Your child’s G.P.A. isn’t worrisome—but it isn’t high enough to brag about on your blog either.  Instead, it is just...mediocre, wavering between a B and C average. Does that mean a good college is out of the question? No – but it is a good reason to jumpstart the changes that can help boost those averages.

by Tamra B. Orr

Your child’s overall G.P.A. might be like your golf score or your cholesterol numbers—not bad enough to cause a state of mild panic, but also not stellar enough to blog about. If college is in the relatively near future, that G.P.A. score might need a little bolstering. Although getting into college with a B average is far easier than you or your child might think, a C average can be tricky. What can your student do to raise that G.P.A. before it is time to start filling out college applications?

Here are positive steps you can encourage and help your child to take:

• Make school a high priority. That's the first suggestion I make in my book, America’s Best Colleges for B Students (SuperCollege, 2011). That doesn’t mean your child shouldn’t have lots of free time to relax, hang out with friends and pursue personal interests, but it does mean that if they have homework to do, it should come before skateboarding or going to the mall. A commitment to keeping up and doing well in class often translates into better grades and better test scores.

• Put summer months to good use. Sleeping in and playing video games are important, but there are other ways to use the time, such as getting a job that teaches helpful skills, reading some of the books on the college prep list, doing volunteer work within the community, and even taking a summer school or community college class. All of these will help fill out that resume and give your child material to put on the college app. 

• Take time to get to know the guidance counselor. A school’s guidance counselor is there to help your child succeed in school. Have your child make an appointment to come in and ask about what resources are available for strengthening her grades or improving class scores. Chances are, the counselor will have suggestions for workshops, online sites, school-based tutors and more.

•Ask for help if you need it.  If your child is falling behind in a class because he is struggling to understand and catch up, staying silent will only punish him further. Talking to his teacher is a great first step. Asking if there is an after-school study hour that could be arranged, or a personal tutor or even a classmate/study buddy available is another helpful step.

• Get enough sleep. Although it may sound odd, another way to help your child achieve more in school is simply by making sure he gets enough sleep at night. A tired student is a struggling student. No one can absorb information or keep up with assignments if he is busy trying to keep his eyes open. High school students should ideally get nine or 10 hours of sleep a night to stay on top of the game.  Obviously, it’s not usually easy to get your teenager to crawl into bed before he is ready, but encouraging an early bed time will end up helping him in more ways than he can imagine.

• Study more effectively and efficiently. This can be done a variety of ways. Encourage your child to tackle homework early before fatigue sets in. Provide a supportive environment and be available for questions or to help with a particular problem or question over an assignment.  Also be ready to make a trip to the library, share the family computer, offer a tasty snack, or do whatever helps your child get homework done.  Keep distractions to a minimum, even if it means waiting to watch your television show or making that phone call at another time.

Helping your child to raise her G.P.A. isn’t something that can be done overnight. After all, it has taken months to years to reach where it is right now. It is a slow process that moves like a row of dominos. One action leads to the next and eventually, you will most likely discover that together, you and your child can bring those numbers up, make filling out those college apps a little easier, and perhaps even end up with a new entry for your blog!

Additional resources:

• Colleges for B Students, Late Bloomers, and Underachievers at Inside College
• “60 Ways to Improve your GPA” 
• “20 Easy Ways to Raise Your Student GPA in College” from EduChoices.org
• America’s Best Colleges for B Students by Tamra Orr (SuperCollege, 2011)

 

Tamra Orr is a full time author of more than 300 nonfiction books for young people. She is the author of America’s Best Colleges for B Students (SuperCollege, 2011) and Ace the SAT Essay, Even if You Hate to Write (SuperCollege, 2009). She and her family live in the Pacific Northwest. Orr loves to read and is a veteran letter writer. She enjoys spending her summer camping out under the stars and sipping an ice tea. She is the very proud mother of four children (ages 27 to 15) and can’t wait to become a grandma.