Your GPA. Your test scores. Your grades. Your resumé. It’s all colleges look at.
You’re just another number. They’ll never know about how your eyes light up when you talk passionately about something or the great advice you give when your friends are in need of it. Yes, the higher your ACT score and the better your GPA, the more opportunities you have right after high school.
More doors open up for you.
But no matter which door you walk through, there are certain skills a test score and a mere summarization of your accomplishments in high school can’t replace — the most important being social skills.
More often than not, who you know is more significant than what you know.
Now, this depends on what career path you choose.
If you plan to work in a research lab on your own, maybe you don’t need to be social. If you aspire to work in a cubicle calculating numbers and statistics all day, then you probably don’t need to master the skill of public speaking.
However, the majority of jobs in America do require those skills.
Teamwork, leadership, public speaking, breaking the ice and keeping your cool during awkward situations are valuable dexterities that will take you farther than your super-scored ACT.
Trying your best in high school is important.
When you’re a sophomore, that AP European History class might seem like an insurmountable mountain of review packets, and you will probably feel (around five hours before they’re due) that all this labor is completely pointless.
Contrary to popular belief, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Your hard work will pay off.
If you’re not going to listen when your teachers or parents say it, maybe it’ll mean something when I do.
The more appealing your transcript looks, the more chances you have of getting into your dream school, maybe even with a scholarship. But although these opportunities are significant, you can enrich your life by focusing on the social aspect of college or the workforce.
How you treat your peers, how you eat politely at a business dinner or how you choose to experience a new culture when you study abroad are assets that will reflect more about you to your future employers and those who learn or work around you.
The opportunities that become available to you as you grow and advance into your higher education are temporary.
The social skills you develop and utilize to succeed are permanent.