Grades

Johns Hopkins University has some of the brightest and most

determined students. Standouts in high school, they are here because they
have demonstrated a drive and commitment to furthering their knowledge
and becoming leaders in their fields. This work ethic and mindset only
comes by personally setting high standards and goals. There is nothing
wrong with this desire to achieve, except when grades begin to blind
students to what really matters.
The curriculum at Johns Hopkins is not easy by any means, and all
students, regardless of their past achievements, will struggle at times. Too
often, a string of grades below standard will crush a student, drive them
into depression, and make them miserable. Freshmen have only been on
campus for over a semester, and already, many of them feel this way. This
shouldnt be the case.
If it were supposed to be easy, everyone would do it. But thats the
thing, not everyone can. If only students could remember that they are here
for a reason and that there is so much potential for their futures. With that
in mind, what does a C on an exam mean or even as a final grade? Ten
years down the road, it will not mean much. There is such a myopic view
that grades mean everything, and it resonates throughout campus. Forget
studying for the sake learning new knowledge, students study for the sake
of getting a good grade on the exam. And that defeats the purpose of
seeking higher education.
This is not an essay that challenges the purpose and validity of
grades. They are necessary and do serve a purpose, which is to assess a
students understanding of a class. Certainly, all students should strive to
do as well as they can. At the same time, rather than be upset at a bad
grade, if anything, a student should be more upset that they did not
understand the material to the best of their ability. Simply, understanding

the knowledge is far more important than some arbitrary letter stamped on
it. What do students take with them when they graduate? They cant take
an A or an F, but they can take the knowledge gained and apply it to the
world beyond Homewood campus.
For that reason, as hard as it may be and especially here at Johns
Hopkins, bad grades should be taken in stride and used a basis to improve
ones understanding of the material. And maybe then, students could enjoy
their college experience more, worry less, and do better in class. In this
desire to achieve, the measure of achievement should not be a GPA, but the
knowledge gained.