As early on as preschool, students are given grades that determine how well they are doing in a certain subject.
Growing up, you are taught that having the highest grades are extremely important. Those students who excel are often rewarded, while those who fall behind are discouraged.
This mindset continues as students reach college where there is a lot of pressure to succeed.
It is often the case that students have to make a certain GPA in order to keep scholarships. If they fall below the required GPA, they may not have the financial means to attend university anymore.
Students who intend to further their education put a lot of work into their GPA, as their GPA is one of the most important factors of their graduate or professional school application.
“My GPA has probably been one of the biggest motivating factors to work hard in my collegiate career,” Morgan Curlin, a senior Marketing major from Martin, said.
“However, attempting to maintain my high GPA has also been one of my biggest stressors as well. Ultimately, I am very appreciative that I took my GPA seriously, as it was one of the biggest factors for acceptance into my dream graduate school.”
While students are often very stressed out about their GPA, the stress tends to lead to hard work. The hard work ends up paying off when they achieve a high GPA.
However, the stress tends to weigh in on other factors in their life. It is not uncommon for students to face mental health issues when they have burned themselves out or have put too much pressure on themselves to have a high GPA.
I believe if universities put more emphasis on factors outside just the standard grading scale, such as participation and originality of thought, it may lessen students stress surrounding their grades.
