To pass or To be the highest?

Published

are you the kind of person that is satisfied already in passing the exam or on the other side in which you are satisfied because you got the highest grade? i am the kind of person which is not satisfied on just passing my exams, i always aim to be the one who will get the highest grade in our exams in major subjects. i get sad and depressed when i am not the highest which is not a good thing. there are already several times that i got the highest grade especially when we were in third year and the last time i got the highest grade is on our preliminary examination on Nursing management and leadership. i was not expecting it actually but thank God i was able to do it. because of this attitude, my friends would tell me that i should be happy because i passed compared to our other classmates who really failed in the exam. i am still trying avoid that kind of attitude even though there are only 2 months before our graduation. for you, what do you want, to pass or to be the highest?:yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

I don't try to get the highest grade. I just try to do my best. By no means do I ever say, "I just wanna pass, I'll be happy", I do not need to lower my standards. I want A's and I aim for A's although sometimes I get a B and accept that, but I would never aim to get the highest out of the whole class, your setting yourself up for failure that way. No one can be the best at everything every time. Besides, having the best grades does not mean you will make the best nurse...

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I only want to be the highest when I come in 2nd highest. Otherwise, whatever accommodates my plans down the line is fine by me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.

At my cc, C= passing, Passing= Continue.

I'm an A/B student, never Got a C on a nursing exam, but if I did I would'nt be suicidal like some of my classmates.

When I graduate from nursing school in July 09, my lincense isn't going to say" Oh, by the way she passed with a C"

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in l.p.n.

I think it depND ,IF YOU ARE IS ANURSING SCHOOL THEN NUMBERS MATTER THEY REALLY DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE AGOOD NURSE OR NOT LIKE THE NCLEX!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in critical care, PACU.

I just try to focus on me and my learning and learning the most I can to be the best nurse I can be in the future. I used to be like you in pre reqs, but now I just focus on learning for me and when people ask I dont join the comparison game. that helps to take the edge off

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, ICU, Medsurg.

*sigh* this is a really sore subject for me and I swear I'm OCD over it. I'm trying really hard to get over it. I was a 4.0 student and missed an A last semester by 0.34 of a point. I cried. This semester I think I've talked myself out of that state, but I'm still having a hard time not having the highest grade in the class. It kills me to hear people say "Hey, I passed, thats all i wanted" or "C's get degrees". I've always had highest in the class and I feel like its "expected" of me, which is even more pressure. But like I said, i'm trying really really hard to relax and get over it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

That sucks. I would have a 4.0 were it not for the B i got in a 1 unit piano class I took for fun. The closer you are to perfection, the more glaring the flaws.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I hope this doesn't sound mean but.... GET OVER YOURSELF!!! You are not the smartest person in the world nor will you ever be. You will never be labeled as the smartest person so come to terms with the fact that you are a good student and strive to do your best. There are people that get straight A's but can't manage their own lives. Just because you get all a's doesn't mean you will make any better nurse than the person who gets b's and an occassional C. We have a label for people like you.......annoying. Just get to know some college prof's on a personal level and they will tell you the same. I've seen people argue (unwarranted) a prof. whether theyre answer was correct or not. It wasn't a matter of passing, they already had an A on the exam!! Go see a psychiatrist.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED.

Yikes!! Seems u hit a nerve. I try for "A"s but will be happy with a passing grade. I have found that it is often true that the person with the highest grades ( sometimes me). Is not the most skilled person. There is natural ability out there. I'm just hoping to survive nursing school so I can finally wear scrubs to work :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

When I first went to college (many, many years ago), I had been a "straight A" student in high school, class valedictorian, won special "merit" scholarship to a prestigious university, etc. So, I do know the pressure that a young person feels to maintain that kind of record.

However, I was lucky enough (wise enough?) to realize that I was no longer competing in the "small pond" of my small town high school. I was swimming in the huge ocean of a major university where ALL of my classmates had been high school stars. So I did not expect to always be the best. Yes, I still preferred to get A's, but I was OK as long as I got B's. I even got a few C's and survived. The C's bothered me, but I just kept plugging away and did OK. In other words, I grew up.

In graduate school, my grades were higher. I got almost all A's in both my MSN and PhD programs. Interestingly, it was the only B that I got a paper in my PhD program that led to my dissertation. That B taught me what I still needed to learn -- and I used that experience to build upon. I've learned that some of the best learning and growth comes when we discover what are weaknesses are and what we still have to learn. We don't learn as much when the work is too easy. We are like sports teams. We need to play against tough competition that will help us identify our weaknesses in order to improve -- and to help us learn to play well under pressure when we are losing and time is running out. Without those tough tests -- if we only play easy games -- we are not prepared to win the championship when the score is tied and the pressure is on.

It's funny. My 6 year old nephew already knows that. He's very gifted intellectually and doesn't see any reason to go to 1st grade because as he says, "I already know that." It's too easy for him. He craves experiences that are difficult and that will teach him things he doesn't already know. When you work with him on something that he struggles with, his eyes light up as strives to learn it. If it comes to easy for him, he gets easily bored. He is very wise.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

OP: I try to get the highest grade that I can...which may or may not be the highest grade in the class. Test and assignment grades don't matter to me as long as I get a good grade at the end of the course so I can graduate.

I do admit that it does sting a little to finish 2nd to someone, the same way it stings to finish 1 or 2 points shy of a B. I'd rather miss being #1 or the B by a lot than a little--that way I don't have that feeling of "oh, I was soooo close!" But I certainly don't lose sleep over it if it does happen--I learn from what I did get wrong. Sometimes getting things wrong in class are the best way to learn things.

I really hope this thread doesn't turn into another "A students vs. C students" slugfest. I've already had my fill of those for the year.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion