It’s that midterm time of year and that means everyone’s got grades on their minds. We all know that GPA is important and good grades are important, but what can that stuff really do for you in your college career? Well that’s where the Dean’s List comes in.
You’ve probably heard of the Dean’s List, but maybe you’re like me, a person who didn’t really know what it was about, how to get on it, or why it matters.
What is the Dean’s List?
The Dean’s list is…well a list of all students in any given semester who have achieved distinguished grades. It basically shows that you worked really hard and have the grades to show for it after a whole semester of amazing work.
How to get on the Dean’s List
What they mean by “distinguished” is a combined average of 3.5 GPA or higher in total for all of your classes that semester. You also have to be enrolled full-time, in at least 12 credits or more, to make the list and you can’t have a class marked as Incomplete for the semester either.
How do they calculate your GPA?
Well, there is a handy dandy GPA guide for that. When you’re assigned a letter grade for your class you are also assigned a number with that grade, according to how many credits your class was. So, for example, an “A” is worth four points, but if your class is a three credit class, you’d multiply four by three to get your final number for that class. So, at the end of the semester, they add up all of your points for all of your classes, average them out, and that’s your semester GPA.
Yeah that can totally be a lot of numbers to remember, so the great thing is you have a GPA calculator on myBoiseState. After you log in, go to My Academics, then scroll down to GPA Calculator. Just input your grades (or what you expect your grades to be) and voila! Remember, this is an estimate, so it may not reflect exactly what your GPA will be, but it can definitely give you an idea of whether you’re on the right track.
Why does it matter?
Well, it’ll go on your permanent record. No, seriously. Every semester that you achieve a 3.5 GPA or higher, it will go on your undergraduate transcript, which is a very good thing.
Now, that’s important because employers are looking for candidates who had dedication to good grades in college.
Employers will likely only ask you for your total college GPA (that is, an average of every semester’s GPA combined), but also, if you have semesters where you made the Dean’s List, that’s worthy of adding to your resume and that’s just one more reason for them to hire you. It can really set you apart from the competition.
Also, if you’re on the Dean’s List enough, you’ll probably graduate with honors, which is an amazing achievement! That means you will graduate with a total college GPA of 3.5 or higher. It tells employers that not only did you get good grades, but you did it consistently enough to have a sparkling GPA by the time you graduated.
It’s also great for anyone who is thinking about going for graduate college after they’ve achieved an undergrad degree. Many masters and/or PhD programs are looking for applicants who have achievements, like the Dean’s List, on their record to show how committed they were to their studies.
So, now is the time to really show ‘em what you’re made of, Broncos! Good luck on midterms and let’s aim for the Dean’s List.