What is your policy on discussing grades with classmates?

ybq2008 · Oct 3, 2010

i don't discuss grades. very occasionally, i may reciprocate with a close classmate who discloses her grade first (and without my prompting), but i do not participate the majority of the time. after exams, i take a walk to enjoy the beauty of campus, the day and life. i don't participate in the "what did you put for the question about blah blah blah" talk. it has saved me a lot of anxiety and unnecessary grief while waiting for grades to be posted. of course, if you choose to not share your grades, it’s important in all fairness to not ask about the grades of others

i balance a full-time job, school involvement and classes successfully and i am very proud of my academic performance. i also find that classmates can let competition and insecurity bring out some ugliness; so i avoid it by refusing to participate. it works well for me and i have been consistent about it. i try to live by the motto of "what people think of me is their own business." i sleep like a baby each night :)

good luck with your decision!

CuriousMe · Oct 3, 2010

I avoid specific grades with all but a few classmates. I'll generally ask them, if they did as well as they wanted to (since that's what I really want to know...some are only happy with an A, and anything else is failure in their eyes, others are shooting for a B, and yet others are just happy with C).

I also answer in the same way when asked what I got...I'll reply: "I did as well as I wanted to." If they are rude enough to push it....I might mostly jokingly say, "My we're pushy today aren't we" and then explain that I'd prefer to not state the exact grade.

DCoffill, ASN, RN · Oct 3, 2010

Lesson learned...I told anyone who asked what my grade was. I got an A and i was proud but at the same time I still made 2 silly mistakes that could have been avoided. It really ticked some people off. Some people even said "oh she only did well because she didnt start clinical yet" which really upset me. I did good because I put a lot of time in studying and i missed time with my husband and children to do so, it upset me for someone to dismiss that. So after our 2nd test on Monday I will be telling NO ONE my grade. There was one girl who refused to tell and boy was she smart!

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 3, 2010

For the people who pushed for the exact grade, I found all of them got irritated with me or had a biting remark. Kind of infuriating. I don't feel that I should have to apologize for doing well OR have to deal with people pressing me about my grade in the first place.

Well then, don't give them the exact grade. Say you did well, and if they press you say you don't remember exactly what the grade was and leave it at that.

Or you can be direct and say that you'd rather not say anymore because classmates are giving you grief when they find out your grade.

ShantheRN, BSN, RN · Oct 3, 2010

I give a ballpark usually. If they press or it's someone I'm friendly with, I give the exact grade. For the people that like to hate on people that do well, I always give the exact grade and dare them to say something about it. I'm quite proud of my As and see no reason to downplay it so people (the ones that wanted to know in the first place) feel better about themselves. We just had our first test. A friend and I both got a 90. We gave each other a high five during test review. Sure enough.....someone behind us says "well gee I guess you two brainiacs aced it." My friend got upset. I simply smiled and said "I guess so" while shooting them an eye roll.

Maybe that's my competitive side coming out But I never gloat or make people feel bad about their grades. I mostly compete with myself. And hey, if my friends rock a test? I see nothing wrong with a little celebration. On the flip side, if I bomb a test I don't sugarcoat it.

CBsMommy · Oct 3, 2010

I give a ballpark usually. If they press or it's someone I'm friendly with, I give the exact grade. For the people that like to hate on people that do well, I always give the exact grade and dare them to say something about it. I'm quite proud of my As and see no reason to downplay it so people (the ones that wanted to know in the first place) feel better about themselves. We just had our first test. A friend and I both got a 90. We gave each other a high five during test review. Sure enough.....someone behind us says "well gee I guess you two brainiacs aced it." My friend got upset. I simply smiled and said "I guess so" while shooting them an eye roll.
Maybe that's my competitive side coming out But I never gloat or make people feel bad about their grades. I mostly compete with myself. And hey, if my friends rock a test? I see nothing wrong with a little celebration. On the flip side, if I bomb a test I don't sugarcoat it.

This is exactly how I do it. People kind of know by class participation who is getting the better grades. I happen to be one of those people that has a lot of the right answers when the instructors ask questions (sometimes I have the wrong answers too). I am known as the "teacher's pet" or the "know-it-all". I don't really care. Let them think anything they want. I am in nursing school to learn to the be the best nurse I can be. If other people want to dwell on their impressions of me, that's their problem. Personally, I don't even know 3/4 of the class' names let alone how they are doing on tests. This point of view hasn't won me any friends but hey, I have enough of those outside of school.

Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN · Oct 3, 2010

I usually just say, "I did well" or "I thought I would have gotten a better grade". I still see lots of competition among the younger students. There isn't as much competition among those of us who are bridging.

mspontiac · Oct 3, 2010

I've even had a couple of friends who have distanced themselves from me because of this. I work hard for the grades I have and I am proud of that fact, but I never say anything because the haters make people who do well into a target for ridicule. I swear, what is this, 5th grade?

I have a couple of good friends who I know will be happy for me when I get high scores that I will share exact grades with. We usually phrase it as "Did you do OK?" so as to avoid being rude asking exact scores, even though we always share our grade with each other. We discuss it with each other out of concern, not to be competitive.

There are a few select others who get pushy and I always share my score with them just to watch them fume. One of the students in my class works with my husband, and he goes so far as to ask my hubby what my grade was on tests. My husband has gotten to the point where he also enjoys telling the guy that I did well because the dude gets so annoyed.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Oct 3, 2010

I have been on both sides of the grades. I have got the F's ( Not U, I hate that ) and I have got the A's. I will tell people either way what I get. I dont care if people know. When they hear I did bad, it was followed by "well do you want to get together and study some together?" When I did good it was followed by "What did you do/Any advice on how to study". Sure everyone wants to do better than the person next to them, but we want to help each other out too

MissJulie · Oct 3, 2010

Sometimes I feel good enough with my grade to give the letter of it... Other times, I just go with "I could have done better," or maybe "I'm happy with mine." However, if you don't want to give any comment at all, just do what actors and musicians do when the heat is on, "No comment!"

:)

fleur-di-lis-RN2b · Oct 3, 2010

I don't tell anyone my grades now...after being accused of cheating by a competiting classmate with a lower grade for a place in the nursing program, to hell with that!!