GPA or not GPA?

[Lost in translat]

Once again, I’m looking for wise advice from CC parents to gain a better understanding of type US system. My d has just completed her freshman year with very decent grades on the whole apart from a couple of courses which were very/too challenging for her. Her point of view, which I basically share, is that we are not paying that sort of money to take courses which would be easy and that she’d rather work her way up from a C minus to a B than get an A in, say, French. On the other hand, this plays havoc with her GPA and although it is much too soon to say whether or not she will want to go to grad school, I am worried that this might be prejudicial in the long run. I know that the 4.0 college GPAs that keep appearing on this forum are not the norm, but I don’t know if grad schools concentrate on the grades obtained in one’s major or if one has to be consistently good overall. She intends to follow the same policy next year, and that’s the reason of my concern. I just want to add that she is bright and has worked pretty hard.

[cptofthehouse]

I am assuming that she is going to college, not hs. I don't see that many 4.0 college gpas. C- is not a great grade, at some schools you can't apply courses below a C+ level to a major or are not permitted to move up the next level without at least a B. It does, of course, depend on the reputation of the school and the level of the course when it comes to grad school. For certain schools such as med school, law school, business school, grades are indeed very important, and if a student wants a selective professional school, it would be wise to take courses that yield good grades, in addititon to the recommended and required courses.

[nngmm]

Professional schools are more number-driven. Practically speaking, it is close to impossible to get into med school or law school with a GPA<3.

For grad school, GPA in the major is much more important than "overall" GPA, the courses on transcript are scrutinized quite a bit - so taking the easy way out will hurt the student, and the recommendations play a huge role.

[jmmom]

OP, there is a grad school admissions forum with a very informative sticky thread here on cc. And some very well informed members.

You might want to check that out and, if your particular concern isn't answered in the sticky, you could post this qx there for some opinions.

Graduate school admissions 101

[Lost in translat]

Thanks for the link.