In this day and age, competition is steadily increasing; it’s practically unavoidable. In high school everyone is vying for a spot on the homecoming court and then comes time to apply to colleges. Once you’re in college, you’re not done. Competition rises between peers as you start looking into graduate and professional schools and then internships and jobs! And then you hit the real world, competing with co-workers for a promotion. All this competition leads to an overwhelming desire to be perfect—in college, this means obtaining the coveted 4.0 GPA.
In 2007, Auburn capped its enrollment at 24,000 students, which was the highest amount the university has ever seen. However, in 2014, the incoming freshman class broke the scales once again. According to the University’s website, the new freshman class accounted for 4,592 students, 866 more than fall 2013. Once again, by 2015, a total of 27, 287 students were officially enrolled at Auburn and my guess is the number will continue to increase. With that being said, one can understand why students’ competitive nature stands out here. After all, at Auburn, we believe in work, hard work.
However, just because you don’t make an A in every single class does not mean you aren’t a hard worker. Just because you make a B, doesn’t mean you have lost all hope of ever getting into medical school or getting your dream job after graduation. Getting a B means you are human. I mean, a B is still above average!
One of the hardest things about transitioning from high school to college is the shock that occurs when students realize they aren’t the best anymore. Sure you graduated as number 11 in your class of 500… but then, you come to Auburn and are thrown into a pile with the rest of the number 11’s from high schools all over the country. And you try to maintain your reputation as an “A+ student,” but it doesn’t work because college is different than high school and it’s hard and it’s competitive and all this is to say that making a B is okay.
The important thing is that you try your best. If your best is a B, then that’s okay. If your best is a D, then that’s okay too. Just don’t beat yourself down if you can’t make all A’s every semester of college. Auburn is competitive, so pat yourself on the back for getting accepted in the first place and remember: B’s get degrees!