HELP... I am Grade obsessed

mgd31181 · Oct 6, 2004

It is not as if I "want" an A and if I get a B that's ok. I MUST GET AN A! I don't discuss my grades with fellow classmates unless asked and even then will usually only say "I did ok" unless the person asking is a friend... I do not boast. Most of my instructors post grades on the board or at least tell you the breakdown of A's, B's etc.. if there are two 100's and I'm not one of them I freak out!
I graduated high school with a very high GPA and went to college right after but quit to get married, have kids and raise my baby sister. I am a returning to school adult student with 3 children, husband, blah, blah, blah. After an exam I will look up answers and I won't sleep at night because I am rethinking all the questions. Once the exams are returned I will pour over it and if I get a grade less than mid 90's I will totally beat myself up. (the whole you can do better thing) My mother did punish me as a child for having less than A's (go in your room and don't come out until the grade is up) but I am 30 years old so you think I'd be over that by now....
How do the grade obsessed people out there deal? Do you try to modify that behavior or do you just accept yourself as an obsessor and get over it? Boy some days I feel like a mental case...

I totally understand how you feel. I go to a community college that has about 2000 students, 800-1000 of which are trying to get into the nuirsing program. We dont have a wiating list. The best grades get in. This last year was so competitive. If you didnt have a 4.0 or real close, you could just hang it up. the reality is though thta it is not healthy to constantly beat yourself up. I started the program this year and by the end of the first week I was already feeling the stress, so I just decided that I worked too hard to get here, for me not to enjoy it. Relax. Work hard, but always remember a task oriented person does not always make the best nurse. The grades will still come.

manna, BSN, RN · Oct 6, 2004

I was grade obsessed BEFORE nursing school - I guess you could say I still am a bit, but I'm getting over it. During summer nursing classes, I made all A's.. now that the meatier material has started, I've been consistently making B's. It's pretty harsh on my ego, and I'm worried about all my dreams of keeping my scholarships, joining an honor society, going to grad school...

I've decided that the best way to get through it is to just take things one day at a time.

sabrn2006 · Oct 6, 2004

It looks like you have made a healthy compromise with yourself. I hear ya on having those big aspirations...scholarships, honor society, etc. I want those things too. If working hard gets me there, it does. If it doesn't, it...well doesn't I guess. Either way, I plan to become a nurse. :rolleyes:

My levels of optimism and ambition ebb and flow every day. Today, I am philosophical and laid back. Tomorrow could be type A all the way. LOL

I was grade obsessed BEFORE nursing school - I guess you could say I still am a bit, but I'm getting over it. During summer nursing classes, I made all A's.. now that the meatier material has started, I've been consistently making B's. It's pretty harsh on my ego, and I'm worried about all my dreams of keeping my scholarships, joining an honor society, going to grad school...
I've decided that the best way to get through it is to just take things one day at a time.

not now, RN · Oct 6, 2004

I was grade obsessed before nursing school but I didn't have to try for those A's. I would just attend lecture, take notes (but never actually look at them after class), walk in and take the test. I'd set the curve in most of my biology classes. :imbar I didn't open my book unless absolutly nessisary.

Now that I'm in nursing school A's are a bit harder, the adjusted grading scale threw me off for a bit. I'm used to getting them so I now get off my lazy butt and do a bit of work for my A. I have one B so far and don't plan on getting another one.

It's not competition with anyone but myself that drives me to do so well. When I applied to this LVN program there were 100+ applicants for 15 openings, my grades got me in and my drive kept me in while five have already failed out.

Also, I want to bridge to an RN program after LVN school ends (seven months! ) all I need is Microbiology and good grades and I'm in so I must keep this up.

DenaInWyo · Oct 6, 2004

Yep, me too.

I just got back from a test, as a matter of fact. After we take the test, we retake it in groups, so it's pretty easy to get a good idea of what you got. I think I got a 91 on it, and I am just disgusted because the answers I missed were so BONEHEADED! My friends all just roll their eyes, and I can see their point, but then again, I can see my point too, for a couple of reasons.

For one thing, I have my own personal standards. When I miss questions like the ones I missed today, I know better, and it makes me furious that I didn't just slow down and THINK. I didn't live up to my own measure, I guess.

The other thing is that sometimes I do get blindsided and don't make a good grade. Usually because I was lazy about studying..which doesn't look like it'll happen this go-round with college, but I always have that fear that it COULD happen. A's..high ones, are insurance against that. I'm at the point in my life and education that I've run out of chances. I tried the wrong major the first time around, and now I am pretty much on my last chance at school, because there is no way I could afford to go without financial aid. The thought of student loans without passing freaks me out too, and darnit, I finally found what I feel is my "calling" in life, and I want to make it! Ugh..you should see how scared I get when I make the mistake of looking at the big picture instead of focusing on getting through one task at a time :chuckle

Deana

UTRN2005 · Oct 7, 2004

I too am one of the grade obsessed. My lowest grade ever, since kindergarten was an 88 in AP chemistry my junior year of high school, and this even went on my GPA as a 96 since AP classes counted 110%. Since I've been in college I've maintained a 4.0. I'm planning on going straight into an ICU internship and then onto a CRNA program so good grades are a must. A 4.0 isn't required but it's my way of padding my resume. I don't get to the point that I overly stress out or have panic attakcs but B's just aren't an option for me, I refuse to lose that 4.0. Luckily for me I have a really good memory and things tend to stick pretty well. Good luck to all of you grade-obsessed people.

merricat · Oct 7, 2004

my friend got As in all classes thru nursing school (and on all the pre reqs). except at the very end she got a B. at first she was very upset but then she realized she was relieved. she did not have to maintain the perfect grades anymore. so for her, it became a blessing in disguise. for me-- my grades fluctuate, it depends on how interested i am-- (i get more obsessive about the learning than the grade)-- (although i tend to get downright wacky about writing essays-- my first major was english, and my first love, as well) (so i get really weird about the paper-- every little word, sentence structure). i was talking to an overachiever who had never gotten less than an A on a paper in her life the other day. so now she is not getting As anymore (grad school) and it is hard for her. i did not know what to say, since for me it is not the grade, its the product, usually. i am kind of a you-have-to-fail-in-order-to-succeed person but after i mentioned it i realized how rude it probably was to say. what does one say to a person like that?