Edited by Sophia Savva
Do you know that feeling of intense excitement when you were hired for the first time or when you think of graduation? That’s the same feeling I used to get when I thought of a 4.0 GPA. However, I’ve learned the hard way that GPA isn’t everything and it’s detrimental to focus on it too much.
When I first started at U of T, I set a goal to earn a 4.0 GPA. I chose safe electives that I had some basic knowledge in, followed my successful high school study habits (cramming with a side of coffee) and kept up with all my readings. I studied for a week before my midterms and, after writing them, I thought I aced them all.
Well, when my grades came back, I was knocked out as fast as Mike Collins knocked out Pat Brownson. It was like a tragic love story as I watched the 4.0 slip out of my hands and fade in the distance. However, I was determined to get it back, so I spent the rest of the year memorizing textbook pages, panicking about my grades and being confused and bored in most classes. By the end of the year, forget the 4.0, I was praying that I that I passed every class.
Everything changed that summer when my father gave me a piece of advice. He told me to focus on learning the material because a degree was only useful if I had skills and knowledge. When the new year started, I chose to focus on the content of the courses instead of the result. I read every chapter with the sole purpose of understanding the content and I wouldn’t panic if I was confused about a topic. As a result, I became less stressed, more interested in the courses and my grades improved.
As my journey of learning continued, I came upon plenty of resources that U of T has to encourage learning without the risk of your GPA suffering.
The most famous one is the credit and no credit option. U of T students can ‘no credit’ up to 2 credits, which means that the grade won’t appear on your transcript. It’s not just a way to save yourself when a midterm has gone bad and the drop date has passed: this feature means that we can take interesting courses outside of our comfort zones, learn about them and remove them from our transcript if we couldn’t do well.
Additionally, the library website has thousands of journals and articles about any topic. If you don’t have space in your timetable for a subject you are interested in, then you can read peer reviewed articles about the subjects online.
Finally, we have the opportunity to go on exchange trips. These trips allow you to learn about a new culture and at the same time complete courses directed towards your degree.
I’m not saying GPA isn’t important, but it isn’t the only thing you should focus on in university. From my own experience, I can confidently say that it’s better to prioritize learning and keep GPA in the back of your mind. We are fortunate enough to go to a school that offers a variety of courses and resources for learning. Get your money’s worth and leave university with something more than a fancy piece of paper.