Success in College

How do you define college success? You might think that success is earning an associate’s degree or attending classes in a four-year college. Maybe success is a bachelor’s or master’s degree or a PhD, or maybe it means receiving a certificate of completion or finishing skill-based training. Here’s a chart indicating the levels of degree, approximate associated credits, and approximate time to completion (based on 15 credits per semester):

You might be thinking of other measures of college success, too, such as grades. For instance, you might be unhappy with anything less than an A in a course. Sometimes, though, earning a B or C can feel like a true victory because of the difficulty of the course. Often success is determined by how the grade you receive impacts your goals. Do you need a certain GPA to maintain a scholarship or get into a particular program? Do you need a certain grade in order to transfer the course to another college?

You will want to keep in mind the importance of Satisfactory Academic Progress, or SAP. Maintaining good SAP involves keeping your GPA above a C or 2.0 and making satisfactory progress toward completing your certificate or degree. With good SAP, you’ll maintain your financial aid and stay off Academic Warning and Academic Probation. As you think about your goal GPA, keep in mind to aim high and avoid Ds, Fs, and Ws to keep good SAP.

Early Alert Systems (Viking Success)

Early alert systems, along with midterm progress reports and course assessments, have been shown to be effective at helping students monitor how they are doing, cope with difficulties, and reach their goals. WCC uses Viking Success for a variety of purposes, including letting students know when they’re doing well with a kudo or reaching out to students who missed classes, don’t have textbooks, or need to seek academic assistance. WCC students can use Viking Success to make appointments with their Academic Counselors or advisors. Refer back to Chapter 1 for more information and tutorials on using Viking Success.

The Role of Grades in Shaping Success

In a recent online discussion at a student-support website, a college freshman posted the following concern about how serious he should be about getting good grades:

As a first semester freshman, I really have taken my education seriously. I’ve studied and done my homework nightly and have read all of the assignments. So far, I have all A’s in my classes, including calculus and programming. Now, with a month left to go in the semester, I feel myself slipping a bit on my studies. I blow off readings and homework more to go out at night during the week and I’ve even skipped a few classes to attend major sporting events. I also travel most weekends with a sports team that I joined. Still, I’ve gotten A’s on the exams even with these less extensive study habits, although not as high as before. So, my question really is this. Should I just be content with low A’s and B’s and enjoy myself during college, or should I strive to achieve all A’s?

How would you answer this student’s question, given what what you know and sense about college life? Grades do matter to your success, right? Or . . . do they? The answer depends on who you ask and what your college and career goals are.

To help you answer, take this quick self-assessment about your college goals and beyond. Answer “YES” and “NO” to items in the “I Want to Be Able to . . .” column.

You may be surprised to learn that each reason on this list directly relates to your grades—even changing your major. For example, colleges typically have a minimum GPA requirement to switch majors. Consider these additional factors:

• Undergraduate grades have been shown to have a positive impact on getting full-time employment in your career in a position appropriate to your degree.
• Grades also have been shown to have a positive net impact on your occupational status and earnings.
• Getting good grades, particularly in the first year of college, is important to your academic success throughout your college years.
• Grades are probably the best predictors of your persistence, your ability to graduate, and your prospects for enrolling in graduate school.

You stand to gain immeasurably when you get good grades.

Your Grade-Point Average (GPA)

Your GPA is a calculated average of the letter grades you earn correlated on a 0 to 4.0 scale. Each semester you receive a GPA based on the grades you earned in all of your classes during that semester. You also maintain a cumulative GPA, which is an ongoing average of all your semester grades beginning with freshman year.

Check out an online GPA calculator to keep track of where you stand and the grades you would need to accomplish your goal GPA.

Grades and Your First Year Success

• Your freshman year accounts for a significant portion of grades that can be used in getting an internship.
• Your freshman year can account for a significant portion of grades that matter to starting your career.
• Top companies can have early recruitment programs that begin identifying prospective students and looking at grades as early as your sophomore year.
• Many top clubs and major-specific honoraries on campus look at your grades in the screening process.
• When you get good grades as a freshman, you tend to keep getting good grades as a sophomore, junior, and senior.
• Instructors tend to give the benefit of the doubt to students who get good grades.

The best advice is to commit to making your freshman year count. Make it the absolute best. The earlier you can establish good habits during this time, the easier your future years will be—not just in college, but in your work environment, at home, and beyond.