Why Grades Are a Scam (and What to Focus on Instead)

Let's face it: Grades are pretty much useless.

I've spent hours studying for exams I haven't quite done well on, and I've also aced exams without studying at all.

Sometimes, I've even got questions right by guessing the answer.

So yeah — grades are kinda broken. Here’s why, and what actually matters more. Why grades don't even work

Let's get started with memorization: One of the most useless things I've ever done. I've often crammed so much information the night before a test and absolutely aced it. The truth is, I couldn't even recall a single term a week later.

The next thing we have is anxiety or pressure before the exam. I've seen people way smarter than I am, that have failed exams due to pressure. I've seen my classmates ace topics before the exams but still answer them wrong during the exam. Grades just measure the academic intelligence of a person, but not really the creative intelligence. A person may do exceptionally well in exams, but that doesn't quite mean they can do well in creative thinking. You might just ace all your exams but just suck at coming up with your own ideas. But schools really care about that for some reason.

So… What Actually Matters?

If grades really don't matter, and they're pretty much useless, what's the real deal? What should we actually care about? You need to focus on actually creating something new, not just cramming loads of unnecessary info. The golden factor here is keeping yourself occupied. Build that website you've been wanting to do for months. Learn weird things out of the syllabus, just by your interest.

Your future is not defined by your grades. Your future is defined by your creativity. That's what top colleges look for too.

What do you think? Are grades overrated — or do they still matter sometimes? Let me know at my email.