A recent New York Times article brought up a harsh truth: "You Won't Get an A Just by Working Hard."
Source: New York Times
The author mentioned that students try to equate "effort" with "grades," believing that hard work should be acknowledged.
They often complain: "The grade in this course does not reflect the effort I put in."
A survey shows that two-thirds of college students believe that "effort" should be a factor in GPA grading; one-third even think that merely attending most classes should earn at least a B.
It seems that as long as you pull an all-nighter, you should get an A.
Effort Alone Is Not Enough
But high grades represent excellence, not just perseverance.
Effort alone is not enough; getting an A requires outstanding ability.
The author believes that American society's long-standing admiration for diligence has gone a bit too far, conveying an educational philosophy that our worth is primarily determined by attitude.
It seems that as long as you have a good attitude and put in enough time, you should automatically be rewarded. But the harsh truth is: Even with great effort, you may not necessarily do well.
Chinese netizen: Hurts but true, our professor said that if you're working very hard but only getting C's, the suggestion is to change your major. You might barely get B's in your current major with a lot of effort, but after switching, you can easily get A's.
Source: xiaohongshu
"Work Hard" is not as good as "Work Smart." Find the track that suits you—talent plus effort, and you'll achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Source: xiaohongshu
Overseas netizen: "Please, I really don't want to hear the word 'effort' anymore."
Source: Reddit
"Some students do stay up late in the library, with their computers on, swiping on their phones. No matter how long they spend, what they end up delivering is still a mess."
Source: Reddit
Hard work is not a bad thing; what’s terrifying is aimless, blind effort.
GPA Game: Process vs. Results
However, whether one can get an A largely depends on the student's school, major, and instructors.
For US undergrads, 4.0s are commonplace; Canadian undergrads say a GPA average of 2.6 is common, and a 3.5 can get you a full scholarship.
Source: xiaohongshu
The GPA gap between majors is absurdly large.
Some majors have GPA inflation, so it's easy to get high scores.
Source: ThoughtCo
But majors like chemistry, mathematics, economics, and psychology are in hard mode.
Source: ThoughtCo
Especially electrical engineering, which is a notorious low-GPA zone, with an average of 2.6-2.9.
Source: Quora
If the course is already difficult, and you encounter a professor who is stingy with grading, it’s a bolt from the blue.
Source: xiaohongshu
In some cases, students have to bring up "effort" as an argument, perhaps as a protest against unjust grading from external pressures.
In fact, the GPA game has always revolved around educators and the educated.
Admittedly, results and efficiency may be more important than effort itself. However, whether judging solely by results and efficiency can be objective enough is a question worth pondering.
How to find a healthy balance between process and results, enabling students to discover suitable "methodologies" while also achieving excellent "outcomes," is a long and challenging road for future university education.
It’s Others Who Care Too Much About Me Getting A's
Of course, as some netizens say: Not getting A's is no big deal. Open your mind—life actually has a high tolerance for error.
Actually, as long as your GPA is adequate, you don't need to push yourself to death. After all, talented people are few in this world; just a little effort by ordinary people can surpass 99%.
But in this age of anxiety-peddling, GPA is constantly being brought to the forefront, even demonized. Even if you don't want to care, survivor bias and social trends will affect your mentality.
On social media, everyone seems like Eileen Gu, with a uniform lineup of admitted students to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT. After competing on degrees, they compete on GPAs, pursuing perfectionism.
Source: xiaohongshu
Without straight A's, you'd be embarrassed to call yourself Asian; getting an A- feels like failing, and not having a 4.0 seems like the end of the world.
Top university freshmen feel like the sky is falling if they get a B, worrying about not finding a job after graduation right from the start.
Source: xiaohongshu
In modern blind dates, people not only look at family background, appearance, and conversation, but also GPA. There are indeed many "sapiosexual" types, and dates can be rejected due to a low GPA.
Source: xiaohongshu
As a result, GPA has become a capital for showing off; no one cares what striving for A's is really for—everyone just gets A's for the sake of face.
Engineer Ben Cichy said that back then, his GPA was only 2.4, but now he has successfully participated in building two Mars spacecraft.
"STEM is hard for everyone. The most important thing isn't grades, but curiosity and perseverance."
Source: X
We don't have to stubbornly pursue straight A's, but of course, we can't choose to completely lie flat and not work hard.
Learning without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without learning leads to peril.
When striving for GPA, you need to find your own methods of improvement and cultivate good qualities. Even if you don't get A's after working hard, these things will provide valuable guidance and inspiration for your future life development.
