By LIU Xiang, Jack (Jockey Club Academy Hall)

As you can see, this is an experience-sharing article. So that you take its title seriously, I will now sacrifice my privacy and let you see my grades last semester:

Semester B, 2010/11 (the second semester of my junior year)

I was not a straight A student and I got all kinds of grades from C to A in my previous semesters. My GPA in the previous semester was 2.9 and it was lower than my bottom line, which is 3. As explained by the Career and Internship Office, if you want to mention your GPA on your resume, it should not be lower than 3. In other words, a GPA lower than 3 is not something you can be proud of and it may affect your job prospects.

So my previous unsatisfactory performance turned into encouragement for me to work hard. Another source of motivation was that I decided to study abroad after graduation. I just finished my overseas exchange semester and that experience was definitely the best of my college life. I found peace of mind and passion for new ideas there, whereas in Hong Kong all I could find was nothing but the anxiety of job hunting. To get into a good graduate school, my GPA would be one of the most important factors. Now I am not so sure about graduate school, after more talks with my professors and my own self-reflections. But does it mean my GPA is in vain? No. Finding what you love can be a long journey and people change paths constantly. Different paths have different requirements. Your GPA is one of them. It may not push you forward but at least it widens your choices.

Did I tell you how to get A+? I think I have. My attitude towards grades has changed and everything else has changed accordingly. To perform well, you need to be clear about what you really want and what you really need.