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Years ago, I was freaking out because a “B” in art class (ART CLASS!) was killing my perfect grade point average (GPA). I was in my freshman year. I had hopes of graduating at the top of my class. I wanted to get a great scholarship to a great college. But a simple art class was making my dream go down the drain, like so much unused watercolor paint.

It wasn’t the end of my college plan, however. With a lot of hard work, I took the college prep courses and made decent grades. I didn’t get a 4.0, but I did manage to graduate in the top 10% of my class and I still went to college.

The truth is that grades are not the only means by which students are measured, but they do matter in certain circumstances. If you want to play it smart – and if you plan to go to college – you need to know how, where, and why high school grades are important.

High School
The grades you make in high school, contrary to popular opinion, do not end up in your “permanent record.” Getting a C in trigonometry isn’t going to doom you to a life of minimum wage manual labor.

The real strength of a GPA is what it says about your ability to learn. A good GPA will usually translate to good test scores on the SAT or ACT. Like your GPA, these tests are valuable when trying to get into the college of your choice.

Applying to Colleges
Although it varies by institution, it’s safe to say that if your GPA is below a 2.0 you may have trouble getting into the college you want. Many colleges and universities post the GPA requirements for undergraduate admissions on their web sites. Keep in mind that most institutions are interested in more than statistics. If your GPA is only a 3.5, but you exhibit qualities of leadership, creativity and work ethic, you may look better than someone with a 3.8.

Getting Scholarships
Most merit-based scholarships look at your GPA. Some research of several scholarships in my home state supported this. Many scholarships required applicants to have a minimum GPA of 3.0. One stated that the average applicant has a GPA of 3.90. So, if you hope to earn scholarships to pay for college, get your grades up.

College
Once you make it to college, your struggle to keep up your GPA is not over. Aside from keeping any merit-based scholarships you have, there are other reasons to keep up your GPA.

Avoiding Academic Probation
We all know those stories about freshmen who flunked out after the first semester. It isn’t always at the party schools or the high-stress Ivy Leagues, either. A poor GPA can lead to academic suspension anywhere. Keep up your GPA, and you won’t have to worry.

Picking a Major
Many universities have different requirements for their majors. In other words, if you want to get into the business program at college, your undergraduate GPA may need to be higher than if you wanted to be a theatre major.

Applying to Graduate School
Many graduate schools are even more selective than undergraduate programs. If you plan to get a Master’s degree, a high GPA in college will help open doors. Your GPA needs to be stellar if you want to attend a dream school like Yale Law or Harvard Medical School.

The Real World
When the only experience on your resumé is your academic transcript, employers will look at your GPA to see a snapshot of who you are. A good GPA tells employers that you can set goals and accomplish tasks. Be sure to include your GPA on your resumé, because many employers will consider its absence to mean it is low.

Nevertheless, don’t be shy about including a low GPA on your resumé. Emphasize your academic strengths as much as possible. Another suggestion is to include the GPA in your major if it is significantly higher. Some employers are more interested in your work toward your chosen field than your overall academic picture.

Keep in mind that a GPA is merely a reflection of your studies. It’s a scorecard, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Don’t let your GPA drive you crazy, but have a healthy respect for how it will affect your college plans and beyond.

The general opinion about traditional colleges these days is, “If you want to get anywhere in life, you need to get a Bachelor’s Degree from a good college. And this is true, for the most part. But the last census revealed that 1 out of 3 college students drop out! Too many people are falling through the cracks.

Even if you’ve dropped out of college, a higher education is still one of the most valuable assets you can have. Fortunately, because such a large section of people are trying to get back into an education, there are other alternatives!

Alternative 1: The Associate Degree
The first place to look would be a local community college. Why an Associate degree? 2-year degree programs can prepare students for entry-level work. It’s also a great preparatory track for a Bachelor’s degree. Associate degrees and community colleges also have the advantage of often being far cheaper, which can be a great help if you’re one of the many students who need to continue working to pay for school.

Alternative 2: Career College
Career college, technical institute, skills training – whatever you want to call it: it’s a great way to get moving quickly. In technical institutes, students receive a very targeted education, specific to their chosen job fields. Since you don’t spend any extra time learning about subjects outside of your specific profession, you can get finished much faster. If you want to get trained and get hired, a career college great option.

Learn more about your alternatives! Career colleges also have customizable financial aid support. Remember that many career schools have flexible schedules that help you work around your classes. No matter what option you go with - education is the best way to achieve future success.

Life expectancy gap linked to education
Education might not only increase your earning potential; it could increase your life expectancy. According to a Harvard study, people with more than 12 years of education – or more than a high school education – are living longer than those with less education.

Life expectancy in America is on the rise, but the increase is only occurring among better-educated groups. In 1990, a 25-year-old with 12 years of education or less had a life expectancy of nearly 75. A 25-year-old with some college education had a life expectancy of 80.

In 2000, life expectancy for those with college education increased to 82, but remained steady at 75 for those with less education.

The research for the study was conducted by David Cutler, dean for social sciences at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, and Ellen Meara, assistant professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.

“If you look at recent decades, you will find that life expectancy has been increasing, which is good, but when you split this out by better-educated groups, the life expectancy is really occurring much more so in the better educated groups,” Ellen Meara of Harvard Medical School said in an interview.

“The puzzle is why we have been successful in extending life span for some groups. Why haven’t we been successful in getting that for less advantaged groups?” Meara said.

Health risks facing the less educated
Despite the definite link between life span and education, getting a graduate degree doesn’t necessarily guarantee a longer life. The life-expectancy gap can be explained by other risk factors. Of these, smoking was held as one of the largest contributors to shorter life spans.

Deaths from diseases largely attributed to smoking – lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder – accounted for roughly 20% of the increasing life-expectancy gap. People with less education are less likely to quit smoking.

Meara hopes that health experts will work to extend anti-smoking strategies to better reach people with less education. Those who are less educated also tend to have lower incomes, and less access to healthcare.

“We like to think that as we as a country get healthier, everyone benefits,” David Cutler said in a statement released by the school. “Here we’ve found that you can have a rising tide that only lifts half the boats – and the ones lifted are the ones doing better to begin with.”