It really is a talent – getting through college without ever picking up a textbook. Have you ever wondered how students do it?
It’s quite simple, actually. When registration time rolls around at the end of each semester, people seek classes that are considered “easy A’s.” Students will justify this by arguing that requirements are requirements; who wants to do them anyways, right?
Inevitably, around registration time you may notice that people update their Gchat and Facebook statuses with questions like: “Anyone ever take Professor X for subject Y? EASY??!” Responses will range from: “OMG easiest!” to “Really hard midterm and final, gives everyone a B even if you deserve an A.”
Before you know it, you will be asking yourself the very same question before registration: “Is this class going to give me an easy A?”
We have become so used to the notion of “easy As” here at Stern and Yeshiva College, that our expensive and real education is at stake. Many of us are on a mission to get in and get out of college—some of us are hoping to start our careers or graduate school upon finishing our undergraduate education. Unfortunately, this causes education (and actually learning something) to remain on the back-burner. This is because students (yeah, you!) prefer to take classes that are “easy A’s” in order to impress with grades. Who wouldn’t love to have a 3.94 GPA?
Says Stern Alumnus: “This is not specific to stern, undergrad is a stepping stone for grad school, there is a race to the top, your transcript and GPA matter for graduate school and that is it. This is a bigger issue and I think we need to consider what education is all about. Does our society pride ourselves on knowledge and education or about numbers and credentials?”
Micha Hershkop, YC Alumnus, sheds light on the issue of getting in and getting out: “[The] majority of students aren’t really interested in learning, or at least don’t think they are. They are too busy trying to get the A’s, and hopefully not work[ing] too hard for them – either because they want to be competitive in the job market and grad school applications or because their college experience isn’t necessarily about their academic growth”
As someone who has always taken a full course load—7 classes with labs—I can honestly relate to those individuals who just need a break. Sometimes our schedules are so stuffed and difficult, we just need to indulge ourselves in one (or more) easy A courses.
Hershkop says, “Some people just want to enjoy what college and NY have to offer without working too hard.”
But, in retrospect, having just begun my senior year, I still love my challenging classes much more than my easy ones…sure it may have been way more difficult to get a good grade, but when push comes to shove, I actually learned something!
Hershkop agrees and explains that “the sad reality is, my college experience, like most people’s, is balancing interests vs. grades [and] most of the classes I took didn’t fit neatly into one of those categories.”
An anonymous Einstein Medical School student and Stern Alumnus explains that she took classes she “was interested in.” She continues, saying that “my favorite classes were the ones where I put the most effort in and saw it pay off. I felt accomplished and rewarded.”
Says an anonymous, female first time on campus student: “I thought that when I came to college I would be challenged and busy all the time, with no time for anything else but work really…I was totally wrong. I am actually more free than I was in 11th grade. Back then I was taking AP Gov, was on Model UN and the basketball team. I am basically free every single night now. It’s crazy.”
When asked why she believes she is so free: “I actually don’t know how this happened. I’m taking a full course load…but I guess when asking my friends for advice on which teachers to take they recommended easy ones. I looked into the teacher’s grading style. It’s usually easier if there aren’t many tests or papers but it comes down to how hard the teacher grades.
The issue of an “easy A” is even more complex because sometimes, as explained by Mushky Pinson, Super Senior at Stern College, it just isn’t fair. “I have a love/hate relationship with the term ‘easy A.’ It often happens that two students who graduate Stern can have very different GPA’s due to the fact that one student knew how to play the “easy A” game and one just took classes that interested her.”
Should students learn how to play the game? If it is easy to get an A do you even want it? So ask yourself the question, are you one of those people who’d rather have a smooth sail through college or be someone who makes the most of your $50,000 worth of education and actually learn about subjects that interest you?