The Truth About Getting A Bad Grade

By Ellice Ellis ‘20

To make my intro short; college is hard. Balancing massive amounts of free time, over 200 pages of reading, work-study, projects and personal issues is a lot for young adults to deal with. Consequently, there are going to be times where you miss class, slack on assignments and are just not up to this “getting a degree thing.”

Out of all of this mess and confusion, your first bad grade might pop up.

I remember mine. Second semester sophomore year, I received a C in French. After taking the language for over 5 years, I knew it wasn’t my ability or knowledge but outside circumstances that weighed on my grades. My overly I was dealing with freshman year weight-gain, my father passed mid-semester and my grandfather months before, and I was overly stressed about securing an internship for the summer. I would sleep in and come 20 minutes late to my 50-minute class. My mental health was deteriorating and because of that my grade in French slipped further down the rabbit hole.

The only thing that saved me was my tenacity and determination studying for the final. Despite my A- on the final, I managed to pull a C out of the class. Anyone who knows me could hear the hurt and disappointment when I told them about the grade. In my mind, C’s were average, sub-par and I felt just that.

The only way I got through it was to think positively towards the future, reevaluate what went wrong and make a game plan for future times when my mental health might start to affect my school work.

I first realized that in the future I needed to admit that I needed help. I thought I could do it all alone. I never went to office hours, reached out to friends to study or told my advisor I was struggling. There were so many resources on campus that I had not used to my benefit and with all honesty if I had, I could’ve pulled maybe a B or even an A-. Additionally, remember that your professors are people too. They are there to help and have the resources and time to do so. Most professors will help break assignments or even extend deadlines if you are candid about your situation.  Admitting you need help can be a blow to one’s pride and confidence, but in the long run, it’s better than an unfavorable grade.

Next, I decided to get some perspective. When talking to my sister, who is in college, she told me that “C’s get degrees.” It may seem like a cute phrase to brush off getting a poor grade but in reality, it’s true. We shouldn’t aim to just pass classes but we also must remember that in college the academic expectations are higher. A’s are no longer given out just for efforts and some professors don’t even give A’s. I would also suggest talking to other students who have taken your course to see how they handled the course load. Many times, you’ll come to find out that a plethora of students suffered your same fate and you might feel a bit better.

I also suggest to remind yourself that grades do not determine your self-worth. Never let a grade define you. Having great grades can give you validation but I ever let getting a poor grade make me feel any less worthy. You are not stupid or not good enough for your university. Like I said before… ish happens. You have to roll with the punches and remember that you are triumphant and successful in other aspects of life.

My last piece of advice is to care for your well-being. While you may be stressed out, now is not the time to neglect your mental health. Go get boba with a friend, watch some Netflix or even make a vision board. Do not run away from the reality that is a bad grade. It is always beneficial to put yourself in a mental state to deal with it positively.

For all those stressed about their grades, this semester takes a deep breath. You’ll be fine. There will be more classes to take and many other chances to bust out a stellar GPA. Grades do not define you. Its who you are inside and what you offer the world that ultimately says who you are.

Remeber to fight on, study hard and stay up the rest of this semester!

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