College, What you should REALLY focus on

This past Saturday was man day and some of us did some reflection and talking about college and what we did/didn’t do. So thinking about it all I decided to post up my thoughts about what you should be doing in college.

So your in high school, maybe in college now and you got into a good school (or want to?) and now you should focus in grades, right? Well, let me make this suggestion to you, when it comes to graduating and finding a job, what do you think will separate yourself a 4.0 GPA, maybe a grant funded project that got you published in a magazine, maybe even starting a non-profit or a company.

I know from my own experience the first week of college I went around introducing myself to almost every professor in the College of Math and Science and asked them what they did an see if my interests matched. Well lucky for me I found a great mentor and went on to win grant money and a paper contest, which helped me land an awesome paid internship my freshman year! Think of how much work is involved with getting a B+ versus an A+. Possibly another 2 or 3 hours of studying and/or work related each week? Maybe seeing how someone graduated college in 3 semesters should inspire you. Seriously you are talking about taking away more time from your life when you could be enjoying college and/or doing something truly remarkable like start the next Google.

Anything is possible in college, look at the leaders in today world, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. Just remember that a D is for diploma, you do need to maintain a high enough GPA to stay IN COLLEGE, which might be hard for some, I know I had my issues, but focus on outside curriculum and do enough to get by. It should mean your focusing on more important things, like buildings a business or getting involved in something that will allow you to network while in college. Networking is something you NEED to learn how to do as well as creating a personal brand. Spend a weekend with some friends thinking how can I make some passive income or start a business this week. Getting your foot in the door is going to be down either by a connection and/or a distinction that separates yourself from the stack of other resumes on the table.

I know from my own personal experience, I had only 1 company ask for my GPA, Google. I almost ended my interview there, and prolly should have. I can NOT stand this question and feel if you really want to know, contact the school on my behalf. I did hesitated and eventually gave in, but noticed that was the last question about my grades and/or college classes. Many of the questions were geared towards my personal experience out side of class and in the “real work” either internships or jobs. My GPA in school means nothing to me, I spent more time in college learning new things outside the classroom and felt that is how I can distinguish myself from others. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I did alright and focused on good grades in my major. Realize that in life, its a branding game. You need to promote yourself and build a following. Get out there and be more like @garyvee. It’s a branding game, you need to promote yourself and set yourself apart from another, or you are just another resume in a haystack of resumes.

So go grab some friends, some beer, and discuss some ideas for changing the world and making yourself financial independent. Take a look at Meetup and start building your network. Hope this advice helps a bit for those trying to figure it all out in college, from one twenty-something to another.

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