An Inside Look at the Dean’s List

By Hannah Wisterman
Blog Content Contributor

We’re officially one week out from starting classes, and my, what a magical time. The start of a new semester is like turning to a clean page, full of new opportunities. Come that exciting Monday morning, we’ll all take another step forward in our education—and I, personally, will be going full, viciously competitive beast mode. I’m currently sitting on the Dean’s List, and I intend on keeping it that way. If you want to make the leap this semester and see your name in black and white with mine in LBJ (yes, the Dean’s List is printed and displayed on the third floor), I have some intel you might find useful.

First off: you need to take at least 12 credit hours. If you’re considered a full time student, that should be pretty achievable, but you might want to check just in case. For reference, I hit a 12-hour load after registering for four lecture classes (three credits each). Four lectures really isn’t terribly, terribly bad.

Second: you need to achieve a 3.5 GPA for the semester. Yep, I said semester, not cumulative, which is great. Let’s say, for instance, that maybe you spiraled into a nervous breakdown when Netflix stopped streaming The X-Files last semester and your GPA just went ker-plunk. You know, hypothetically, maybe that’s something that happened to you. No worries. To make the Dean’s List, you just need to focus on this current semester. I’m not kidding when I say the start of the semester is magical, and this is why: it really is like a second chance. All new classes, all new opportunity, and you could be rewarded just for your upping your game this time around.

As for making the list… that’s it. The 3.5 is really the most challenging part of it, and I don’t want to dismiss that; it’s not a walk in the park. But Texas State is chock-full of resources, many of which we’ve covered on the KTSW blog before, and I truly believe that you can pull off great grades if you really focus, work hard, take advantage of what’s available to you, and most importantly, if you really want it.

Why should you want it? Two words: free shirt. I speak the truth, friends: if you make Dean’s List, you’re invited to a reception the following semester, where you can pick up a t-shirt so you can wear your hard-won achievement literally on your sleeve. I mean, you also get to meet the dean, but I know my audience, and free t-shirts are to college kids what bird seeds are to birds. We love them. The reward of being on the Dean’s List isn’t just in bragging rights. It’s genuinely rewarding, and there’s nothing wrong with pushing yourself to be the best you can be this semester. So as you start your next load of classes, consider pushing yourself just a little bit harder. You may find that there are people out there ready and eager to recognize you for your hard work.

Featured image by Hannah Wisterman.