C Student

[ddrobinett]

I was definitely the smartest in my class in high school. Brains wasn’t the problem–I just really didn’t care. Grades weren’t important to me. I was a pretty consistent C student–in high school. My first semester in college, I had a .75 GPA. Not 2.75, not 1.75–0.75. Drinking and womanizing were more important than studying. So after the second semester (which wasn’t going any better than the first), I dropped out and spent five years in the military. Now I have two bachelor’s degrees, a Master’s degree, a CPA license, and currently taking Level 3. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t have a “moment of clarity” or anything. I guess I found something that interested me and I gained a little maturity. (And I don’t think it was the military, either.) However, I can attest to having a Master’s in Finance, passed the CPA exam, and being a CFA Candidate (Level 1 at the time), yet I got denied a job that was offered to…a person I was tutoring only a semester ago. I realize the student can become the master–but not after one semester.

[ddrobinett]

@Palantir

No! Nor is it supposed to. Frankly just move on and focus on your next goal rather than worrying about whether something will make up for past failures.

I disagree with this. A person should be able to escape their past mistakes. So if I passed the CPA exams and the CFA exams at age 30 and 33, respectively, do these not make up for my 0.75 when I was 18?

[PalacioHill]

Agreed! It should be more about how you have continued to better yourself, not about how you did in bull s$% undergrad. Undergrad was a complete joke. People who hold on to how well you did in undergrad are like the same people that still talk about their SATs.

[pokhim]

@maisatomai

In university, I always looked up to people who cleared level 1. I keep thinking how great they are.

When I pass level 1, I looked up to people who cleared level 2. I imagined to myself they are one of the most intellegent lot.

When I pass level 2, I looked up to people who cleared level 3. I told myself they must be genius to be one of the 8% who completed the program.

When I cleared level 3, I looked back and started to tell people CFA was not that hard afterall. In fact it is easy.

Love this!!

[pokhim]

I did poorley in highschool, however managed to get into a pretty decent uni after taking a foundation year. Got my BEng in Mech…2.2 and then got onto a Grad Scheme with a v.large bank in the City of London. I studied for nearly 350hrs for my L1! If I put that much work into my undergrad or BEng, I would have done so much better! That said, I’ve learnt from my mistakes, I’ve seen where I can improve my life, how I can better myself and i’m striving for that goal. This is a personal challenge about motivation, people looking at my business card and thinking ‘hey, this guy must be pretty smart’,