<p>I see 4.0UW high school students get 3.2 GPAs in college. What's the explanation for this?</p>
<p>Eventhough I am not in college, I know for sure that college classes have way more rigor… or maybe they just party too much in college</p>
<p>well because college is usually a 360 for almost everyone. It all depends on how you handle yourself really. Everyone has different priorities in school whether it be to party or to actually do well in school.</p>
<p>mike25: what do YOU think might be some of the reasons for this? I’m certain you have some ideas. Why don’t you share your thoughts?</p>
<p>My GPA is actually higher in college than it was in high school, and I was no slacker in high school. I think low college GPA is due to harder classes and added responsibilities/commitments</p>
<p>for some students, it’s the adjustment to college life</p>
<p>for some students, it’s going from an environment with grade inflation to one without.</p>
<p>for some students, it’s taking classes where grades are based on only 3 or 4 components for the entire semester, instead of all kinds of little grades for homework, and quizzes, and posters, and notebook checks, and “extra credit”.</p>
<p>for some students, it’s no longer being the big fish in a very small and shallow pond.</p>
<p>for some students, it’s going from a school without real academic rigor to a school with academic rigor.</p>
<p>for some students, it’s taking classes that are graded on a curve.</p>
<p>There are a lot of reasons. One or many may apply to different students.</p>
<p>the freedom kicks in. that guy who promises himself that he will always do his work when he gets to college will make that promise BEFORE he got to college…he doesn’t realize that alcohol, weed, and other drugs will be present at any given moment and girls and fun will come easier than it ever has. he doesn’t realize that putting something off for one day will result in being behind almost a weeks worth of work. he doesn’t realize that reading that chapter actually means that he has to read the chapter. he doesn’t realize that he won’t get annual check-ins from his teacher telling him about his grades. he doesn’t realize that being cool and “that guy” only really mattered in high school.</p>
<p>when he does realize, his gpa is already sub 3.0</p>
<p>Sheer determination and work ethic can get you a 4.0 in HS. But college is a much different animal. Natural ability comes into play. Also there isn’t enough time to plod through subject matter. The kids who manage a 3.8, HS GPA by only studying 10 hours a week will far out shine (in college) the 4.0 student who had to study 40.</p>
<p>Only about half (roughly) of high school students attend college - generally these are the students towards the bottom half of the class academically.</p>
<p>The bottom end of the grading curve must be filled by someone new in college.</p>
<p>Because college classes are quite significantly harder than high school classes. In high school, the teachers essentially hold your hand and walk you through all of the material. In college, a professor will go over the basic ideas, but won’t always take you through an example of every type of problem/situation. The ability to learn on your own is a big factor in college, and most high schools don’t really do a very good job of instilling that in their students.</p>
<p>Just something to think about…when my son matriculated at Emory, the president asked all the first year students who had graduated in the top 10% of their high school class to stand; almost everyone did. The president then said that he could guarantee that 90% of the students would not be graduating in the top 10% of the college class.–and that they would still be fine.</p>
<p>Realize that almost all the students on campus are similar to you–they have good grades, good test scores, impressive ECs. And some of the kids who are nominally at the “bottom” of the class–you need to really watch out for them! Sometimes they are at the “bottom” in gpa simply because in high school they didn’t work as hard as they could, or maybe they got dinged in grades because they didn’t turn in every homework assignment etc. while other classmates did. These kids will often shine in college–they are just as smart as anyone, and now their grades are not affected by lots of little grades from busy work. Then there are also those students who are just as smart, but because of maturity issues, did not turn on their academic jets until more recently…watch out for them.</p>
<p>I always feel most sorry for the kids who ground out every single grade in high school, who sacrifice things like social life or random exploration, dotting every I and crossing every T, doing every little assignment and every bit of extra credit, and doing only what burnishes their “resume”–when they are already working at full capacity, it’s hard to step it up in to higher gears–and along come the kids who might have coasted in high school, but are now engaged and ambitious and work just as hard as the kid who didn’t have any more gears available. Some of those kids have a very hard time with the realization that they might not always be the top banana anymore. it can be very hard on their self image and very hard on their egos.</p>
<p>+1 for everything above</p>
<p>Also, test taking and studying skills may need to change as well. The grades for most of my classes were based entirely on tests (often, 40% midterm, 60% final), and the tests tended to emphasize essay writing, analysis, or problem solving. The problem solving seemed to trick people up the most because students were expected to solve problems they had never seen before by applying what they learned in class. Memorization and regurgitation aren’t enough anymore in many classes and that can take people by surprise (though in some classes, the sheer amount of reading and memorization can take people aback). Kids who soar through high school often expect to soar through college, and don’t always adapt their habits or techniques quickly enough. Sometimes, it’s the speed of the courses that can trip people up as well. Classes move fast, whether you’re ready for it or not, and by the time people realize they’re over their head, it might be too late.</p>
<p>That being said, there’s no real reason your GPA has to go down. Mine went up, and I felt like the workload went down (much less busy work).</p>
<p>My GPA is significantly higher in college than in high school.</p>
