Many people talk about whether or not it is important to get a 4.0 G.P.A in school. While getting a 4.0 G.P.A at school and being recognized as a valedictorian (highest honor) on the graduation ceremony, can be self-rewarding; however, in the school of real world, it is generally not required.
What do I mean by getting a 4.0 G.P.A at the school of real world?
School of real world is the environment in which we are all living after we leave school (after graduation). At this environment, we work to fulfill our daily needs. All of us went to school to become successful in the real world; a success in the real world setting is what I meant by getting a 4.0 G.P.A in the school of real world.
Several distinction between REAL WORLD vs School:
1) Grade Report Vs. Credit Report
In school (universities/college), we students are judged (by other students, professors and our parents) as smart or not by our grade report; however, in real world, we are judged (by our bankers that lends us money and other people we interact with during the course of our life) by our credit report. If we have good credit history then we can easily borrow money from the bank to buy cars, houses, etc. Success (4.0 G.P.A) in real world often directly related to a good credit history
2) There is no professors/ teachers and no classroom in the school of real world
People learn from past mistakes and learn from their colleagues/mentors (or even their parents) in order to be successful in the school of real world. Do not expect other people teach you on a regular basis like what our professors do usually in the classroom. The exams are usually events in your life that requires decision making process. The homework is personal development process to get better and gain more knowledge day-by-day.
3) Real World is very competitive
Universities will not terminate students unless students severely violate the universities regulations. Real world terminates people all the time (even with no apparent reason sometimes). For example, we see many people get terminated from their jobs due to the economic downturn, which has nothing to do at all with the persons ‘work’ performance.
4) 4.0 G.P.A at school Vs. 4.0 G.P.A in Real world
Many people know that 4.0 G.P.A at school means getting all A’s in all classes. However, 4.0 in real world means being successful (however people define success is). Some people may define success as making lots of money; some people define success as fulfilling their dreams/goals; others may define success differently.
There are many books out there that teaches you about how to become successful in the real world; however, below I have tips gathered from many advices from my mentor, parents and previous employers who are all getting a 4.0 in the real world:
1) Learn from your past mistakes and do not repeat in the same mistake in the future;
2) Read many newspapers to get updated about what’s going on in the world;
3) Get a work experience and gain some hands-on practical knowledge;
4) Find a mentor and ask for guidance and advices;
5) Network and build connection through joining organizations and other means of networking;
6) Commitment to a continuing education (your education should not stop after you graduate; many successful people continually keep up and polish their knowledge and skill sets to stay competitive in the marketplace);
7) Lastly, HAVE FUN in whatever you do (this makes you a productive person);
Good luck and let’s work hard together to get a 4.0 G.P.A in the school of real world.
Written by ClickNSmart Team
Tags: 4.0, business, business school, college, GPA, graduate school, MBA, Real, School, student, tips, undergraduate, university, World
Tags: 4.0, business, business school, college, GPA, graduate school, MBA, Real, School, student, tips, undergraduate, university, World
November 19th, 2008 at 5:42 am
I have trouble at the part where it says learn from mistakes. Every time I was doing my assignment at the last minute, getting really stressed out, I told myself not to do it again. But when the assignment is done, you just don’t have the same frustrating feeling to the next assignment, and the cycle happens again. Do you know a way to change this?
November 20th, 2008 at 12:40 am
Hello,
If you have that problem, join the club. But hey, I had the same problem before, which is procrastination; this is not good. As you mention that after the assignment or exam is done, we feel less pressure and later do the same thing procrastinate again and never learn from this mistake.
Now these 2 solutions work in my case, so I hope that either of these works for you as well:
1) Think about the consequences of procrastinating (ex: loss of sleep, frustration, worry, pressured, etc) when you said to yourself “Oh, I still have more time.” As soon as you said this to yourself, start to create this sense of urgency, by thinking of the consequences of waiting until last minute to do your assignment.
2) Start to reward yourself.
For example, if you finish your assignment 1 or 2 days earlier than the submission date, give yourself a little reward, such as: ice cream, watch movies, go out with friends, party, etc
Hope this helps. What do you think?
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Another great article from this blog; I do think that getting 4.0 G.P.A in both schools (traditional school and school of real world) is indeed quite a remarkable accomplishment.
It’s hard to do, but the good thing is that it is still do-able.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Wow, this is really great article. It gives motivation for me !!
thanks
November 30th, 2008 at 6:25 am
thanks for the tips jefery
it’ll really help me
i’m an indonesian student as well
and this is my first year
glad that there’re indonesian senior students who share knowledge and experience through this web
well, now i’d better study to be able to get transferred with 4.0 GPA and make this country proud! just like you guys did. : )
December 1st, 2008 at 2:40 am
Hi Rico,
I am very glad that my article is helpful for giving motivation to you.
Thank you for you sharing your thoughts in this blog post, so that other reader can benefit from our discussion.
I do think that the key element of success is just a great determination and everything else will follow.
Good luck for your study and stay tune for more interesting post in this blog.
Best,
Jefery Kusnadi
December 24th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
As someone who regularly hires graduates for the training program for my company, I can tell you that I rarely look at the GPA as a qualifying factor. Maturity, off college experiences and social/communication skills are far more important, than GPA. Also, GPA’s vary by college anyway, so not all 4.0 GPAs are equal; as are the range of subjects - I see a lot of “major GPA: 4.0, cumulative GPA 3.6″ type applications - far better to have them closer together, to show a well rounded individual.
Of course, this is my personal opinion, but I am one of the people out there hiring you, and my views are not entirely unique.
October 17th, 2009 at 6:52 am
OMG, ure indo!