Are (or were) your parents strict on your grades?

[Prairie Purrs]

Originally posted by Cataholic
That you got a job BECAUSE of where you went to school is somewhat appalling to me. I fight against that sort of typecasting...it reminds me of the caste system...you are something because of 'who' you are. That stinks, in my opinion.

Caste system? Please! I was applying for a job as a radio newscaster, and the school I was attending was the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

The station manager was aware that it's not easy to get into Medill, nor is it easy to stay there. He made the rash assumption that if my skills were good enough for Medill, they were good enough for his radio station. And I proved him right.

There's a big difference between coasting along on famous-name coattails and earning your way into a prestigious school. My parents could barely afford to send me to college, but I got there on grades and scholarships. So yes, I suppose I've made my way in the world based on "who" I am--an intelligent and hard-working person. I'm sorry if you have a problem with that.

As you know, many law firms only interview the top one-third or one-quarter of a given law school class, ranked according to their grades. So if a law graduate wants to start out working for a big-name firm (with the big-time money), he or she had better get the grades. Sure, there are other ways to end up working for that firm--but the top-ranked students are going to get a head start.

Good grades are not a bad thing. I would never discourage someone who is capable of making top grades from striving to do so, because it's easier to get into good schools and to get a good job upon graduation if your grades are high than if they're mediocre. Why would anyone want to make breaking into the job market even more difficult than it already is?