10 Reasons why GPA doesn’t matter

Unless you’re interested in the field of research, practical experiences are the catalysts of your career’s success. The more you have it, the more likely you are to be hired by a good company. You could also gain it during college by doing side projects.

Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Pete Cashmore, Bill Gates, and the list goes on for examples of successful people who proved that GPA didn’t matter. GPA is an indicator of how well you were able to do in your current education system, not how well you would do in anything else.

If you sleep everyday while picturing yourself pursuing your dreams, you probably have greater things than good grades and attendance to pursue. After all, you need to go after your passions whether they are relevant to doing well in class or not.

None of us are void of mistakes. Don’t be too harsh on yourself thinking you made a wrong decision studying your current major. Take it as a chance to explore the major you once were interested in, but on the other hand, try to learn what you can learn from the fields you’re interested in. (See Is it important to follow my passion?)

We only have 24 hours to achieve our dreams, if you spend most of them chasing your dreams, you might not have a lot of time to score the highest GPA in class. You do need to believe that these achievements are way more important than a perfect GPA.

Some of us learn a subject very well but then fail to get high grades in the exam. This might happen because of stress or bad time management. Most importantly, this doesn’t mean you failed or you’re a bad learner, as your final mark only indicates how you handled those 2 hours of the exam. (See Why Do Exams Cause Stress?)

Creative people love creating things from scratch. They are more into doing things themselves and jumping right into the pool of practical experiences. Most of them don’t give much attention to academics, as they might view it as dull and boring.

If pursuing a career in research, a masters or a Phd degree isn’t important to you then most probably you don’t need a perfect GPA. Having the goal of getting a good GPA doesn’t make much sense if you’re not going after one of these paths.

Who you really are is something that your work proves, not your GPA. Showcase other achievements that speak for you. If you don’t have other achievements then you should prioritize completing an achievement that speaks for your passion and true values.

Many people are concerned about their GPA since they are worried they will be judged by it. Well, it’s not everything, your GPA is a small factor of a hiring decision when it comes to being compared with mindset, attitude and work ethics.