How important are college grades?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: How important are college grades? Freshman is at an ivy. Kid seems happy, engaged, applied/accepted to multiple clubs and goes out a lot! Likes classes/profs but seems to be struggling in 2 of 5 classes. They would likely be doing better in those classes if spent more time on schoolwork and getting help (vs the fun stuff). I know it's only the first year, but how much do grades matter for getting an internship, perhaps in finance?- that's currently their plan but who knows.... Would appreciate any perspective on this topic

Clubs really important to finance too. Struggling as in a B? Fine. Struggling as in a D? Seek help and think about dropping something

[Anonymous]

You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

Because a student at say a JMU has a very different range of opportunities available to them than a student at an ivy. It's relevant, so calm down. It would be more relevant if we knew which ivy. Five classes freshman fall = not Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

The above is the worst post in an otherwise very accurate, informative thread.

One important point missed by the above poster is that almost all freshmen college students are experiencing their first year away from home and they are establishing new routines that may include some bad/excessive habits that harm the student's academic performance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

Because a student at say a JMU has a very different range of opportunities available to them than a student at an ivy. It's relevant, so calm down. It would be more relevant if we knew which ivy. Five classes freshman fall = not Harvard.

By your logic grades matter MORE at an Ivy than elsewhere. And that's bullshit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

The above is the worst post in an otherwise very accurate, informative thread.

One important point missed by the above poster is that almost all freshmen college students are experiencing their first year away from home and they are establishing new routines that may include some bad/excessive habits that harm the student's academic performance.

And that's been happening since the dawn of time, but it's only with this generation that the parents won't let go. You're out of control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

Because a student at say a JMU has a very different range of opportunities available to them than a student at an ivy. It's relevant, so calm down. It would be more relevant if we knew which ivy. Five classes freshman fall = not Harvard.

By your logic grades matter MORE at an Ivy than elsewhere. And that's bullshit.

Your first sentence is likely accurate. There's a huge opportunity cost to getting bad grades at an ivy. You go from a potential recruit at MBB to looking for jobs on indeed like any other schlub. That's a huge incentive to get good grades.

[Anonymous]

The A students work for the B students, the C students own the businesses, and the D students dedicate the buildings.

[Anonymous]

Which schools allow freshman to take 5 classes Fall semester. That seems very unusual. Can your kid drop one? There is no prize for taking the heaviest course load as a freshman. This isn't a public high school. Seriously. There isn't. The prize is a bad GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The A students work for the B students, the C students own the businesses, and the D students dedicate the buildings.

But only if the D students have hefty trust funds at birth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

Because a student at say a JMU has a very different range of opportunities available to them than a student at an ivy. It's relevant, so calm down. It would be more relevant if we knew which ivy. Five classes freshman fall = not Harvard.

Even if it were true that the range of opportunities might be different (not entirely accurate, btw -- and a dangerous place for a kid like OP's to start), the thread would be the same if you put any other school name in the OP. The answers are the same. Job fairs at every college have employers with GPA cut offs. Everyone is applying to the same grad schools and they have the same expectations of their applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

Because a student at say a JMU has a very different range of opportunities available to them than a student at an ivy. It's relevant, so calm down. It would be more relevant if we knew which ivy. Five classes freshman fall = not Harvard.

By your logic grades matter MORE at an Ivy than elsewhere. And that's bullshit.

Your first sentence is likely accurate. There's a huge opportunity cost to getting bad grades at an ivy. You go from a potential recruit at MBB to looking for jobs on indeed like any other schlub. That's a huge incentive to get good grades.

This is insanely uninformed thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

Because a student at say a JMU has a very different range of opportunities available to them than a student at an ivy. It's relevant, so calm down. It would be more relevant if we knew which ivy. Five classes freshman fall = not Harvard.

Even if it were true that the range of opportunities might be different (not entirely accurate, btw -- and a dangerous place for a kid like OP's to start), the thread would be the same if you put any other school name in the OP. The answers are the same. Job fairs at every college have employers with GPA cut offs. Everyone is applying to the same grad schools and they have the same expectations of their applicants.

Ivy grads have far more opportunities even with lower gpa

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought ivys were grade inflated

Not Cornell.

Not Princeton either

This is a bit misleading. While the so-called grade inflation doesn’t occur at all ivies or elites, ALL courses have been gradually dumbed down for years. The NCLB act did so much damage to our educational system. People blame Covid but the majority of damage was done well before the pandemic. I don’t grade inflate but the overall content I teach today is so much inferior, both in quality and quantity, than what I taught in the same courses 15 years ago.

Sincerely,
STEM professor at an Ivy for 25 years.

Yeah Ok sure you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people really need to give it a rest. If your kid was driven enough in high school to get themselves into an Ivy they don't need mommy getting so into the weeds of their classes that they know they're "struggling" in two classes and are already worrying -- one month into the kid's college career -- what the grades are going to be.

Give it a rest man.

And why the need to mention that it's an Ivy, by the way? You couldn't have asked the same question without having to drop that the kid is at an Ivy?

Kid must be at Cornell. They are always the ones referring to their school as an “Ivy.” Some say it’s an affirmation. Others, that they doth protest too much.