Do Grades in High School Really Matter?

It’s all about grades…

(And Course Selection, the Right High School, and more!)

Do Grades in High School Really Matter?

The decisions you make in 9th or 10th grade could have a major impact on whether you get into the college you want.

It’s important to understand, as early as possible, the crucial role your GPA plays in college admissions. In many ways, to a college admission officer, you are your transcript.

It shows the school your courses and grades — it’s one of the top factors in most college admissions … and it could go a long way to determining whether an Acceptance Letter or a Rejection arrives in your mail.

When you apply to a college, the admission officers looks for two things first: grades and challenging courses.

To have a shot at a top college (a really selective school), you need great grades in the most challenging courses.

An “A” in woodworking isn’t going to impress a top college, nor is a “C” in AP Calculus. 

 What Admissions Officers Look For 

• Coursework’s degree of difficulty – within the context of your school.

• Grade patterns – a direct comparison between first and second semester, and year to year.

• Grade trends – did your grades improve as you advanced each year or did they go down?

• Additional academic experiences – community college, summer programs, independent study?

The Importance of Course Choice

Choose your courses carefully! When college admissions calculate GPA, they’ll often focus solely on core subjects (math, science, English, social studies, and foreign language).

Grades for Phys-Ed, Music, and other non-core courses aren’t given the same weight.

 Of course, colleges realize that not all high schools have the same academic standards, and they take that into consideration.

In fact, colleges receive an academic profile from every high school in America.

Your school’s profile shows all the classes offered, including college prep courses, Advanced Placement (AP), or honors/accelerated classes.

So, basically, you’ve got to make sure you have the whole package – good grades, the right courses, and the right school experiences.