From my experience, school really comes down to work ethic. I’ve told people this, and they have disagreed with me.
I told my dad(who is a dentist) this, and he disagreed with me, but I feel like he just did it to make himself feel smarter
than everyone else. Any thoughts?
Some people can work their hardest and still get B’s or C’s. On the other hand, those who rely on their intelligence alone may be able to get into college, but won’t last long when their lack of study skills ends up biting them in the back.
It also depends on the college. An Ivy League for example requires hard-work and intelligence, and if you lack in one area its unlikely the other will carry you alone.
I agree somewhat! Your work ethic will help you to complete the requirements, but you also have to have an innate ability to capture the unique or creative fundamentals that you hope to have in your career.
I’m sure there have been plenty of people who are not very smart who have gotten a degree in something. Work ethic and intelligence are both important however, and I would argue that intelligence is more important. I think it is easier to get by on sheer work ethic in high school than college, especially in a demanding major.
Not all college degrees are created equal.
Some degrees require both smarts & hard work. And some require neither:
I disagree, I believe work ethic is the most important. As a college student I know several people that were placed in “average” classes in high school, but are incredibly hard workers. Now in college they are doing incredibly well and are currently acing their classes, even getting straight 4.0s each semester they have been there. Other students that I know who were more academically gifted but didn’t put in the effort are now must put in double the effort to get their grades back up after a bad few semesters. This is partially true because unlike high school, you are studying what you are passionate about and sometimes intelligence alone is not enough to make sure you do well
Perhaps it is different in high school, but in college at least, I found that the people who work hard are more likely to do well. Professors are more likely to favor the student who works hard, goes to office hours, and does their best rather than the student who never shows up and they barely know. For some students, college is the first time they are challenged and they realized they haven’t developed proper study skills or time management, which is why some students do poorly. In the end whether it is school or your job, hard work pays off
I would much rather hire an average-grade-scoring hard worker than someone who gets high grades with little effort. However, even to achieve as a hard worker there has to be some innate ability. If you’re not good at math, you may work until you drop and yet never succeed as an engineering major. Same thing if lack ability to understand foreign languages, dance, history, economics, the list goes on and on. I hate to see kids whose parents have tried to force them into a major for which they are not suited. They work as hard as they can, but often are neither successful nor happy.
A strong work ethic will take you far in life, but you won’t succeed if you try your hardest and still can’t do the work. The best combination is finding your strengths and working hard to develop them to the best of your ability.
depends on the degree
Define “smart.”
Well, roughly 1/3 of Americans over 25 have a college degree, but I’m sure that some portion of the other 2/3 is “smart” enough to get a college degree but didn’t for whatever reason. Would you consider being in the top half of the population “smart”?