Grades Are Not Everything

College is more than just your grades, way more, and it is imperative you find out what that more is to you ASAP.

As you begin to outline your plans for college, or as you find yourself knee deep in college classes, work and extra curriculars, the emphasis on grades has already been made abundantly clear to you. To even set foot in college requires doing well on your SATs/ACTs, and studying maniacally for a heavy course load of challenging classes. (http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/action/) So this is not something that is foreign to you, you’re used to it, and that’s the problem.

Coming out of college is not the same as coming out of high school, where you know precisely which criteria you will be judged on, and precisely how to meet that criteria to satisfy the expectations of the admissions committee. You need high SAT/ACT scores, and you can buy books, take prep classes and hire tutors to prepare for them. You need a high GPA; and if you work hard, listen to your teachers, do your work, study and participate, you can get that too. You need to build your resume by doing diverse, interesting and meaningful things. However, this is not impossible either. It takes developing a skill or interest, and then demonstrating your proficiency in this skill, or your commitment to this interest. If you do all these things well in college too, then you’re all set! Well, set for graduate school at least.

What about everyone not going to graduate school? What about those people ready to enter the “real world” and strike out on their own? Well then, these things are not nearly enough, and may not even be the most productive way to spend your time. A classic article from Time Magazine explains to us, that college is more than just grades. (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940518,00.html). It’s about more than just ethics and morals as well, though these things are absolutely invaluable to a happy and successful life.

College is a laboratory where you can explore your ability to interact with others, where you can search for the subjects that have the most meaning to you, and pursue them wholeheartedly. Most important however, the college years offer a unique opportunity to explore new interests and develop new passions. Time spent doing something you are dedicated to and passionate about, gets recognition from peers and superiors in many different fields. When you leave college, you need significant experience to move forward. You will find that having pursued something that is really meaningful to you will have great significance for your future.

This is why grades are not everything. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/04/twentysomething-why-i-regret-getting-straight-as-in-college/

Good grades should come from a genuine interest in the material. While poor grades can have negative consequences (and we are certainly not advocating not doing your best in your course work), as the author in the above post describes, there are many other elements to your college experience that can and should demand your attention. From creating life long bonds, to doing research, to writing, to interning or becoming the worlds greatest something…the list is endless and when you leave, many of these things will determine your success, maybe even more than just your grades.

Don’t just spend your college years myopically pursuing great grades at the exclusion of other valuable college experiences. Go out! Take internships! Talk to your professors about their work! Find your passion! Get experience in what you want to do!

Please remember, if you are having difficulty finding your passion, and are still not clear about what you want to do, our experts at oneTRUEzone are committed to helping you.

We welcome your comments below.

Stress of Students Today

“Finding out and having to be aware that every single move you make goes towards getting into college: from the time you’re 14 years old you have to start thinking about your whole life…”(Student from OTZ Focus Group)

At OTZ, hearing statements such as the one above, makes us shake our heads and cringe. We have been listening carefully to high school students, and have been compiling stats that clearly illustrate the tremendous stress that so many young people are feeling. We hear over and over again that kids are not enjoying their high school years, and that they live for college. Hearing our young students voice the constant pressures of high school, continually reminds us WHY we created oneTRUEzone, and how our signature program can help alleviate some of this pressure.

We believe that as a society, something has to change. It is criminal that so many kids are experiencing their lives this way. Sadly, many others tell us this type of pressure starts even younger than age 14. Well meaning parents can easily get caught up listening to other parents talk about what they are doing to position their children to compete in the college game. Fearing the intense competition they hear about, many convey this fear of the future to their children as early as middle school, and some even earlier. If you have the opportunity to see the very important documentary, Race to Nowhere, you will know exactly what I mean.


We at OTZ do not believe the inordinate amount of stress so many young people are feeling can be attributed to any one person or institution. We do, however, believe that there are a number of contributing factors from various places, people and sources exacerbating the problem.

As a parent of a stressed, but diligent, high school senior, I have personally witnessed the impact of high school stress. My daughter has done at least 4 hours of homework almost every night since middle school, is taking 5 AP courses, because she is sure it will help her get into top colleges, and has become so burnt out, she seems to have checked out of senior year from sheer exhaustion. From our research at OTZ, we have learned that her experience and feelings are typical, not an anomaly.


oneTRUEzone has designed a solution to alleviate at least part of this problem. If you relate to this blog, please contact us, ask us questions, check out our website, or visit our Facebook page. Let us help you in getting some support. We welcome your comments.