Snowing, I sincerly regret that I had to work over 40 hours a week thoughout college. Most weeks, I worked over 50 hours. Our education system is not set up for ADULTS whose parents will not assist or support them in college. I got up before most college students even consider waking, yes, even those with 4.0's, to deliver newspapers. I then attended classes, TA'd, and tutored, followed by the evening shift as a CNA for terminally ill patients. I generally arrived back home after 1am, went to bed, got back up, and did it all again. On weekends, after delivering papers, I went to the factory to work a 12 hour shift as a welder, both Saturday and Sunday. I was the only female on the floor. I took a heck of a lot of crap to pay for college because my parents said 'we supported ourselves from 16 on....so if you want to go to college, good luck to you, but we consider it a waste of time.' To pay for room and board, I also served as an RA. I was fortunate to attend an awesome undergrad, but the reality is, I didn't have time to study enough to bring in anything better than the 3.4 I earned. I have since attended a state school to take biochem and genetics along with other courses, and I can say that in all honesty, those upper level courses were not as demanding as my undergrad lower levels.
You can claim the educational system isn't broken, but if that were the case, from birth on we would all receive the same opportunities and the same necessities. No one would sit in classes in school hungry because there isn't money for food. All students would be able to attend the college they get into without struggling to pay for it, and if thier parents won't help, that would be taken into consideration, and aid would be provided.
If my ability to juggle insane work hours, difficult work that most people are not able to perform, along with a demanding course schedule including honors research and graduating magna cum laude (top 3% of my graduating class) doesn't compare to students who proved themselves through straight academics with minimal external demands, then there IS something wrong with the methodology. Especially since I am in an economic position where I can attend vet school without loans and without working. I wonder if that might actually improve my academic ability?
I despise when people suggest that the system is correct that GPA is the ultimate indicator of success or ability. I know there are others out there that have had to balance as much as I have...but I also know far more haven't. I would challenge any of those individuals who value GPA as meaning more than the juggling of full time work and education to live the 4 years as I did and obtain a higher GPA at as rigorous of a school.
Lol.
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