Grades get you in the door for college, but they're just your opening statement. What actually wins admissions is everything else: your essays, extracurriculars, recommendations, and the story you tell about yourself.
That's not an argument for ignoring your grades, by the way. You should keep your grades up. They're still your entry ticket. It's an argument, however, against believing that they're anything more than that. So here's the takeaway. Stop treating your numbers like the whole case. They're your opening statement. What you do with the rest of your file is what actually wins or loses your case for admissions.
