Disappointed with grades - does it matter?

[Delong]

Disappointed with grades -- does it matter?

I'm almost done with college and the grades I'm getting this quarter are not impressive. Looking through my transcript I realize that only a handful of times I ever got an A. Most of the time a B and quite a few times C or lower. What sucks is that I got Cs in classes crucial to my major. I feel like a retard I always thought I was smart but the grades make me feel stupid. I always tell myself grades don't really matter, they're like money they're just superficially important. Even still these mediocre grades make me feel like an absolute retard. Why do I suck at subject I love? Will these grades hurt me in the long run? I love science I don't want to do anything else with my life.

 

[micromass]

I'm almost done with college and the grades I'm getting this quarter are not impressive. Looking through my transcript I realize that only a handful of times I ever got an A. Most of the time a B and quite a few times C or lower. What sucks is that I got Cs in classes crucial to my major. I feel like a retard I always thought I was smart but the grades make me feel stupid. I always tell myself grades don't really matter, they're like money they're just superficially important.

If you know the material well, then you should be able to get good grades. If you don't get good grades, then that can be because of several things. Perhaps you have test anxiety? Perhaps your study habits aren't good enough? Perhaps you don't do enough exercises beforehand. Perhaps your studying of the theory was way too shallow. Etc.
There are a million of reasons why you didn't get the grades you wanted. Only you can now what the problem really is, and how to solve it.

Even still these mediocre grades make me feel like an absolute retard.

I'm not even going to talk about how grades don't give any implication about your intelligence. But this is essentially a very useless thing to feel. It doesn't solve anything, it just gets you down. It is of course easier said than done, but ignore these feelings and try to solve the problem more constructively. Figure out why your grades aren't stellar.

Will these grades hurt me in the long run?

They might. If you're planning to go to grad school, then it'll be very hard to get into a top tier grad school with less than stellar grades. You are competing against some people who got straight A's every time. Of course, grades aren't everything. Undergrad research, recommendation letters, etc. count as well.

 

[Delong]

If you know the material well, then you should be able to get good grades. If you don't get good grades, then that can be because of several things. Perhaps you have test anxiety? Perhaps your study habits aren't good enough? Perhaps you don't do enough exercises beforehand. Perhaps your studying of the theory was way too shallow. Etc.
There are a million of reasons why you didn't get the grades you wanted. Only you can now what the problem really is, and how to solve it.
I'm not even going to talk about how grades don't give any implication about your intelligence. But this is essentially a very useless thing to feel. It doesn't solve anything, it just gets you down. It is of course easier said than done, but ignore these feelings and try to solve the problem more constructively. Figure out why your grades aren't stellar.
They might. If you're planning to go to grad school, then it'll be very hard to get into a top tier grad school with less than stellar grades. You are competing against some people who got straight A's every time. Of course, grades aren't everything. Undergrad research, recommendation letters, etc. count as well.

I refuse to believe school is just about grades. I may not have the best grades but I know I'm smart. I'm a little lazy I admit but I know I'm a smart person. I don't need a letter on a screen to define who I am. So anyway I'm just venting, I don't like people looking down on me.

 

[Physics_UG]

If you know the material well, then you should be able to get good grades.

evidently you don't suffer from test anxiety then.

 

[micromass]

evidently you don't suffer from test anxiety then.

Evidently you missed me mentioning test anxiety in my post as one of the reasons people know the material and don't get good grades.

 

[Delong]

Evidently you missed me mentioning test anxiety in my post as one of the reasons people know the material and don't get good grades.

Hey micro mass I'm sorry for saying insulting things. I'm just a little depressed right now with my performance in school. I think I'm a smart person but my grades are beating my spirit down that's all.

 

[Andrewway]

Disappointed with grades -- does it matter?

If you say that the reason why your grades are bad are because you're lazy, but smart, then you've just answered your problem. You just haven't immersed yourself in the material. Why would anyone get angry at themselves for not knowing what they haven't studied?

You should also remind yourself the world knows nothing of who you "truly" are. That's why we have degrees, to tell employers that we are hypothetically capable of some task.