We can all admit that school is hard, especially during tough times such as mid-term exams, and especially the end of the year. But do the grades we work so hard for really matter?
Lilyrosa Carlson ‘28, a freshman, believes that grades are, “not that important. They are important to a certain extent, but it doesn’t define your smartness. Colleges are no longer just looking for grades; they are looking for what you have done in high school, what makes you great. Although they do make quite an impact, the impact depends on the person.” Carlson also shares her opinions in other ways to be successful in school: “Doing extracurricular activities and the things you like can help in school, it’s not just about grades.” Everyone knows freshman year is the easiest year out of all in high school, but Carlson claims it’s also one of the most important ones as well, saying “It can sum up your high school career experience. Seniors have told me before that they wish they had good grades when they were younger.” Her goals for trimester 3? “I want to have a better attitude towards tests and make sure I study and listen academically as much as possible,” Carlson said.
Katie Sleavin ‘27 wanted to stress the importance of one’s grades. “For grades in the long run, depending on the job field, some employers use grades to get a judge to determine whether you are fit for their description,” Sleavin said. She also noted that her behavior differs from class to class. “For college classes, I try to be more easy on myself, since I’m a perfectionist when it comes to grades,” Sleavin said. Her advice to succeed in school is to develop good studying habits and set realistic personal goals. As a sophomore, Sleavin says that grades do matter, especially when you are working up to your senior year. Her goal, as a sophomore, is to study more before tests and to be easier on herself when it comes to her academic goals.
Doint Hermann ‘26 gives us another way to see grades when it comes to GPA: “Grades aren’t important because they measure how poorly designed the school is rather than how hard students work.” Hermann herself is a successful student, and argues that grades, “don’t really make an impact, you can be whatever you want without getting good grades in high school. Most colleges don’t care about grades, you can get any job you want.” As for expectations, Hermann says that, “Juniors definitely don’t care as much about grades as freshman and sophomores.” Hermann’s goals as a junior are just to “try to get good enough grades, rather than working for all A’s.”
Logan Hermann ‘25 offers a senior’s perspective. “But success is not just about grades, it can be from things that make you happy, like music or sports and it can be from life experiences like relationships, success looks different for everyone,” Hermann said. But as a senior, she expresses the importance of having good or decent grades, especially during college application season. “It’s really important for seniors to have good grades, especially when they want to go to college,” Hermann said. Building good habits for college starts in high school. Hermann wants to be more organized with her materials, and meet deadlines.
But what does the staff think about this? Mr. Milani, a math teacher, said that grades help build a platform for adulthood. “But as an adult, grades mean nothing to me now, but it did when I was younger.” Milani says, “To do the things you want to do, you would not need just good grades but experience, flexibility, hard work and actually putting effort into making something, use your time proficiently.”
In the end, yes, grades do matter, but their value differs for each person. A great GPA can be helpful for a college application and the job search, but it isn’t everything. It’s important to build good habits to build better outcomes rather than building stress to have that perfect “A”.
