“My CGPA game is too strong.” Said no one ever.

Even the people with straight A's and seemingly perfect GPA's must falter in one course, miss the mark  in a certain assignment or at least fail to impress one faculty member. When it comes to 'standards' the education sector is perhaps much more guilty and accountable than beauty pageant organisers. Leaving out a few instances where 2+2 is 4, there are cases of subjectivity, unfairness and difficulty in almost all cases. 

Let's focus on the local context here. With so many private universities alongside the age-old public institutions, introducing new subjects and redesigning courses, comparing apples to apples is getting harder than ever. If I ask you to compare between two students, one with a CGPA of 3.8 and another with CGPA of 3.2, you could give me a straight answer regarding who has a better academic performance. Now, if I add that one of them studies engineering at IUT and the other studies business at IBA, wouldn't you want to go over your decision, this time taking into account the new piece of information? Plot twist, totally. Though different majors are expected to diverge into different professional arenas, it gets only more confusing when we are setting different benchmarks for students taking the same courses.

Most universities have predetermined standards for grading. For some, at least 85 percent is required for an A grade. Some consider only 90 percent and above to be an A. There are further breakdowns. A lot of faculties have their own formulas. Some consider the standard deviation method; some fix the number of students they want to give any grade to. For example, only 15 students per course get an A. Others set mark boundaries or grade curves and a lot of the professors are never even comfortable revealing their formulas to the students. So, even if you and I are both BBA students with the same CGPA, the universities we go to, the courses we take, and the professors who teach us can make all the difference and we might or might not be of the calibre even though our academic indicators say so. 

Then there are the cases of grade inflation. Some universities on average award better grades to their students. The motivation is really simple. They want their students to have the upper hand in a job market that is already saturated with more able people than it has room for. The reverse is also true. Universities where admission is very competitive and based strictly on merit tend to be excessively economical in their grading policies. They want to filter out the very best because the university's reputation is at stake here, and they must produce the best graduates for entrance in the job market. This is one reason why drop-out rates tend to be higher in institutions like IBA or BUET. 

So, the question remains: if our CGPAs don't reveal the full story, then what does? Our employers are prudent. They need to get their work done and hence, they want to get the best people for that at the price they are paying. It's fairly easy logic. So, if you have majored in Computer Science and the job you applied for requires you to specialise in that field, your employer will be smart enough to overlook the C that you got in your History course in university. On the other hand, if they take you in because you have a shiny transcript but there's someone at office who can deliver better presentations and communicate well with people, don't be surprised when he is climbing the corporate ladder faster than you.

Some of us don't care what the corporate scenario here is like because the moment we are done with our degrees, we want to get a top class MBA or maybe a Masters abroad. So, how do foreign universities recognise the differences in our standards? The news is pretty bad. They are well aware about the lack of uniformity in the system that we have here. While it's true that good results and the reputation of your university can take you a long way, in most cases, you have to take standardised exams such as the GRE, GMAT and TOEFL to prove your worth. Moreover, foreign universities have a knack for all-rounders or students who are skilled at something else besides their studies. In that case, it's time you take part in ECAs and don't just sign up for five clubs at once. Find something that interests you and develop that further.

Ultimately, CGPA is important. Would you ever hand over your oh-so-expensive phone to a kid who has a habit of throwing his toys against the wall and smashing them? Likewise, why would companies want to let you handle their crucial projects if you come out as a careless and demotivated person in general? The fact that you have not been serious about your studies when it should have been your first priority makes them question whether you, as an adult, know how to set your priorities straight at all or not. While CGPA might not make it or break it for you, it can definitely give you an easier and smoother start in a world where everyone else is fighting for the things you take for granted.