Hard Worker == Good GPA?

I've learned to not get involved in conversations that don't concern me. But I still haven't learned to not care - and honestly, I don't think I want to.

"I never said that GPA was a perfect indicator of future success or even close to one, but that an employer would have more reason to trust an applicant has a history of working hard for good grades over one who does not."

I see one flaw in this - it assumes that every person with a high GPA works hard for his/her grades, and every person who works hard has a high GPA. Admittedly, the first is easier to argue than the second, so I guess I'll start there.

Some people get near-perfect grades with minimum effort. Honestly, I was probably one of those people in high school, or could have been had I been able to tone down my perfectionist tendencies. I know people like that here at Princeton still. Naturally gifted, talented, smart, genius... Call them what you will - the idea is that they simply don't have to try as hard as most people to get the same grades. And some barely need to try at all. And yet, their grades are often still much higher than the general population. They're smart, yes, and they undoubtedly work, and might even work hard, but working hard is not a "prerequisite" for good grades, not for them. Their stellar grades may not represent a stellar work ethic.

As for the flip side, that working hard doesn't necessarily lead to good grades, it's much more difficult to come up with examples. Partially because we humans are so unwilling to give up control, and admit that no matter what we do, sometimes there's nothing we *can* do. It's much easier to say that someone gets good grades because they're just smart, and to encourage everyone by saying that if you work hard, you can achieve the same level of success. One can always argue that if you work hard enough, you'll get the grades you want. And if you don't, then you're not working hard enough. No one wants to hear that no matter how hard you work, sorry, you're not going to do well. But just because you log countless hours and do hundreds of practice problems and dozens of practice tests still doesn't mean you'll get good grades. It might just not click for you. People who spend hours upon hours may still be just average, or even more unfortunately, fall behind. And though there isn't really a way to show that this is true - one can always "work harder" and get less sleep, socialize less, make their grades the center of their world - I think it is reasonable to say that while hard work and perseverance always pay off (in terms of work ethic, determination, etc), this pay-off might not always be in terms of grades.

While there is definitely a correlation between working hard and good grades, I think GPA is essentially a more accurate measure of comprehension of the material, and not how hard someone works, and thus a more apt statement would have been "an employer would have more reason to trust an applicant who has a history of understanding, and being able to apply, the material needed for the job well."