# Nobody ever hears about the 'C' students in college **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688 "2003-10-31T17:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688/21 "2003-11-01T00:10:50Z")
First, grades don’t translate across universities very well. Some schools are a lot easier. Some classes or majors are easier. Someone that works 30 hours a week and pull "C"s is usually a far better hire in the work force than a straight A student. If I hadn’t worked more or less full time at University, my grades would have been higher. Actually I gave up on grades when I started taking Chinese. Nothing like working your ass off on a language, when a) not a language whizz b) class was full of students that already spoke at least basic Chinese and c) class was graded on a curve. You know what, not one person in my entire life has ever looked at the grades I pulled in Chinese. I have never ever given any stock to the grades anyone I’ve ever hired has made in Chinese. The thing that mattered was how well I spoke Chinese. Grad school didn’t give a shit, they tested my ability rather than looked at my grades. In the work world, it was only how well I could make things work and use Chinese as a tool to get there. I hope that you step back a little bit and realize that you’re learning something of value for the rest of your life. It’s too late to save your GPA - accept that and concentrate on learning. If you love a subject, you’ll probably do surprisingly well in it. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688/22 "2003-11-01T01:24:49Z")
_waves hand_ 2.57 GPA checkin’ in. My college career was a lot like **bughunter** ’s–failed a few classes, got one or two D’s, mostly B’s and C’s really excelled in a few classes, pulling easy A’s where the subject matter truly engaged me. I was working anywhere between 35-70 hours in a given week (yes, seventy–that was mostly during my freshman year) to pay my bills, I qualifed for exactly zero financial aid. I’m another “high school was so easy I practically slept through the whole thing and still pulled straight A’s” sort of kid, so was a little unprepared for the difference in workload, but mostly it was the constant working, I rarely had the time or energy to do any reading, which is where I fell behind in most classes. I’ll let ya know if it’s a hinderance in a couple years–right now I’m just trying to find _any_ job, much less one that relates to my degree. ~mixie ---
**Author:** ![ABBAJen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@ABBAJen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ABBAJen)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688/23 "2003-11-01T02:55:02Z")
What is a junior college? Please explain? If it’s a community college, saying that they are easier than private institutions is BS. I went to Carlow (Pittsburgh private women’s college) for a while, fucked up cause I drunk and stayed up till 4 am constantly, and was fighting depression. I am now at CCAC - a community college. It is WAY HARDER. I even have an easier major (Education vs. Pre-vet). I’m working my ass off now, and getting A’s, but I totally deserve them. But it is a lot more work, and studying than Carlow ever required of me. So, yeah… ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688/24 "2003-11-01T03:02:03Z")
I had a 2.3 in high school and a 2.4 in collage, or was it the other way around… I can never remember. I never had any trouble getting work because of it. I had trouble getting into grad school. I ended up taking grad level classes to prove I could maintain a 3.0 average (which I did) and did a lot of volunteer work. After 3 or 4 years, I gave up on grad school, but never did have trouble getting work. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688/25 "2003-11-01T04:42:27Z")
Wow, I’m amazed at all the supportive comments. I guess I’ve spent too much time convinced that good grades always equate to a good job, though I am learning very quickly that nothing is guaranteed no matter how talented/smart you may be. I noticed that some posters worked while they went to school. and that may have had a factor on their grades. This is interesting, because I myself work 25 hours a week, 7 days a week, and take private piano lessons. I’ve often thought about how much better I could potentially do if I didn’t have work. But unfortunately, my jobs are very closely tied to the rest of my life, and I can’t really give them up now. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688/26 "2003-11-01T06:12:17Z")
My stress levels eased considerably once it sunk in that the people stressing to stay at 4.0 and I would get the same B.A. From what I know of HR types, graduating is the only thing they care about, though they may ask if it’s your first job ever. As to work, I’ve worked and not-worked and the semesters I’ve not-worked have been my best grades-wise and the ones I’ve enjoyed the most. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688/27 "2003-11-01T06:55:55Z")
**Incubus** , let me share one thing with you. My dad was a civil engineering professor for 30 years. He always said "give me that solid … C student’. Not the flash-in-the pan “a”. Not the drag-in-from-behind “D”. The folks who tried to learn, and were sometimes confused by theory, but by Og got up and tried it again. Take your “C”, and be _proud_ of it. 'cause you’re humble, and you’ll be more apt to learn in the real world. \ ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688/28 "2003-11-01T08:10:05Z")
Fred Smith (of Fedex fame) proposed the idea of small package distribution from a centralized hub in a class paper. He made a C. He seems to have done ok. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-ever-hears-about-the-c-students-in-college/210688.md?page=1)