Do colleges care about elective grades?

Elective courses in college pretty much allow a student to broaden and widen their education and discover new interests. The central feature of any US liberal college of arts is electives or any other subjects that one takes outside their core curriculum. It is the sole rewarding moment of the US overall university experience. Electives help a student to change the quality of the college education, that is it improves it and also gives the student a wide variety of choices to choose from. In order to grow professionally and personally, it is important to take up electives in college and it is what the colleges care about too. In this article we shall see if colleges care about elective grades?

Do colleges care about elective grades?

Definition of elective grades

P/NC/CR, the elective grade system was an option that was recognized on how the remote learning and  pandemic have impacted on the students. With this option the GPA does not have any impact on the course results. Moreover, the particular option encourages oneself to expand the course choices that one might have an interest in.The system associated with elective grade was first originally curated for the elective courses. Any course that is undergraduate is not used to satisfy the requirements of the program. Usually, an elective course outside the area of the subject of a declared study or program. Undergraduate courses which are designated as quantitative, writing or breadth are not used to fulfil any requirements of the program.

The rise in automation and changes in technology has grown to a point where the pace in the last few years is higher than ever. This demands for the students to be more than ready to face the industry. Understanding and studying courses from other departments might empower and complement the growth of students. For example a student in engineering can learn a course in finance management and that might be very helpful to him. CBCS system offers a platform which is claimed to be an effective platform of learning where the students can broaden their horizon of education. This particular course allows the student to choose the subject of their choice. The choice is theirs to choose which level they want their subjects to be at either basic or advanced . However, this system CBCS uses credits instead of the conventional system of marking. Higher education comes up with flexibility in the preparation of certain curriculum and also granting them credits on the teaching hours and the intensity of the course. Hence, this helps the students to take up a course of their choice and study it at their own pace, get credit and learn more courses.

Benefits of elective grades

When we talk about elective grades, elective courses come into the play. When we talk about schooling, many of the students consider core courses to be the building blocks of education given in high school. However, the courses which are elective boost the candidate who wants to be free of the realm of studying academics which puts everyone to be on the set career path. Some students might love subjects like history and english while some might not be interested in them but in other elective courses which they  might love.  The concept of having fun while learning is what comes forward with the notion of an elective course which makes it so interesting all together. There is a lot of student satisfaction through this course as it is fun to learn and is interesting as well. Besides this, there are other benefits of opting for elective courses for elective grades as well.

  • It helps one investigate and find out about their future career. A good number of potential career options widen up for students who do not know what courses they want to take. All one needs is a significant boost to go for a particular career option and if not maths and medical one might get it from learning new languages in the form of electives like Chinese or French.
  • Provision of broadened education. Usually one thinks the average grade points really matter in the time of admission in a renowned college. However, it is not true, what it needs for a person to get through the admission process is if you are a well-rounded candidate. For example, a student of marketing could very well learn graphic designing or some computer skills to develop a calling for those skills and also earning credits likewise. Moreover, in the building of a strong resume it is very important that one has electives in it which show the future employees and the officials’ curiosities and willingness. However, some students who are assiduous also take up electives to grow in their areas of weakness and improve their overall knowledge.
  • Learning electives can be fun. Exploring one’s skills is never a bad idea. For example, one can also look at other subjects that are out of their genre to explore some skills or out of likeness or curiosity or even pleasure.
  • Rise in employer preference. The employers would want the students working for them to be from diverse backgrounds academically. There are many electives in high school that are helpful for the students in the practical world of experiences in their future. Moreover, having an elective not only provides one with practical experience but also brings higher competencies in oneself.  For a better position it is important to have experiences and skill developments which match the post qualifications. Alongwith real life experiences a glimpse into the real world can be achieved through taking up electives. A world that is not high school any more comes in the way and teaches the students about real life and not just academics.

Critical evaluation whether colleges care about elective grade or not

Electives other than what it was like in high school classes are a way to judge one’s academic abilities and interests. Yes, the college admissions look at which course one is going to take for choosing electives and what grades one gets in the. All the courses taken count towards the GPA which includes elective and P.E. The only marks that are not added in the GPA are the marks for Citizenship and work habits. The elective courses will affect one’s GPA and also the Gen-ed. Other than the core subjects one study achieving letter grades in the elective courses and general education affects the GPA overall.

Conclusion

Being able to learn new skills and even being passionate about enables one to have a test drive for certain activities. Improving these skills at the same time and being creative will help one discover new great things in life which one never knew of and which might also help change the course of one’s life and future career options available to them.

Frequently asked questions:

  1. Do all the top colleges care much about elective grades?

A-  Yes, all the top colleges have electives and thus it is graded and has essential value in colleges.

  1. Do grades in college life matter at all?

A- Yes, absolutely they do. The cut off lists are so high in almost all the colleges that students who got 92% are also kept in waiting lists. Thus, yes GPA matters a lot.