GPA and Universities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

GPA and Universities - Essay Example Students who fail to meet minimum standards in a particular field are usually denied admission to such institutions which results in curbing their enthusiasm as well hope, sometimes leading to despair. GPA (Grade Point Average) secured during higher secondary education is one of the foremost criteria for placing a student in a favorable position for securing admission to an institute of higher learning. However, if one looks into the history of mankind all major discoveries and inventions which have benefitted mankind are not necessarily the products of people who were brilliant as students at a young age. Considering one’s GPA for measuring capability is therefore an erroneous way of evaluation for higher education. It is therefore justified that anyone who has merely attended the minimum academic program should be allowed admission to universities, irrespective of GPA. Research on students’ academic performance at universities the world over has yielded pertinent and variable information which suggests multiple factors for academic performance in later years of education which may be independent of academic levels attained in schools. In fact, many universities across the US as well as in other parts of the world are seriously considering the evaluation of the validity of the admission tests which have been employed for too long without justification. In a study conducted at the University of Michigan, student academic success was evaluated across different units using preadmission indicators such as high school GPA and standardized test scores (www.umich.edu). A number of additional factors like race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, etc. were considered for standardizing the results and the study evaluated academic performance of students over a span of ten years at the university. Although the document available at the universit y website does not give the results of this study, the