<p>In HS, a really good student has perfect or nearly perfect GPA, participates in some sports, leads a few E/C. </p>
<p>I would guess that high GPA is much harder to get in any college, and students are a little busier than HS from the course load Being a lot more "free" on campus, students must spend more social times.</p>
<p>We only have a college soph and have not much contacts with other college students. When someone said "so and so is a really good student", I like to know what are used to make that judgment.</p>
<p>I think a “really good student” is one that takes their studies seriously, passes classes, and is focused on school. It’s not a particular GPA or credit load, it is just someone who is focused.</p>
<p>I think grades are part of the equation, but also the students drive. Do they work? Do they an internship? Do they volunteer? I think all of that goes into making a kid a “good” college student</p>
<p>I think a really good student in college is someone who takes their learning and their classes seriously. They go to class, participate, and are engaged with their studies. Grades have little to do with it.</p>
<p>Personally if it were me I would tie it to a GPA, probably a 3.5 and above. But honestly I think it would probably be just slightly higher than whatever my own GPA is, and if my GPA were to go up or down, my opinion would probably change.</p>
<p>Honestly, tying a “really good student” classification to a GPA is silly for a variety of reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li>You can’t compare GPAs at one school to another</li>
<li>You can’t compare GPAs from one major to another</li>
<li>You don’t really know what your kids GPA is</li>
<li>Nobody will care about your GPA after you graduate, except for maybe the first job.</li>
<li>Nobody, besides the student, knows what the GPA is. The kid, the parent, the other parent, or the other parents kid, could be lying.</li>
</ul>
<p>Far more important than a good GPA is the desire and focus of the student, because that will bring them success or failure later in life.</p>
<p>I’m not arguing that it’s the best way to do it. I’m simply saying that if I had the impression that someone was a good student, it would be from their grades. That’s just my gut instinct.</p>
<p>A good student to me is someone who does all of their work and is always prepared for lecture. They’re able to follow along and ask meaningful questions. Also, no grade grubbing.</p>
<p>Examples from my experience and perspective: They clearly go beyond expectations. They seek out understanding for its own sake, and not for the grade. They display true intellectual curiosity. They do very well grade wise but aren’t that interested in their grades per se. They visit with professors, talk to them to learn more (not to brown nose or be political). They always participate in class discussion, and make fantastic contributions that surprise the professor. Even in a big school, professors know them, and their name comes up when professors are talking among themselves about their students. They are actively involved in their major: they participate in lots of activities, take initiatives, run clubs, start fundraisers, involve themselves in research, or win case competitions. They have a bundle of positive energy and are well liked by everyone.</p>
<p>Where I went to college a good student was not only one who had a good GPA, but also one who went to the trouble to write an honors thesis. (Though not all majors required them for honors.)</p>
<p>The answer depends on the context of the question so there’s no definitive answer.</p>
<p>I agree generally with Bigtrees though - if the student is a serious student who does well within the context of their particular college and academic schedule (particular major, minor, courseload, combo of courses, etc.). It’s not as simple as the highest GPA due to the variables bigtrees mentioned since average GPAs and complexity and amount of work can vary wildly from college to college and major to major. Compare a computer science student at a college with a rigorous engineering program (UCSD and UCLA for example) known for not practicing grade inflation with weeder (and GPA killer) classes taking a full load of difficult courses with a poliSci or many other humanities majors at a much less selective college taking less than full load (as some do). The CS major might be way brighter and working much harder than the other example and end up with a lower GPA. Which one do you think would be considered the ‘better student’? I might consider them both ‘good students’ but with one of them clearly working much harder than the other and it can’t be determined by GPA.</p>
<p>I think parents of college students should treat the GPA of their kids like they treat their income.</p>
<p>You’d never sit around and compare incomes at a potluck. The same parents don’t mind discussing kids GPAs. But that’s unfair for the reasons I said above.</p>
<p>My childhood best friend was a way better student than me, but I probably got a higher GPA. I respect him for his knowledge even though I am probably better on tests.</p>
<p>I think it just can’t be GPA as at DD school it is so hard that college only give Pass/No Record 1st semester and A/B/C/No Record in 2nd semester.</p>
<p>So what is a good student? In my view a good student is one who makes full use of the abundant opportunities at college, to learn
the greater life skills (like managing finance, being independent),
become a productive, and responsible citizen (becoming aware of the social problems, greater world problems )
volunteer to help those in need ( If they learn to volunteer now, they will carry over through out their life)
participate in classes to learn and not just get grades ( At work it matters more what you know than what grade you got at college)
