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Is it okay to avoid tough classes to protect your GPA?
YES
Gunnar Fox
Students should select courses strategically
While we might all admire Leonardo Da Vinci’s breadth of accomplishments in art, architecture, music, engineering, science and anatomy, most of us have considerably more limited passions and abilities. Savvy students are realistic about this, and protect their GPAs by selecting courses in a “defensive” manner when possible. But there is more to strategic course selection than just avoiding hard classes. Students also must leverage their strengths by tackling tougher courses in areas where they are more confident.
I would suggest that high school and college students be guided by the following broad principles when selecting classes:
1. Demonstrate mastery of foundational skills. At the high school level, students generally are required to display basic competence in written expression, mathematics and science. Most college degree requirements continue to tip their hat to the need to possess these fundamentals. Class performance must reflect a secure command of these basics, since there is no getting around them. College applicants in particular should take drastic measures to avoid doubt as to the soundness of their foundational skill set, such as seeking out triage tutoring and enrolling in summer school practice courses.
2. Judiciously “water down” GPA-killing requirements. A great deal of success or failure depends on the enthusiasm the material generates in the individual student. Yes, we must teach students to derive satisfaction in difficult tasks, since success tends to elude those who always take the easy path. But if Amanda flat-out despises statistics but must suffer through it to complete her finance degree, there’s only so much self-brainwashing she can do. Under these circumstances, use of the pass-fail option, or taking the course during summer session (or even at community college) will dramatically increase her chances of acing the class. Heck, she might even enjoy it.
3. You can avoid certain classes entirely ... if you accentuate your strengths. If Marcus has demonstrated below-average math aptitude and chooses to stop at precalculus rather than calculus, he should take AP classes in areas in which he excels.
The pursuit of knowledge may, indeed, be an end in itself, but any time a cumulative GPA, tens of thousands of dollars in educational expenses and a student’s very future hang in the balance, a strategic approach to course selection is indispensable.
Gunnar Fox is the author of Kick Ass in College: A Guerrilla Guide to College Success, available at Barnes & Noble.
NO
John View
You want to show how hard you can work
As I write this, thousands of high school seniors are completing their college admissions process. Some have already finished, if they chose early action or early decision. And so now the waiting game begins as seniors ask, Where will I be admitted?
The road map to college entrance requires accurate and careful advising. The question we help students face is: “Should I avoid the tough course—especially if I do poorly and my GPA goes down?” My message is that if students choose that course of action, then their hopeful anticipation of admission to certain colleges will be irreparably damaged.
Far too many high school students approach their senior year and choose the path of least resistance. Then when we at the college level evaluate their transcripts, we see that they had a great opportunity to challenge themselves in preparing for higher-level work at college, but chose not to do so. Unfortunately, that usually hurts the student. Why? The message being sent is one of not wanting to work hard. And as we all know, the level of academic rigor significantly increases from high school to college.
I would rather see a solid student who took AP Calculus and perhaps scores low on the AP test than one who chooses an extra year of keyboarding or a foreign language in which the student already has ample classroom time. This is especially true for schools where the competition is intense or for schools that have tough academic programs centered on math and science.
The same philosophy is true throughout school. Basically, higher-level classes will prepare the student for college entrance examinations and many college math, science and literature courses.
Continuing to focus on the challenging course extends to the university level, too. Far too often, students will take the easier course only to find out that the decision was a poor one now that they are looking at graduate school. And in some cases, dropping a course in college to avoid a poor grade can cost them financial aid for failure to receive grades at the full-time level.
Students must challenge themselves and not worry about getting a “C” in a college prep course rather than an “A” in a less challenging class.
John View is director of financial aid and the equal opportunity program at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science & Forestry. He is also an officer of the United University Professions/AFT.
