<p>You will find students that laugh and move on after getting a “bad grade” – don’t worry, be happy!</p>
<p>I am like you. I am a perfectionist at its purest form. I compete to get the best grades, and among my AP classes there are people who just float on by, not caring if they pass or not, and it bothers the ***k out of me, even worse, we have a Math Prodigy in our school, who was already admitted to MIT through scouting (it was weird) and he is freaking lazy as hell. But he understands what he loves to do even without attending class and reads the text book like child’s play. Everyone knows math textbooks are enormously dense to comprehend.</p>
<p>I also get disappointed when I receive A-s. It’s a huge disappoint because its just [that much closer] to getting an A. </p>
<p>But through my first three years of HS, I was a so-so loner. I hung out at the library or at the teacher’s classroom seeking more helping and understanding, getting to know the subject better to ace it.</p>
<p>I have received a couple of Bs in my HS career, and I have been depressed more or so over them when I received, once almost committing suicide (it was that bad :P.) But i realized that it was just a grade, even if I had tried to fix it, it didn’t help. And eventually the mentality of getting straight As lessened.</p>
<p>Of course I still get disappointed when I receive anything under an A, but I get over it because I understand that in college, getting As is even more difficult than HS and accepting lower grades is what I have to get into the habit. Knowing you tried your best to do well in a subject and getting the “good grade” even if it wasn’t an A is extremely satisfying now.</p>
<p>As for social life, I have that same problem too. But it’s getting better now. I have a couple of friends with the same mentality, but since they aren’t as strict as I am, I’ve loosened up because of them (thanks guys ^_^).</p>
<p>So all in all, this mentality will break down and you will come to understand that grades are not everything in college as well. Not having fun, not socializing, and only caring about getting As are a signal for just suicide really.</p>
<p>The stress level is going to be extremely high in college, but having fun and relaxing is what makes the college experience so fun. Don’t get caught up in grades like in HS, relax, and try to loosen up, I had, and IT FEELS WONDERFUL!!!</p>
<p>Seriously relaxing actually, imo, makes me feel a lot smarter 
and it’s easier to studying without stressing over if I understand everything, and focus on if I understand what I’m suppose to be understanding :).</p>
<p>Well, there is some grade competitiveness though most people aren’t really grade competitive. Some of my MCB and pre-Haas friends tell me that their majors can be competitive. </p>
<p>I remember distinctly that one of my MCB friends told me “I’m so glad you’re not an MCB too!” after I introduced myself and told her my major the first time she met. Other MCB friends of mine have told me that they don’t particularly like meeting other MCBs sometimes because they feel like that other person is a rival. The reason is because the curves for MCB classes is particularly harsh so only a certain percentage of people get As in a particular class. Also, most MCBs are pre-med so they want the best grades they can possibly get.</p>
<p>For pre-Haas people, classes are also curved rather harshly so only a certain number of people get As. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to say that everyone in these majors is competitive, but rather I’m trying to point out that there are individuals (quite possibly a large number) who feel that they need to be competitive. </p>
<p>In high school, we all played a game which I like to call the “Higher, Faster” game where we all tried to take the most hard classes possible as quickly as possible with as little effort as possible to show what smart people we are. The focus of this game is getting good grades in hard classes. People in college (sooner or later) stop playing that game if they swant to survive. Learning the material becomes as important if not more important than the grade itself. Exam questions aren’t going to be about things you can memorize in a book but about how well you internalized the material and can now apply it to the given problem.</p>