When I first got to college, one of the many things I heard again and again from upperclassmen was, “Don’t worry, C’s get degrees.” My initial reaction was, “That’s not going to be me, I don’t make C’s.” Little did I know how different an A in college and an A in high school are.
When I was in high school, I was that student who didn’t have to study much to make an A. Sure I’d have to maybe look over the quadratic formula quickly before a trig test or flip back through some notes because I couldn’t remember how to conjugate a verb in Spanish, but school just came easily to me. I graduated high school second in my class, with a 4.03 GPA. I received a full ride scholarship to an amazing university. At that point, it felt like I had an A in life. Surely things would be the same for me when I got to college, right?
Apart from the fact that I had no idea what I wanted to major in, my first semester at college was fantastic. I took on a heavy workload of 17 hours and managed to come out on top with a 4.0 GPA. I made the Chancellor’s List and the Dean’s List. Maybe this college thing wasn’t so hard after all. What were the upperclassmen talking about when they said C’s get degrees? I started my Christmas break excited to conquer the spring semester and come out of my first year in college with a near perfect GPA.
My second semester of college started out much like my first semester. I decided to take on a full workload of 18 hours. I was signed up to take one of the hardest teachers in the chemistry department, but remained optimistic. After all, if I could make it through the fall semester, surely I could make it through the spring. I started out strong, but about halfway through the semester, right before spring break, my grades started dropping. I started to feel the course load catch up to me. I would spend hours studying, only to make a barely passing grade on tests and quizzes. I began to neglect my “easy classes” because I was spending so much time studying for my harder classes. Eventually, the stress got so bad, I had to drop a four-hour class, bringing me down to 14 hours. I felt like a failure. I was supposed to go to college and do bigger and better things! I wasn’t supposed to drop classes and make anything less than an A. I was supposed to make the Dean’s List every semester! I was supposed to be the top of my class. I had great expectations for myself, only to feel like I had let myself down. It took me some time realize it, but:
- Dropping a class in college does not make you a failure.
- Getting less than an A in a class doesn’t mean you’re dumb.
- Taking less than a full load doesn’t mean you’re an underachiever.
- Just because you’re not in honors classes, doesn’t mean you’re not smart.
It’s okay to struggle with your classes. It’s okay to spend hours studying and not make the grade you wanted to. It’s normal. We’ve all been there. The important thing is to never give up. Keep studying. Keep working hard. Keep that scholarship. It’s a hard road, but in the end, when you’re holding that degree in your hands, you’ll be glad you didn’t give up. While C’s might get degrees, it’s a hardworking, positive attitude that gets careers.
