Nowadays, the most wanted goal of college students is to become a Straight-A student with the highest GPA possible. Every student only focuses on the semester, or in general, the culumative GPA. Many students starting college in their freshman year only focusing on excellent grades and sometimes only focusing on the GPA of their transcript. Nothing matters anymore. There is nothing wrong having good grades in college. Especially in your first semesters. However, having excellent grades and setting high academic standards should not become the most prioritized things during your college life. There is much more than "only" being a Straight-A student. College life goes far beyond than having a 4.0 GPA. It's a time in your life where you grow to become an adult, shape your own pesonality and more important, spend an unforgettable time with your classmates and friends. On the one side you become more independent, on the other side; however, you may be influenced by peers, friends, family, even techers and professors, and in general by the entire society.
Society may put pressure on you to become an excellent student achieving high academic goals in order to apply for prestigious grad schools which will lead you to become successful in your future life. But why do good grades necessarily define success in your later life, as well as predict a prosperous future? There are so many factors which have to be taken into account. Why don't talk about the actual goals which we want to achieve in our lives? Do we want to make an impact on our or someone's else life? Do we want to be happy and satisfied rather than being "simply" being a Straight-A student? There is much more to be asked.
For sure everyone wants to achieve good grades in order to apply for grad school, internships and jobs. There is nothing wrong with being an excellent student - but we have to ask ourself whether it is really worth to prioritize an 4.0 GPA over other goals. Those goals might be community involvement, building long-term relationship with friends or (sport) club enrolment. A major goal might be an athlete career, becoming an actor or a successful dancer. Therefore, the time you spent in class room and for learning might be very limited. You even might have to work daily shits in order to finance your college fees or other personal expenses. All in all, there are so many factors which have to be taken in account for prioritizing study and lecture time.
In addition to that, the inflation of "A" has never been bigger than before. Average GPAs have constantly increased over the last 25 years. So the struggle of being an A-student has never been higher than before and the questions many students are asking is whether it's okay to be a B-student "only"? Is a B a bad grade in comparison to an A? According to the grading scheme, a "B" is worser than an "A" ; for sure. Nevertheless, a B is still a good grade. It's a good grade and as a matter of fact, a grade, you can be prouf of yourself! It's a good performance. So don't ever feel bad - because it is "just" a B-grade. Bs are totally fine! Even with high academic goals in your mind, you can achieve everything with "only B-grades". Grades do not define your later success. Your GPA cannot reflect how you are actually feedling, how stressed you are, whether you are fine or not. A grade is literally a letter on a transcript. It's black and white. Can anyone detect your great personality behind a written letter? Can any employer really see your real potential, your strength or your weaknesses? A grade just reflects an academic semester or 4 years in a row.
Please don't understand me wrong - I don't want to encourage you to lower your personal academic goals neither do I want to evaluate students with high acdemic grades who are successful and thriving in every part of their lives. Nor only the academic. It is scientifically proven that a high GPA is positively correlated with job offers and performances in future work occupations. But that does not mean that B-students cannot achieve the same career goals that A-students can. There is nothing wrong about it.
Personally, I prioritize feeling well in all stages of life: Staying healthy and active, being socially involved in community work and neigbourhood activites, enjoying leisure time and quality time with family/friends and travelling to new places, foreign countries, taking part in (academic) exchanges, being an intern during semester breaks - while maintaining to be an ambitious and hard-working student in university. I have realy worked hard during the last years and by now - I have already achieved everything I wanted to during my last 4 years of college: I studied abroad, worked as a research student and became a leader of a student group. And yes, I am "only" a B-student who has a B+ (cumulative GPA) on her transcript. I'm proud of what I have achieved so far - and I finally realized that having a "B" is totally fine and that grades will never be a priority in my life: I rather want to enjoy all aspects of life - beside the academic part. I made that choice and I am very happy about it - because a "B" is a good grade!
