Dear Kerry Dowdle,

Hi, how are you these days? I’m Ann, a first-year student from China. Some of the videos you posted on YouTube about your college life and Chinese social media sites appealed to me. Most of them are very interesting. I noticed that you are also a college student. You live in the United States and I live in China, our college life has many similarities and many differences. I'm not just a college student from China, but also studying in an international campus, so I have contact with American culture. And you, similarly, studying in the United States, but have a certain interest and understanding of Chinese culture. We are all college students and we all have some contact with Chinese and American culture. So today I want to discuss with you about how has the perception of GPA changed to college students born in Gen Z (like you and me)? I think with social diversity developing, different students should pursue different things and not just focus on GPA.

You may think that, when we talk about perception we value for GPA, or attitudes towards GPA, aren't there only two answers, value or not value? No. The two attitudes I think are to put GPA first, or not to put GPA first. The latter is not to tell you that you should not value GPA, but to put other more important things above it. Just as Abhishek Ratna said, “Your GPA doesn't define you. Your interests, passions, and goals in life do.” I'm not trying to say that GPA doesn't matter, but rather to say, think about it before you want to put GPA above everything else, should you do it? And my answer is, it's up to you, to different student in different situation. What do you think? Do you think Americans should or shouldn't think that way?

You might think that the quality of education for Gen Z college students has improved dramatically than ever before, which will partly lead to more competitive to them. However, in the case of China, there are many choices for college students. For example, the examination for public affairs, the examination for editing, the examination for teacher qualification certificates, and the most common postgraduate studies and employment. More than half of these depends on the overall quality and ability of the individual, not the single GPA. Those who chose not to go to postgraduate studies shared the pressure of GPA competition. Although GPA is a common method of measuring students' academic performance, it cannot fully reflect their abilities and experiences. For example, GPA cannot measure the efforts and achievements of students in extracurricular activities. Therefore, how can we evaluate students’ comprehensive qualities more comprehensively?

As for the United States, I learned that American college students mainly take doctoral studies or direct employment after graduation. Just as Jackson Denise said that，“Key strategies to enhance graduate employability and employment outcomes are work-integrated learning (WIL)and co-curricular activities.” Whether in today's Chinese society or American society, the quality of a college student is not only based on his/her paper data (degree certificate, etc.), but also on his/her personal skills and characteristic. Such factors are not so closely related to GPA.

In the modern society today, many challenges we encountered are complex and interdisciplinary, requiring a combination of knowledge and problem-solving skills. But a good mark or, high GPA can’t prove that the student has interdisciplinary thinking, practical skills, and problem-solving abilities to meet future challenges. And also, don’t forget that with the rapid development of globalization, we should gain global citizenship awareness to expand our global horizons, understand different cultural backgrounds and appreciate diverse values while we can’t gain theses from GPA.

As far as my personal experience is concerned, I have participated in rural volunteer teaching, passing on knowledge and giving love. I signed up as an Asian Games volunteer to contribute to the Asian Games. These experiences have affected my studies to some extent, but I don't think they are not worth it. On the contrary, during these experiences, I learned a lot of knowledge that I could not learn in textbooks and enjoyed the unique scenery.

Yes, the modern judgment of college students is not just GPA, but the importance of GPA is still there. The only question is whether you want to put it before everything. Whether it is or not, it is only everyone's personal choice, and there is no absolute right or wrong. When applying for a master's or doctoral degree, GPA is often one of the primary considerations in admissions decisions. A high GPA indicates that you have an excellent academic foundation and are more likely to successfully complete research projects. Although it's not the only evaluation criteria, but a high GPA is still a powerful evaluation criteria that can open many doors to future success.

I know that you're an American college student and enjoy posting and exchanging your views online. Based on my elaboration above, do you have any illustrating insights? All in all, choices is depend on individual. When we make a value ranking, we should consider its pros and cons and importance. Every of us should make careful choices in our college life.

Best wishes!

Yours sincerely,

Ann