How do grades affect your life

[Solrac]

I don't really think they have much effect, but I have been wrong about things before. Does anyone think that grades have any indication on where you end up in life after school education? Is there anyone on the form that also thinks you can learn something from higher education? I know plenty of entrepreneurs in my area that say education is extremely important, and I know plenty that say it's not. Curious to hear different perspectives from this forum.


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[socaldude]

Grades do not create value in the marketplace.

Consumers are indifferent to your GPA.

Your schooling is 100% irrelevant.

The 12 years you spent in school is not the center of the universe.

To put it bluntly: The universe simply does not give a F*ck.

Do you think the universe gives a shit about my D+ average or that my 11th grade teacher thought I was an idiot?

You are an adult. You do not need a 3rd party to grade your abilities. You can do that yourself. If you discover a weakness then hire someone to do that.

The only external assessment you should give a shit about is the feedback from your customers. Everything else can go to hell.

 

[jon.a]

I've never been asked about my GPA.
I'm kinda bummed about it.

 

[randomnumber314]

It somewhat depends on your goals. If you plan to leave high school and make your own way--never attend higher education--grades probably don't matter. However, if you plan to go to college and start a computer science degree so you can immerse yourself in high tech stuff in order to find a fastlane in that industry...yeah grades matter a bit to get your foot in that door.

I'm not saying you have to do this or that, I'm just offering the idea that there is a situation where grades could matter, and you can't go back and redo bad grades. Just...you know...always do your best.

 

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[Emanuel]

It all depends what your goals are. If you want to work at Google or another tech giant after graduating from college, chances are they're not even going to consider you if you're not close to a 4.0 GPA.

However, if you want to be an entrepreneur, grades are insignificant.

Also, I think it's safe to say that grades can reflect on how well of you'll be in life but there are MANY exceptions to this. Higher grades usually show a higher interest in learning and seeking answers. Lower grades usually tend to be associated with laziness, carelessness and mediocrity.

With this being said, don't focus on your grades too much. Focus on learning and the final outcome will be great.

 

[Joe Cassandra]

In my experience and talking with others, if you're going to a popular company as @Emanuel mentioned RIGHT out of college, they'll ask. After that, no one cares...repeat...no one cares. This is for jobs and careers, if you're trying to get into a Harvard MBA, then of course it matters.

In terms of education, yes, it's important. Education doesn't mean you have to sit in a lecture hall. I'm teaching myself electrical engineering for a prototype i'm making and watching youtube videos to do it. Same thing, actually better than a lecture as I'm doing instead of listening. Important part is having a "learning" mindset. Want to make mistakes and learn from them, listen to new areas of thoughts. Don't listen to just one podcast and get your mind fixed on that person's way of thinking, have multiple channels.

If you're in college now, don't waste all your time studying. I know too many people that did this and regret it. Meet people, have fun, make mistakes, try something new. Get out of the library. I'm guessing 90% of the time, the difference in success between graduating with 3.0 or a 4.0 is slim to none. Know how you learn. I'm a very hands-on, break things type. You put me in a lecture hall, I'm not trying to be rude, but I'll be on my phone the whole time because I won't retain anything the professor is saying. If it's hands-on, I'll retain it, even when I suck at it

 

[sle3pyguii]

Depends.

If you want the "best" jobs right out of college, most firms will look at GPA, like investment banks and consultancies. You would obviously also need them for grad schools.

Outside of that, no it doesn't matter.

 

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[Mike39]

 

[Rickson9]

I know plenty of entrepreneurs in my area that say education is extremely important, and I know plenty that say it's not.

No offense, but doesn't this pretty much answer the question?

 

[IAmTheJeff]

When I'm looking for an engineering student to work on my project, then HIS grades will matter....is that what you meant?

 

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[Deleted21704]

If you're in college now, don't waste all your time studying. I know too many people that did this and regret it.

That's me right there.

Grades are the system's way of killing the very creativity vital for innovation. Instead of nurturing playfulness and trial-and-error, we get made to conform to arbitrary standards.

We are all born entrepreneurs but the system beats it out of us.

