<p>I was thinking about writing an essay for my college app that critiques the GPA system and why it should not be used to judge the intelligence and/or work ethic of an individual. Is this too radical/offensive for the college admin at Oberlin/Skimore/Wooster/Kenyon/Goucher?</p>
<p>bumping…</p>
<p>What’s the question/prompt?</p>
<p>I would like to start out by saying that the entire grading system used in our country’s schools is highly inefficient. There are several reasons as to why I came to this conclusion. I suppose the first would be that I know several individuals who, by the standards set by our school system, are not, in fact, smart. I say this because the individuals in question did not make A’s and B’s in their classes, they did not have a 4.0 or even a semi-decent 3.5. They were by no means any college’s dream of a prospective student due to their GPA’s. As unlikely as it seems, the people with the not-so-good GPA’s can turn out to be the smartest and most creative people in the world. </p>
<p>that’s my intro paragraph but I haven’t edited it or anything yet</p>
<p>It sounds almost like you are making an excuse instead of addressing a concern.</p>
<p>not at all. I have a solid GPA.</p>
<p>I guess I’m more of a traditionalist. I’m doing an essay that explains who I am in a unique way</p>
<p>cool… but like is this topic TOO radical</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s radical. It’s more that it’s going to be hard to express who you are in a topic such as this. That’s what I’ve always known the essay to be. Sorry for the cliche, but it should be a window to your soul, character, and ideals. If you can incorporate that somehow, then go for it!</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess I would agree with sethhg. The common app doesn’t really seem to be an appropriate venue for an essay about the GPA system. If you feel that it tells adcoms something about you, however, then feel free to write about it.</p>
<p>My 2 cents: you can write an essay on any topic, and it can be a winner or a crash and burn. It is how you write. But that topic in particular would be near and dear to a lot of admissions readers, so you run the risk of trying to ‘educate’ people that probably know a lot better than you the downfalls of gpa’s. I’d leave that topic alone unless it really fits the prompt…</p>
<p>I strongly advise you not to write on this topic, which is not only controversial, but also does not seem to reveal anything about you that the colleges would need/want to hear.</p>
<p>I was about to condone this essay topic until you stated that you had a high GPA. It’s interesting that you’d basically be nullifying your GPA (even those it shows your do well in school). For some odd reason, I love that!!! If you had a low GPA I would say differently simply because it would sound like an excuse rather than a strong statement. </p>
<p>I like it, just because it’s different. But that’s just me…</p>
<p>And in reponse to the comments above, I actually don’t think it would be that difficult to get yourself across to the reader. Undermining the validity of your GPA allows you to prove your smarts with a different tactic (outside research, experiments, travel, extracurricular, work). You could tie all these things about yourself into the essay and explain how they impacted your life and, beyond that, gave you the knowledge a simple GPA couldn’t.</p>
<p>I agree with the mantra of “any topic can be done well or poorly,” but I don’t think this is a good idea.</p>
<ol>
<li>GPA is a relatively strong indicator of college success.</li>
<li>Admissions officers know that there are some smart people out there who aren’t motivated enough to work hard in high school. They know that, though smart, that might mean that they aren’t going to work hard in college.</li>
<li>It doesn’t really say anything about you (other than, “I know I have a 4.0, but I don’t think that necessarily demonstrates my intellect”). It seems too much like an “academic” essay.</li>
</ol>
<p>I don’t think your thesis is at all controversial, radical or offensive. I don’t think you’re saying anything new. Most people recognize that there are very smart and creative people who do not do well in traditional schools or on standardized tests for a variety of reasons. The admission officers certainly know this to be true. </p>
<p>That said, I would not write this as a main essay. I have a hard time imagining how this topic would show/tell admission officers much about you.</p>