Why I regret getting straight A's in college(blog.penelopetrunk.com)
blog.penelopetrunk.com
Why I regret getting straight A's in college
http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/04/twentysomething-why-i-regret-getting-straight-as-in-college/?
28 comments
"2. I didn't sleep."
"3. I've forgotten 95% of it."
These two are related. I graduated with a similar GPA, but I never once pulled an all-nighter. I also remember most of it, at least at a conceptual level, if not down to the fine details.
The problem is that students get brainwashed into thinking that grades are the goal, when in fact grades are supposed to be a measure of the real goal, which is learning. I think the English have a good idea with their "gap year." If Americans started doing that, I think it would help a lot of people get perspective on what their actual goals are.
"3. I've forgotten 95% of it."
These two are related. I graduated with a similar GPA, but I never once pulled an all-nighter. I also remember most of it, at least at a conceptual level, if not down to the fine details.
The problem is that students get brainwashed into thinking that grades are the goal, when in fact grades are supposed to be a measure of the real goal, which is learning. I think the English have a good idea with their "gap year." If Americans started doing that, I think it would help a lot of people get perspective on what their actual goals are.
"I majored in English Literature and minored in Communication Theory."
You call that college?
Get 37 A's in math and science and then we can talk.
You call that college?
Get 37 A's in math and science and then we can talk.
I think you're missing the point. Getting straight A's is a pretty hard thing to achieve. I for one rarely got A's in the gened classes. The amount of work required to go from a B to an A was very high and not worth it in my opinion. I ended up doing better in math, physics, comp sci because it was interesting subject matter.
Exactly what point am I missing?
What's the cube root of 9? What is the minimum number of points needed to determine a plane? What happens in your app if you divide by zero?
On the other hand, what motif did Browning employ in the last stanza? Is man basically good or evil? Which economic theory works best in the third world?
Maybe you're missing the point. If there's no right answer, what's the point of grades?
What's the cube root of 9? What is the minimum number of points needed to determine a plane? What happens in your app if you divide by zero?
On the other hand, what motif did Browning employ in the last stanza? Is man basically good or evil? Which economic theory works best in the third world?
Maybe you're missing the point. If there's no right answer, what's the point of grades?
I couldn't disagree more.
"What's the cube root of 9? What is the minimum number of points needed to determine a plane? What happens in your app if you divide by zero?"
All those questions only show that you can memorize answers.
"On the other hand, what motif did Browning employ in the last stanza? Is man basically good or evil? Which economic theory works best in the third world?"
These questions show that you have an ability to think. Most of the time when you're doing real development there are little black and white questions. Most of the time it's a matter of trade-offs and using your judgement, experience and intuition to choose a solution.
The point of grades is not to judge how many "correct" answers you have memorized. The point is to reflect the instructors opinion of a) your intelligence, b) the amount of effort you have displayed and c) how much you have learned.
And you can judge how much you have learned not just by having the right answer to every question, but by having solid reasoning behind your answer.
"What's the cube root of 9? What is the minimum number of points needed to determine a plane? What happens in your app if you divide by zero?"
All those questions only show that you can memorize answers.
"On the other hand, what motif did Browning employ in the last stanza? Is man basically good or evil? Which economic theory works best in the third world?"
These questions show that you have an ability to think. Most of the time when you're doing real development there are little black and white questions. Most of the time it's a matter of trade-offs and using your judgement, experience and intuition to choose a solution.
The point of grades is not to judge how many "correct" answers you have memorized. The point is to reflect the instructors opinion of a) your intelligence, b) the amount of effort you have displayed and c) how much you have learned.
And you can judge how much you have learned not just by having the right answer to every question, but by having solid reasoning behind your answer.
So you're saying there's no use trying to measure the goodness of anything that isn't either clearly right or wrong?
On a semi-related note, you should understand that answering a question well is different from giving the objectively correct answer. Especially when there is no objectively correct answer.
On a semi-related note, you should understand that answering a question well is different from giving the objectively correct answer. Especially when there is no objectively correct answer.
Er, yea.
This is hacker news. You better be precise, accurate, and correct. Or it won't work. And you're toast.
Don't like it? Go watch figure skating. And let me know who wins. If you can.
This is hacker news. You better be precise, accurate, and correct. Or it won't work. And you're toast.
Don't like it? Go watch figure skating. And let me know who wins. If you can.
[deleted]
edw519: you nailed it! I now understand why my auto mechanic disdains my mathematics degree.
If nothing else, the author demonstrated the ability to work hard. Demonstrating to yourself that you can work hard has a lot of value in and of itself, IMO.
Of course, there are other outlets for working hard, but for many Americans, high school and later college present the most obvious and most consistent opportunities to do so. In fact, the author may have even learned how to work hard in college if he didn't already have that ethic.
Of course, there are other outlets for working hard, but for many Americans, high school and later college present the most obvious and most consistent opportunities to do so. In fact, the author may have even learned how to work hard in college if he didn't already have that ethic.
Get the kids up and fed, drop them off, hot tar that roof in 100 degree weather for 8 hours, fight traffic, get to the supermarket, fix dinner for the kids, and pay the bills after you put them to bed, only to do it all over again tomorrow, with a smile on your face the whole time (because others depend on you to smile so they know everything's ok).
Or hang out in the lounge with your latte discussing the merits of Marxism while someone pays your bills.
Please, please, please don't confuse hard work with anything that happens in college. You make the rest of us wish we were still there.