EDIT: for those into classics, John de Bruyère wrote this about 'little people' in 1688, and while I don't think grades were really around then, it really rings true in today's grades conversation:

Idleness, indolence, and laziness, vices so natural to children, disappear as soon as they begin to play; they are then lively, attentive, exact observers of rule and order, never pardon the least slip, and several times begin again one and the same thing, in which they failed.

also

It destroys all confidence in the minds of children, and alienates them as well, to punish them for faults they have not committed, or even to be severe with them for trifling offenses; they know exactly, and better than anyone, what they deserve, and seldom deserve more than they dread; when they are chastised, they know if it is justly or unjustly, while unjust punishments do them more harm than not to be punished at all.

Here's the full passage.

 

[The-J]

They matter... if you let em.

Education is important but you can learn more through book written by experts, meeting and speaking to experts, and taking action using what you learned... than through any sort of classroom.

That goes for jobbers, too.

 

[SteveO]

I've never been asked about my GPA.

Hey Jon,

What was your GPA?

 

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[SteveO]

You will get a lot of different answers here. They are all correct under certain circumstances.

Go to school and do well if you enjoy it.

There is more than one path to the fastlane. One that is not talked about frequently here has to do with high income earners. God forbid that you go through school and take on a job. But if you do, put your money into assets that earn you money. Buy apartments or other commercial real estate. Buy businesses that are already performing. Buy into development. There are all sorts of options.

Me, I was plenty smart and even won academic awards. But I despised being told what to do. I left school (involuntarily) after tenth grade.

I went the route of buying real estate and have been happy with that choice.

 

[jon.a]

Hey Jon,

What was your GPA?

3.46

 

[SteveO]

3.46

Now it all feels like it was worth it.

 

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[Ubermensch]

I don't really think they have much effect, but I have been wrong about things before. Does anyone think that grades have any indication on where you end up in life after school education? Is there anyone on the form that also thinks you can learn something from higher education? I know plenty of entrepreneurs in my area that say education is extremely important, and I know plenty that say it's not. Curious to hear different perspectives from this forum.


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Although it's not the Fastlane (it doesn't tell you how to get rich fast, while you're still young), The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley contains some of the best empirical data on the lives of everyday millionaires. These aren't necessarily Fastlane millionaires; they're the "everyday" millionaires that built up modest wealth through frugality and decades of hard work.

However, what's interesting is that Stanley tells us what the average college GPA and the average SAT score for these millionaires. The answer: 2.7 and 1100.

There's your answer.

@IAmTheJeff

Word. College teaches your how to be an employee, not an owner.

ubermenschforever.blogspot.com

 

[ArthurDayne]

If you are in a top business school and want to work in finance or management consulting, grades matter a lot.

If you are in college and want to do a master's degree afterwards, grades matter a little bit.

If none of these things are in your future, getting completely average grades will not hurt your future in any way whatsoever.

If you're married to doing fastlane work exclusively, I think you already know your answer.

 

[AubreyJ]

I think it depends on what you want to do with your life. If you want to be a lawyer or doctor, or go to an Ivy League school- Than yes, grades are extremely important. But it is different from person to person. The most successful guy I know didn't graduate from high school- He was a high school drop out, he failed almost all of his classes while he was in school, and overall he was a terrible student. But, today he is by far the most wealthy and successful guy I've ever met, and he is one of the smartest guys I know.

I personally think that the entire grading system based on a letter grade is extremely flawed. When I was younger and in elementary or middle school I was convinced that I was stupid because I struggled in class. It wasn't until I was older that I realized that I just wasn't good at school. I couldn't sit still for 7 hours a day and listen to an adult lecture- I just couldn't retain the information. Having a universal scale to measure the intelligence of students based on tests and worksheets is an incredibly flawed and misleading way to judge a students intelligence. So, to answer your question- No, grades (in my opinion) have no effect on where you will end up later on in life.

 

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[titanium777]

I graduated summa cum laude from undergrad biz school over a year ago. Out of my core group of friends, my salary wasn't the highest or lowest; I've since now started my own small business. My friend who's earning the highest salary got a criminal justice degree and had a 2.5 GPA.

If you're looking to go to a grad school (law school, MBA, etc), your GPA matters quite a bit. If you're looking to go into certain fields (finance, banking, etc), you're GPA also matters.

For most fields nowadays, it seems like your degree is just a HR checkmark when looking at your resume. If you don't have the degree, you're in the trash; if you have a degree, then they will look at your experience.

