<p>"...The business genius was a late bloomer, having graduated from Homestead High School in Cupertino, Calif., with a 2.65 GPA. He admitted using marijuana and LSD while in college......"</p>
<p>Steve</a> Jobs’s unflattering FBI file mentions drug use, 2.65 GPA - The Washington Post</p>
<p>It’s a little hard to believe you could get into Reed with that GPA, even back then. The FBI wasn’t always exactly beyond reproach 
But I suppose it could be true.</p>
<p>Back then, there was less grade inflation in high schools, and less competition to get into any college or university, especially a small school that was likely known more regionally than nationally at the time.</p>
<p>He admitted using marijuana and LSD while in college…"
At Reed? nooo.
I expect then like now they took essays, recommendations, interviews & test scores into account as well as grades.</p>
<p>He certainly seemed to be bright enough to do well at Reed, don’t you think?</p>
<p>From what I have heard, Reed was pretty well known back then among the intelligentsia. ( & their parents knew enough about it to forbid them to attend!)</p>
<p>Old truism: ***The “A” students end up working for the “C” and “D” students and the “B” students end up working in civil service ***</p>
<p>Colin Powell said he was a C student in college… some very successful people were not at the top of the heap in classroom performance, though I’m sure it is safe to say that generally, the 3.9 students are more successful than the 1.9 students.</p>
<p>I think it is true that grade inflation has played a role over the years. I also think he had special circumstances as well, that he may have used in an essay.</p>
<p>I’m not sure, though, that it is safe to say that 3.9 students are more successful than students. I guess it depends on how one defines ‘success’.</p>
<p>I imagine Steve Jobs was not a run of the mill low gpa applicant. He must have impressed someone at Reed. It would seem that risky call while correct did not pay off given he only lasted a year or so.</p>
<p>Early 80s: I was a low-GPA (2.8) Reed admit, as well; also a Reed dropout, for what that’s worth. Good test scores, great essay and excellent recommendations were the admission ticket for me.</p>
<p>Maybe there’s hope for my 16-year-old son!</p>
<p>Snowdog, Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed because he couldn’t afford it, although he remained on campus for a while longer, crashing with friends and going to classes, including the calligraphy class he credited with inspiring “beautiful” Mac typography.</p>
<p>^ Guess he didn’t get the CC parents’ “you can’t afford it you should go to community college” smackdown.</p>
<p>Reed does meet 100% of need, but it is also a very traditional school & Jobs didn’t like having distribution requirements.</p>
<p>Did it “meet need” back then? I’m not sure how many of today’s “meet need” schools were doing so decades ago. Or, maybe his parents couldn’t pay their share.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus–actually, I think Reed’s reputation nationally was much better 30 years ago than it perhaps is today, since it’s been so troubled by serious drug abuse stories over the last few years.</p>
<p>Should we tell our kids to get more Cs and Ds than As and Bs so they can be successful in the future?</p>
<p>Getting a few C’s is humbling and even educational and would be a welcome entry into many academic all stars’ transcripts. If they earned the C because they slacked off, then they know the consequences; if they did because the class was hard, then they know that not all classes are like AP basket weaving; if they earned a C because some kids were better, then they know that too. Above all, they do not grow up expecting all A’s and a ticker tape parade at the end of the year.</p>
<p>We have had many admissions reps tell us that if it came down to “identical” candidates, they usually take the student that has at least one “B” on a transcript over someone that has not demonstrated in their applications that they have ever had a “disappointment” in their lives. I remember the top kid in my high school CRYING to a teacher because he got an A- on a test. Even back then he had a hard time getting into college because he couldn’t deal with a “low” grade.</p>
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<p>[Steve</a> Jobs, the barefoot student - Telegraph](<a href=“Steve Jobs, the barefoot student”>Steve Jobs, the barefoot student)</p>
<p>My grades in high-school weren’t very good nor were they in my first year of college. Basically they were bipolar - very good in science and math and awful in everything else. After working for a while, I found it very easy to get good grades in college. College can take time away from doing what you really love.</p>