Academic success can be defined in several different ways, as everyone’s post-secondary experience varies. At the Gauntlet, we want to remind you that whatever your version of academic success is, it’s valid and accepted. Here’s what academic success means to us.
SOPHIA: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
While grades are important, it’s more about learning something that you can later apply in the future – memorizing only gets you so far.
JULIEANNE: NEWS EDITOR
Being proud of what I’ve accomplished because I know I understood what I learnt and having that progress reflect in my final grade.
EULA: NEWS EDITOR
Immersing myself in the study material and critically engaging with the content instead of just passively absorbing facts.
SHEROOG: ARTS & SCIENCE EDITOR
Sitting in class and actually absorbing what is being taught instead of worrying about a letter grade.
RODRIGO: SPORTS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Maintaining a good GPA while making sure I can comprehend and utilize the knowledge in a way that furthers my understanding of my major.
AVA: OPINIONS & HUMOUR EDITOR
Depending on what goals you set for yourself and what system you use to assess your achievements, I think feeling like you’re improving in comparison to your past self is always a valuable way of measuring academic success.
AYMEN: VOICES EDITOR
Setting myself up for success by planning everything out at the beginning of the semester so dates don’t overlap and I don’t find myself swamped when it’s too little and too late to save my grade.
MEGAN: VISUALS EDITOR
Back in high school I’d consider academic success as 85 per cent and up. Today, I consider it more of a personal feeling of understanding and growth within a certain subject — although good grades help, too.
VALERY: VISUALS EDITOR
Ensuring that what I’ve learnt is applicable in my field through connections and experiences, not just memorization and sustaining a GPA.
AMANDA: CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
It means being passionate about what you are learning, and being able to apply it to the holistic sense of your life. Everyday is a chance to learn.
VIPASHA: MANAGING EDITOR
Taking what you learned in class and contributing it to conversations with others.
NAMRATHA: VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
At the beginning of my degree, academic success was defined by GPA-focused status competitions and trying to pull as many all-nighters as possible. Thankfully, none of the above worked and now I’ve found the most success in simply fostering my curiosity.
RAMIRO: LAYOUT EDITOR
Knowing what the material means, how to apply it and learning from failures — you can’t just memorize. You need to be able to solve problems on your own, but also know when to ask for help.
This article is part of our Opinions section.