maintain healthy life style (Most people learn to live on junk food in colleges, so those who learn to strike balance succeed in doing so through out the life)</p>
<p>Studies (major/minor) are only 1 part of the college education. These four years are the back bone of their future life so they need to tread carefully.</p>
<p>I’m a parent, but I’m also a student. I spend 4 days a week in classes with students who are mostly the same ages as my children. </p>
<p>By the measurements of some posters, I am a “really good student”. I have a 4.0 GPA for all my current work. A lot of my classmates struggle in classes, because they’re not “really good students” in that sort of sense. On the other hand, some (but not all) of my classmates are engaged in and with the material we’re studying, even when it’s outside of their major – which it almost always is. Most of the students I’m in class with are fullfilling university breadth requirements. I have classmates who are becoming adults, who are juggling school and family, who bring their small children to class sometimes. I have classmates who are willing to honestly represent themselves as ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities in class, even when it might make others uncomfortable. Frequently, I get to see people confronting material that challenges their worldview, with a lot of openness and grace. </p>
<p>How can I possibly say that I am a really good student (because I have a 4.0 and do community service work) and that my classmates who don’t have high GPAs are not?</p>
<p>"I think a really good student in college is someone who takes their learning and their classes seriously. They go to class, participate, and are engaged with their studies. "</p>
<p>I agree. I’d add that they also are involved in the campus community. In addition, they dive into the variety of resources and activities the campus offers: clubs, office hours with professors, taking courses in fields that interest them even if they may have to struggle to get decent grades in those courses.</p>
<p>Someone who maintains a 4.0 by studying all of the time and by taking only courses that they know they can get As in isn’t my idea of a really good college student.</p>
<p>At first I thought this was a no-brainer type question. But then I started thinking and yes, we all know what a really good high school student is, but college? I think I agree with a really good student in college is someone who takes their learning and their classes seriously. They go to class, participate, and are engaged with their studies. I’m not so sure that a really good student needs to be active on the campus since I’m not sure you have to be a leader to be a really good student. A really good student might be married, might be working many hours a week to pay for school, might be a non-traditional student so that element of participation in the college outside of the classroom is not important. I do think a really good student adds to the classroom experience through dialogue, questioning, participating. I don’t think a really good student is one that attends and simply gets good grades but doesn’t add value to the classroom experience or move the dialogue forward.</p>
<p>"I’m not so sure that a really good student needs to be active on the campus since I’m not sure you have to be a leader to be a really good student. "</p>
<p>By saying “active on their campus,” I don’t mean that they need to be a leader. I do think that they need to be taking advantage of some of the various extracurricular activities offered on their campus and/or in the local community.</p>
<p>Lectures by visiting scholars; art exhibits; concerts; clubs; volunteer opportunities; sports teams; workshops – campuses offer all sorts of outside of classroom learning and enrichment activities. Until one retires, one’s undergraduate experience provides the best opportunities to explore such a wide range of activities. Students who only keep their noses in books and select classes to get top grades are missing out on some of the most rewarding and best parts of the college experience.</p>
<p>From making a movie to learning capoiera (a Brazilian martial art) and swing dancing, to designing for a campus magazine to helping organize a dance marathon, to attending and volunteering with arts events with the local and campus community, S has participated in lots of activities outside of the classroom. </p>
<p>As a result, he has made lots of friends, honed and developed a variety of skills including those that have helped with his classes and his employability, and he has had lots of fun including in activities that he had never tried before entering college.</p>
<p>I think we agree, perhaps I should have expanded my train of thought. A really good student generally does take advantage of all that colleges offer outside the classroom, but the difference is that in college there are students that may not participate in college activities because they are married, non-traditional , work, etc. but could still be classified as a really, good student. I was thinking of a few people that I went to college with that I rarely saw outside the classroom who did not live on campus, etc., that you rarely saw during non class hours but were really good students.</p>
<p>I would say that a good college student is one who thoroughly enjoyed his 4 years, took advantage of the opportunities that the college offered and ends up doing what he wants to after graduation.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your inputs. So, it is somewhat like HS, a high GPA alone does not make some one a really good student. But a good student should have a high GPA. </p>
<p>In HS, you could call up the GC and ask “how is so and so doing?”. In college, where would parents call to get a full feedback?</p>