So, GPA Matters?

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I was involved in numerous extracurricular activities last semester. Part of the reason why I had time for all that was the approach to my curricula that I adopted. As on my previous steps of the educational ladder, I focused more on understanding the knowledge I was to process rather than fulfilling requirements for the top grade (A in America, 6 in Poland). It might sound like a euphemism and it maybe kind of is, but this way just always seemed right to me. I guess that “not learning for grades” is something most people support but few have the actual luxury of doing.

Part of the reason why I felt okay doing so last semester was my projection of Polish standards in higher education onto American reality. As I’ve learned only after the end of the semester (when I came across some forum threads under ominous titles such as “Since when is B not a good grade anymore?”), there is a profound difference in approaches to GPA in America and Poland. GPA is basically disregarded in Polish universities, while in the U.S . . . as one of my college friends phrased it, “GPA is everything.” These two characterizations may be a little exaggerated, but they capture the contrast.

While on normative grounds, I in a sense disagree with this "GPA is everything" standard. I think it can actually hinder learning; it discourages exploration on one’s own, and forces more efforts to “correctly” reproduce course material. But I realized that it might be beneficial to re-focus my approach for this semester and give a little more attention to my grades, maybe for the first time in my life. I promise I’ll keep you updated though!