Or hang out in the lounge with your latte discussing the merits of Marxism while someone pays your bills.
Please, please, please don't confuse hard work with anything that happens in college. You make the rest of us wish we were still there.
>please don't confuse hard work with anything that happens in college.
You can work hard at anything. Playing an instrument isn't something I consider work, but it takes hard work to become one of the top musicians in the world.
Consistently trying to be the best at something rather than just accepting mediocrity is important, and not a lot of people have that drive. It's the kind of thing that keeps you from having to tar roofs for a living.
>You make the rest of us wish we were still there.
You must have me confused with someone else. I'm not a student.
You can work hard at anything. Playing an instrument isn't something I consider work, but it takes hard work to become one of the top musicians in the world.
Consistently trying to be the best at something rather than just accepting mediocrity is important, and not a lot of people have that drive. It's the kind of thing that keeps you from having to tar roofs for a living.
>You make the rest of us wish we were still there.
You must have me confused with someone else. I'm not a student.
"I majored in English Literature and minored in Communication Theory."
The smarter students become aware pretty soon that grades are meaningless, and only care about them if they have a good reason to (scholarships, etc).
There's a middle ground of fellows like him, who are smart enough to get good grades if they work really hard, but think it matters.
There's a middle ground of fellows like him, who are smart enough to get good grades if they work really hard, but think it matters.
[deleted]
Totally agree. I averaged a 3.0 in college (with a lot of Cs and Fs mixed in with those As), and it hasn't hurt me yet. Meanwhile, it let me do lots of other things that have arguably helped more, like serve as the tech lead on the largest HP fanfic site on the web, or write a course evaluation website for my college that's still in use 3 years after I graduated, or learn a bunch of exotic programming languages or try out a couple sports I would never have thought I'd try, or meet friends (one of whom is now my startup cofounder).
The only thing I regret about my college experience is too much time spent reading UseNet. Everything else - staying up late with friends, trying new activities, learning programming languages - was well worth the drop in GPA that resulted.
The only thing I regret about my college experience is too much time spent reading UseNet. Everything else - staying up late with friends, trying new activities, learning programming languages - was well worth the drop in GPA that resulted.
This blog entry does have a good message. Good grades are nice, but nobody has every asked me about my GPA, either. I actually think there comes a moment in most people's lives where they find themselves choosing between good grades and focusing on what they are most passionate about. In grad school, I got so into programming that I started putting less effort into my coursework, and my grades suffered (a bit). I still got my MS, and nobody has ever even once asked about my grades. One of my professors was so into one of the software apps I wrote that he agreed to sign off on it as fulfilling the MS project.
In the end, you may have to let go of grades to truly follow your passion. Some of the top grad programs are set up in recognition of this.
Now that said, I have no idea how or why this blogger needed to sacrifice her time or sanity to get A's in English. I double majored in English and Math, and I think I got one B in lit the whole time (my overall lit gpa was someting like a 3.85, because there were some A- grades in there as well). It took a bit of doing, but really, you don't have to go to the wall to get A's in a most lit classes.
The Math, on the other hand, was really tough. I got about a 3.5 in the major, because the undergrad calc series throug differential equations made sense, and I could handle applied math pretty well. But math theory (real analysis, abstract algebra, and so forth) was hard as hell. I really struggled for even a glimpse of understanding of this stuff. I studied hours every day, spent hours working in student groups and in office hours solving problem sets, giving it everything I had, and I still got B's in plenty of these classes. In the end, I'm glad I did it, but I could tell I was not Ph.D material in Mathematics.
I agree with edw519 - unless you're doing serious math or science, don't tell me about your super high GPA.
In the end, you may have to let go of grades to truly follow your passion. Some of the top grad programs are set up in recognition of this.
Now that said, I have no idea how or why this blogger needed to sacrifice her time or sanity to get A's in English. I double majored in English and Math, and I think I got one B in lit the whole time (my overall lit gpa was someting like a 3.85, because there were some A- grades in there as well). It took a bit of doing, but really, you don't have to go to the wall to get A's in a most lit classes.
The Math, on the other hand, was really tough. I got about a 3.5 in the major, because the undergrad calc series throug differential equations made sense, and I could handle applied math pretty well. But math theory (real analysis, abstract algebra, and so forth) was hard as hell. I really struggled for even a glimpse of understanding of this stuff. I studied hours every day, spent hours working in student groups and in office hours solving problem sets, giving it everything I had, and I still got B's in plenty of these classes. In the end, I'm glad I did it, but I could tell I was not Ph.D material in Mathematics.
I agree with edw519 - unless you're doing serious math or science, don't tell me about your super high GPA.
I'm pretty sure that this has already been posted, recently.
"Why I regret getting straight A's in college"
Drop that apostrophe!
Drop that apostrophe!
Although from a strict, computer-like grammar perspective you'd be right; stylistically it is more effective to use an apostrophe in this case in order to avoid confusion with the word "As." I suspect if you asked a hundred random people about "Straight As" a goodly number would feel weird reading it, or would actually mistake the meaning. Conversely, "Straight A's" is only going to bother people who have memorized the rules.
[deleted]
Too bad these types of hypotheticals are wholly unrealistic. I think your standard straight A student (especially a straight A college student) would have a hard time not making straight A's. And it's really that quality (or personality flaw) that makes the grades completely irrelevant. How many C students were running a radio station and participating in the student government simultaneously?