Overall, I'd say your job experience and connections go WAY farther than the technicalities of your degree or GPA.
Now if you're looking to start your own business, GPA literally means nothing.

 

[PSDSH]

Poor grades are a reflection of the person getting poor grades. If you're going to do something, why not give it your best? Chances are if you slack in school you'll slack in the rest of your life.

 

[Vigilante]

I took a college biology class. For some reason, all of the fruit flies in my petri dish died. That was enough for the professor to give me an F for the class. The only one that ever cared about that F… Was the professor. He was the only one that apparently those fruit flies were important to. Nobody has ever asked me about that class.

 

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[Kyle Tully]

Poor grades are a reflection of the person getting poor grades. If you're going to do something, why not give it your best? Chances are if you slack in school you'll slack in the rest of your life.

Nice theory but it doesn't play out like that in the real world.

There are a lot of reasons intelligent people get bad grades, from simple ones like boredom, to deeper psychological things like perfectionism and internal pressure, or simple personality differences.

You say "If you're going to do something, why not give it your best"... I say "why the F*#k are you making me do this stuff that I'm never going to use again"

I was slack all throughout school and got average grades and "kyle would do better if he applied himself" reports in everything except for computers (which I loved). But I also started my first company while still in high school. And I'm doing just fine

 

[PSDSH]

I thought we were talking about college not high school. I agree high school grades are meaningless. I was bored out of my socks in high school. But in college it was my choice to attend and the subject matter was also of my choosing.

 

[Kyle Tully]

I thought we were talking about college not high school. I agree high school grades are meaningless. I was bored out of my socks in high school. But in college it was my choice to attend and the subject matter was also of my choosing.

I didn't go to college but saw the same thing above play out with friends... many only went because it was the "right" thing to do, pressure from peers/parents, expectations etc. Their heart wasn't in it so they slacked off. Or they were too busy chasing girls. Had nothing to do with their intelligence, ability, or likelihood of success in the future.

A quick search for successful college dropouts shows it just ain't that important.

 

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[PSDSH]

Bill Gates: "And then in eighth grade I had been at a private school for a couple of years and decided that I better start getting good grades, both in terms of having some freedom, the way I'd be treated, and thinking about college. So from ninth grade on, I had a reasonably spotless grade record. I got quite serious about grades at that point."

 

[Kyle Tully]

Bill Gates: "And then in eighth grade I had been at a private school for a couple of years and decided that I better start getting good grades, both in terms of having some freedom, the way I'd be treated, and thinking about college. So from ninth grade on, I had a reasonably spotless grade record. I got quite serious about grades at that point."

... then he dropped out of Harvard and started a business, making his grades meaningless.

I'm not saying getting good grades is a bad thing, or that all people who get bad grades go on to become successful.

But when you've got kids killing themselves because of bad grades in high school a little perspective is a good thing.

 

[PSDSH]

Getting good grades is the fruit of diligence, something very much required to be a successful long term entrepreneur. Whether or not someone stays in college for 2 years or 8 years is irrelevant. Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule but if you slack off on an opportunity to get an education, chances are that you will carry that habit/mentality/attitude over to your entrepreneurial ventures too.

 

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[AubreyJ]

Getting good grades is the fruit of diligence, something very much required to be a successful long term entrepreneur. Whether or not someone stays in college for 2 years or 8 years is irrelevant. Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule but if you slack off on an opportunity to get an education, chances are that you will carry that habit/mentality/attitude over to your entrepreneurial ventures too.

I completely disagree- Yes, there are students that fail at school because they are lazy, unmotivated, and they just don't care. But there are also students that are extremely smart and still fail- either because they can't concentrate, they aren't good at tests, or because they know that for them, school just isn't that important because they know that they have a different plan for their life.

 

[Kyle Tully]

Getting good grades is the fruit of diligence, something very much required to be a successful long term entrepreneur. Whether or not someone stays in college for 2 years or 8 years is irrelevant. Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule but if you slack off on an opportunity to get an education, chances are that you will carry that habit/mentality/attitude over to your entrepreneurial ventures too.

Again this is a nice theory but doesn't play out in the real world...



He then goes on to say the reason people continue to tell children they won't be successful if they have a good grade point average is because these people are themselves not financially successful so they have no idea what it takes to achieve financial independence and buy into the great myth that good students go further in life