GPA proves to be important to students

GPA proves to be important to students

From the time a college student begins a semester to the time they take their final exam, a grade point average is built.

A student’s GPA reflects their submitted work and their ability to understand the material.

“The importance of a college GPA goes far beyond the simple numerics,” said UNA Director Melissa Medlin. “For many fields, GPA is a strong factor in employment, for others, it is not.”

According to moneynews.com, the majority of hiring authorities are satisfied with a college degree regardless of GPA. Other executives may value prior work experience more highly than an academically rigorous college experience.

Medlin added a student’s workload is an important factor to a GPA and many fields take that into consideration. A student working two or three jobs to pay for school may not have the highest GPA.

“That is potentially understandable and justified due to limited study time, meanwhile, someone with a low GPA who has no work experience or extra-curricular activities leaves an employer to wonder what that person is doing with their time,” said Medlin.

Junior Aleah Newsome sees her GPA as a gateway to her successful career as a nurse.

“My college GPA is very important to me,” Newsome said. “If I get below the required average, which, I think, is a 2.8, I will get kicked out of the program or will not be allowed to apply for the program.”

Newsome said maintaining a high GPA will put her where she needs to be so that is able to pursue her dream job.

“Your GPA is important because you are not going to graduate if you don’t have a certain GPA,” said Andrea Hunt, assistant professor of sociology. “But then, also looking at scholarships and other kinds of financial assistance sometimes those are based upon GPA as well.

Hunt added that if a student is thinking about attending graduate school, the admission of a student is based upon GPA and suggests that starting off strong in a student’s freshman year can set the tone of a GPA.

“A GPA really reflects the work students did their first couple of years of school and it is very easy to destroy but very hard to rebuild,” said Hunt.

Hunt recommends for students to drop classes if they know that they are in risk of hurting their GPA.

“That’s why it is always great to have conversations with your instructor and to check in and see if there is room for you to be able to improve your grade,” said Hunt. “For students, it’s your personal responsibility to always know where you stand in that class.”