going to actively recruit from are big conference schools.


IIRC the Ivy League is a pretty small conference.

[boozehound]

IIRC the Ivy League is a pretty small conference.
the top 25 schools in the country are all small conference (or div III, etc), with a few exceptions.

[ace23]

lol, because depending on your region the only place major companies, e.g. IBM, Microsoft, are going to actively recruit from are big conference schools.
lol no. all those companies come to my school and we're not in a large conference.

Anyway, you've got the right idea, just change "big conference" to "good" and "small conference" to "bad".

[shlver]

It is incredibly easy to do well in high school. High school grades are important because they make you eligible for scholarships, and getting out of undergrad debt free should be your goal.

[Rake2204]

High school grades are important because they make you eligible for scholarships, and getting out of undergrad debt free should be your goal.That's actually a fair point as well. Those at the top of their class will likely reap the lion's share of high value scholarships, but there's a lot of non-loan monetary assistance available for students who do at least moderately well in high school. Many, many college students will likely emerge with some solid loan debt, but any manner by which students may be able to mitigate that cost would be wise to pursue.

[Jameerthefear]

This is not necessarily true. I think the importance of high school grades are dependent upon a number of factors. For instance, if you have a particular set of colleges you wish to attend for four years, high school grades can be quite important.

My little brother has found this out the hard way. He dilly-dallied through high school and worked up a 2.2 GPA heading into his senior year. His ACT score, considering his GPA, wasn't too shabby (a cumulative 29 based on his two attempts). However, that ACT score wasn't nearly enough to allow him entrance into even mid-level MAC schools within our state.

Further, even when plotting a one or two year community college run, I still think it's worth working toward good grades in high school. Sometimes bad grades can mean one is just too lazy to complete assignments. But many other times, bad grades can mean one is not learning the material, nor the proper habits needed to succeed in an educational environment. And true, there's always time to change those habits and grow, but you may be making things easier on yourself by applying oneself to begin with.

Also, sometimes it's like, why not get good grades in high school? Is what you're choosing to do as an alternative really worth it? Often, it's not hanging out with friends that leads to ignoring school work. In my brother's case, a lot of the time it was just him opting to watch four hours of Netflix every night and opting not to take 30 minutes to go through some worksheets.

In short, the stress that's come with not doing his work has far exceeded what he would have had to go through by actually doing his work.
spk doesn't have a 2.2 gpa. a 29 isn't high enough to compensate for a 2.2, so he didn't get accepted.

[ballup]

But for real, it depends on what goals you have and how strong they are.
1. Do you know what you want to do as a major?
2. Do you want acqdemic based financial aid?
3. Do you want to have a head start in college?

Even if you have low expectations, at least maintain some kind of work habit.

[cuad]

Similarly, how important is it which college you go to?

please aware me brahs.
That's not the question to start with, brah. You have to start by asking a bigger question like Where do I want to live when I settle down/get older?. Once you answer this question, you make rough outlines of the different paths you can take to get there. On some of these paths, high school grades will matter, and on others they won't. Then you eliminate the obvious bad paths (e.g., win the lottery), add more detail to the remaining paths, eliminate some more, and repeat until you're left with one or a few paths that you really like, and you follow one of them.

[boozehound]

That's not the question to start with, brah. You have to start by asking a bigger question like Where do I want to live when I settle down/get older?. Once you answer this question, you make rough outlines of the different paths you can take to get there. On some of these paths, high school grades will matter, and on others they won't. Then you eliminate the obvious bad paths (e.g., win the lottery), add more detail to the remaining paths, eliminate some more, and repeat until you're left with one or a few paths that you really like, and you follow one of them.
this is a really stupid and childish view. Where you want to live? How the **** would you know that as a HS kid. Why dont you focus more on what you want to do in life. I have lived all over this country (and many places I would have never though to live in HS). The idea that there is a clear path to living some place or whatever is pretty absurd.

[brantonli]

IMO high school grades indicated what kind of attitude you may have to studying. I know plenty of people who coasted through high school as one of the smartest people in their school, only to get to uni and find that they are just average or slightly above average and actually have to work for once.

[cuad]

this is a really stupid and childish view. Where you want to live? How the **** would you know that as a HS kid. Why dont you focus more on what you want to do in life. I have lived all over this country (and many places I would have never though to live in HS). The idea that there is a clear path to living some place or whatever is pretty absurd.

You're dumb. A high school kid can decide whether or not he wants to live somewhere with high crime, run-down or dirty infrastructure, and bad neighbors.

