By Kyle Kittredge

STAFF WRITER

Making the dean’s list is thought to be an honor that displays a student’s academic success.

However, although it is something to be proud of, it may not be as important as one might think.

John Kirkpatrick, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, commented on the real-world significance of receiving the honor.

“There aren’t any benefits, other than to say it on a resume, and for some personal satisfaction,” Kirkpatrick said.

Being on the dean’s list is similar to receiving honor roll or high honors in high school, except all honors are put together onto one big list.

According to the UNH Media Relations post of the dean’s list, it comprises “students who have earned recognition through their superior scholastic performance.”

The list posted online categorizes students by state. The New Hampshire section is broken down by counties, while the other New England states are separated by hometowns. There are two separate sections for non-New England states and international students.

However, there are also different “levels” of the dean’s list. According to the list online, “highest honors are awarded to students who earn a semester grade point average of 3.85 or better out of a possible 4.0. Students with a 3.65 to 3.84 average are awarded high honors and students whose grade point average is 3.5 through 3.64 are awarded honors.”

“The requirements are the same across all the colleges, so people are all treated the same,” Kirkpatrick said.

The dean’s list is posted every semester, and can be found in numerous places.

“The list is published for the public on UNH’s website, as well as various newspapers in towns in New England that students are from,” Kirkpatrick mentioned. 

The dean’s list achievement is also listed on students’ merit pages, which are verified pages set up by the university to show students’ education experience, awards and honors, activities and affiliations, and work experience, similar to a LinkedIn page that solely includes your college profile.

To others, being recognized on the dean’s list is more meaningful.

“Being on dean’s list means you excel really well academically, and you’re pretty focused on studies,” Sarah Piet said.

Piet is a junior biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology major and has made the dean’s list every semester as a UNH student.

Piet explained that she is planning to apply to graduate school, and believes most  graduate programs take dean’s list into consideration.

“It looks better for graduate school, companies may look at it, your GPA for graduate school, and experience too,” said Piet.

Ultimately, potential employers may look at your transcript, and seeing that you made the dean’s list could be a deciding factor in getting a job.