<p>I had an unweighted 2.9 during high school. In college, I’ve made a 4.0 during two of my semesters and currently sit at a 3.9.</p>
<p>That’s a one point difference.</p>
<p>I’ve also seen students who were in the top 5% of their class in high school fail college courses.</p>
<p>It depends on the person. I think if you want to succeed, then you can, but a lot of people get lost in the shuffle of going to college. Are they going for the atmosphere and the experience or are they going for the education and the job opportunities? I think a lot of people today go for the experience, which has more to do with partying and pulling all-nighters than it does going to class every day and consistently putting in the effort.</p>
<p>But that’s just my opinion and that isn’t a catch-all. I know of people who really tried hard and they just had a terrible professor who wasn’t going to pass them for whatever reason.</p>
<p>For me, it’s more responsibilities. I have the same amount of classes as I did in high school, they’re overall more difficult in terms of content/rigor (but usually more interesting), and… I just have more things to do. Usually in high school, students focus on grades as their top priority and maybe one job, a few hobby extracurriculars or one actually important one, and/or a relationship. But it’s mainly about the grades. In college, it’s not always about the grades. Here’s a personal anecdote:</p>
<p>In high school, my main priorities were grades and music extracurriculars (mainly performance). Both equally important to me so I could get into a great music major program. Now that I’m in that program, I’m not in it to get straight As. Hell no, that would be a waste of time (especially since I’m not going to grad school). I’m here to learn as much as possible that I deem relevant to my interests and career goals (which is often NOT directly correlated to getting the best grades, even in a well-tailored curriculum)… and then apply that knowledge to things outside school like writing, recording, rehearsing, and performing my own music, being a good music director, booking and organizing concerts, applying for summer internships, and building my own studio business to teach lessons for money. And on top of that, I have to buy my own groceries/make my own food, keep a non-disgusting space, live with other people, network, and still find time to hang out with my boyfriend and all my friends who aren’t in my classes. And in order to do all of this, I need to plan time to organize my calendar and exercise because I can no longer fit in a gym class or whatever. So of course I’m not getting the grades I got in high school. I wouldn’t want to, because that means I wouldn’t be doing enough things outside of school that are important to my career. That being said, I have a less conventional major and career path. I could see how other students would want to continue getting stellar grades all throughout college so they can go to grad school or get jobs where employers actually care about your GPA. Maybe if I chose a different path I’d be getting better grades. But again, I never wanted to do that and it’s totally fine with me.</p>
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<p>Yes, I can relate. Though my high school GPA was a lot lower. and my college GPA is just a tiny bit lower than yours. I am too lazy to check, but it’s probably 3.7 or 3.8</p>
<p>EDIT: just checked apparently it is 3.9 according to how my university grades. I think it’s inflated.</p>
<p>High school: everything didn’t challenge me, put in minimal effort to pass and got a 3.7.
Comm college: very unchallenged, slacked off. did mediocre then great.
university: somewhat challenging, good GPA (3.6 institution)</p>
<p>My main motivation comes from job prospects or my girlfriend saying I need to make something happen…like when she said I was screwing up in school I put my head into gear and got accepted to her university and they gave me a good amount of money. Or like this quarter when I realized hey I need recommendation letters from professors so might as well try and do well enough to get them. Every quarter from now on I’ll be doing my absolute best so I can graduate and get as much money as possible from the grad institutions I’m applying to. Should be sitting at a 3.5 overall by graduation if I don’t mess up. </p>
<p>I still have bad study habits which I’ve carried with me all the way through high school, community college, and now. They are slowly going away…next school year they should be gone (my last).</p>
<p>I have a bunch of reasons. I did ok in high school… at the last minute. I somehow managed to graduate with a 3.04 gpa. I’m not the best test taker at all. Most of the time I’m ok if I have to do essay tests, but if it’s something like math or science. Totally different ball park. In college (my 1st year and a half) I really didn’t take it seriously. Again the tests came into play, yes I would study but when it was time to take that test; I’d freeze up!</p>
<p>Now I do pretty well. I’m trying to get my GPA up a lot but it’s hard! :)</p>
<p>Possibly because the majority of public high schools in America are a total joke?
Let’s face it, you don’t have to be a hard worker or a genius to obtain a decent GPA at the majority of schools in the nation. The content tends to be pretty basic and shallow, not to mention that many teachers tend to freely give extra credit and practice lax grading policies.</p>
<p>This is without mentioning how only the top students tend to go on to universities. The kids that get Ds and Fs in high school are not the ones who are attending universities, so with a class of top students, expectations rise, thus causing lower grades to be given.</p>
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<p>I can so relate to this in my early and pre-high school days, I think some people including myself put in more and more effort and initiative in their schoolwork as they get older. I agree with the increase in rigor and the fact that I find some students excelled in high school cause they had massive hand-holding as big reasons for the drop in GPA. I think independence and discipline are two very important skills to doing well in college.</p>
<p>^ That was me as well. Didn’t really get my act together until senior year but once I started college, I blew everyone out of the water. Granted, the first two years college are really just High School 2.0 IMO.</p>