Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
– George Carlin
At Metropolis Med, we have a pass/fail testing system with no curve. At our interviews, we were told this allowed students to be in a multitude of clubs and take on outside leadership roles while pursuing diverse interests – and while this was all completely true, I’m also thinking that the policy favorably influences that all-important US News & World Reports variable, number of hit-contracts out on other students.
It’s true, our class sends out study guides by e-mail and helps everyone out. But at the same time, there’s this weird undercurrent of uncertainty about everyone else’s study habits, and I just can’t imagine how much worse it could be if we had class rank. Student A is in the anatomy lab on a Friday night? Gunner. Student B took Saturday off to visit his girlfriend? Won’t make it. But I mean, hey, maybe A took Saturday off, and maybe B was in the anatomy lab Friday night as well. Everyone has their own study patterns.
(I’ve already gotten ribbed about my study patterns, but I feel that’s understandable since it involves using multiple! bright! highlighters! in lecture. Whatever, those highlighters are amazing. AMAZING.)
Anyway, it seems that we’re all tempted to decide that anyone who studies more than you do is a maniac, and anyone who studies less is a slacker. I asked Boyfriend if it was worse at Midwestern Med, but he said people who don’t study much and still stay in are admired, since everyone figures they must just naturally be smarter.
That makes much more sense to me. But what do you guys think – after a couple of tests, when people realize that their study methods are fine and other people’s likely are as well, the studying anxiety will die down, right?
Action Potential 