[boozehound]

You're dumb. A high school kid can decide whether or not he wants to live somewhere with high crime, run-down or dirty infrastructure, and bad neighbors.
Fair enough, I was thinking more geographically than that. What type of conditions/neighborhood you want to live in....., sure. Sorry for the negative post, its what Im best at! I do agree that having a broad plan is useful, but you have to realize that no one's plan actually pans out in its entirety

[KingBeasley08]

I'm a freshman in college right now and I'd say get good grades, play sports, ball the SAT. GPA is the biggest factor in getting into a good school. You obviously can go to a community college and transfer after two years but if your parents got money (since you go to a private school, I assume they do), don't do that shit. Go to a big school. College is four years of tough studying but with great parties, booze, and chicks. Get your grades now and enjoy those four years

[shadow]

Similarly, how important is it which college you go to?

please aware me brahs.

As a general rule It impacts your lifetime income. If you graduate from a good college with a stronger network you're likely to get better opportunities in life. So your high school grades are important in that they get you to a good college. Your choice of major also matters of course as some fields pay more than others no matter what college you go to. That said I would not suggest going deeply in debt to get a philosophy or some other random degree like that from a top private university either.

[Rasheed1]

I would basically say that high school grades are only as valuable as the college they get you into and what you do from that point is what will matter in your post college life..

they are important as a foundation and set to your college life, but not important ultimately..

There is soo much more to do after high school, the I think those grades are really just important as a jumping point to your college career and a foundation for that

[MetsPackers]

I never tried at all in high school but knew how to play the game and got a 3.1 GPA and a 2120 on the SATs and I got into Princeton so anyone saying GPA > SATs is probably wrong. Good advice has already been given. If you don't mind going to community college for 2 years then no grades don't matter and you just need to do well once you get to CC. For a university I'd say 3.0 and 1700 SAT score will get you into most schools. Just take the SATs 3 times to get a good score and don't fvck up too bad grade-wise



Edit
Bonus: Senior year doesn't matter. By november you've already been accepted to your college so you basically need to just not fail, so there's your reward for doing well junior year

[STATUTORY]

I never tried at all in high school but knew how to play the game and got a 3.1 GPA and a 2120 on the SATs and I got into Princeton so anyone saying GPA > SATs is probably wrong. Good advice has already been given. If you don't mind going to community college for 2 years then no grades don't matter and you just need to do well once you get to CC. For a university I'd say 3.0 and 1700 SAT score will get you into most schools. Just take the SATs 3 times to get a good score and don't fvck up too bad grade-wise



Edit
Bonus: Senior year doesn't matter. By november you've already been accepted to your college so you basically need to just not fail, so there's your reward for doing well junior year

I'm guessing it also helped being a underrepresented minority :lol

[KingBeasley08]

Was going to say not important, but this is probably more accurate. If youre getting bad grades because your ignorant, than you should probably work to become more knowledgeable. However grades in themselves dont indicate much, nor does which university you go to. Which university youre in is more important than your HS college grades though.
SAT has nothing to do with knowledge. It's just about learning how to solve certain type of problems. I'm a pretty average student but I got great SAT scores because I took tutoring which actually helped. Once you know how to approach the test, it becomes easy. All you really need is decent math skills and solid vocab

[DeuceWallaces]

Most the people saying this shit is important haven't even graduated undergrad, yet alone gotten a job where they're in a position to hire people.

[ace23]

I never tried at all in high school but knew how to play the game and got a 3.1 GPA and a 2120 on the SATs and I got into Princeton so anyone saying GPA > SATs is probably wrong. Good advice has already been given. If you don't mind going to community college for 2 years then no grades don't matter and you just need to do well once you get to CC. For a university I'd say 3.0 and 1700 SAT score will get you into most schools. Just take the SATs 3 times to get a good score and don't fvck up too bad grade-wise



Edit
Bonus: Senior year doesn't matter. By november you've already been accepted to your college so you basically need to just not fail, so there's your reward for doing well junior year
Got into Princeton with a 3.1? That's very low even for a URM. You must have written some good essays.

Either that or you're lying. Lol

[ballup]

Most the people saying this shit is important haven't even graduated undergrad, yet alone gotten a job where they're in a position to hire people.
Colleges are getting more competitive now than ever so grades can determine into which school one gets accepted. The college I attended accepted quite a number of dumb kids from my grade. A couple of years later, my cousin tried to apply to the same school with not so stupendous grades, she didn't get accepted.

You are right in the fact that high school doesn't matter when you have graduated undergrad and are looking for a job.