Dear Sarah,
I’m currently a sophomore in SOM and I am still struggling to adjust. I chose Binghamton because 1) the price 2) the freedom to be your own person in a small world. I’m a hard worker but my grades don’t show it and people are constantly looking down at me for that. My friends proudly share their grades and when they pressure me into sharing mine they immediately lose faith in me. The funny thing is, I actually am intelligent. I just don’t test well. I guess the question is, how do I gain back the confidence to believe that my grades do not determine my intelligence?
Sincerely,
GPA 2.9
Dear Intelligent,
Let’s start with your signature. Before anybody can remind you that your GPA does not necessarily correlate with your intelligence, you have to believe it yourself. So, I’m going to refer to anonymous you as “Intelligent.”
Unfortunately we live in a culture that stresses the importance of labels.
Part of that is for people to feel safe interacting with others, but another part is to make people feel powerful. Currently, your GPA is meaningless to anybody but yourself. Most of the time people care about others’ grades so they can find out who is “inferior” to them. This act is simply a sign of insecurity and I believe it makes them look weak.
I went to a high school that did not stress the significance of a GPA. Therefore, when I arrived at Binghamton I was in culture shock. So I made myself a promise. I will not share grades with anybody that doesn’t need to know and my GPA will always be mine.
As for your relationship with your friends, I would make it clear that you don’t care about their grades. They’ll begin to feel awkward sharing them with you because deep down they know it only “benefits” them.
You clearly understand that your grades don’t matter. Now it’s just a matter of taking your strengths and putting them to use. You’re not a great test taker. Who cares? Share your thoughts in class, join clubs and allow people to see the true meaning of intelligence.