Tufts Blogs

When I first arrived at Tufts, I wasn’t scared of the academic challenges yet to come. I was excited to start this new chapter of my life. Besides, I had done well in high school, so why worry? The worries only set in after my first-semester grades came out, and did not reflect the student I thought I was.

I had studied under a British curriculum my whole life, where depth is prioritized over range. You specialize early, master a narrow set of subjects, and are measured by a very different grading philosophy. Moving into the U.S. education system felt like a culture shock in academic form. Suddenly, there were final exams that didn’t look like anything I’d seen before, and an unspoken expectation that you’d juggle exploration with performance. Adjusting to all of that at once was stressful, disorienting, and honestly discouraging for me, especially as someone who had always considered herself academically apt.

Naturally, I responded the way many students do: I locked in on my GPA. I told myself that grades mattered, especially since I planned to pursue a master’s degree shortly after graduating. So when it came time to register for classes, I played it safe. I chose courses that fit neatly into my strengths, classes I was fairly confident I would excel in. And it worked, at least on paper.

However, when I got my next GPA, and it was exactly what I had wanted, something felt off. I wasn’t struggling, but I also wasn’t growing. I wasn’t learning anything new, uncomfortable, or surprising. I wasn’t being challenged in the way that I had secretly yearned for college to challenge me. It was then that I realized that I had turned college into a strategic game as opposed to an intellectual experience. This realization forced me to pause and ask a hard but obvious question: What was I actually here for?

Of course, maintaining a solid GPA is important, but this was also the only window in my life where I could truly push my academic boundaries with professional consequences less dire than what could come from pursuing such exploration at a later stage. This was my chance to explore ideas simply because they interested me, to take risks in the classroom, and to stretch my thinking in directions I didn’t even know existed yet. If I didn’t do that now, I knew I would regret it. That is why I leaned fully into what makes Tufts and the greater American liberal arts system so unique. I stopped optimizing for my pre-existing skills and started choosing courses that genuinely intrigued me, even if they intimidated me a little. Eventually, that led me to double major in International Relations and Psychology, two fields that speak to my belief in interdisciplinary learning. Were all the classes I took aligned with my strengths? Definitely not. Do I have a perfect GPA? Absolutely not. It could higher, but it reflects something real. It reflects challenge, curiosity, and growth. Most importantly, it reflects intention.

As I prepare to graduate, I can say with confidence that I explored every corner of the academics that Tufts had to offer. I took advantage of the freedom to question, to connect disciplines, and to learn beyond what felt comfortable. I’m not just leaving with a transcript, I’m leaving with perspective. So to those worried about grades or adjusting to a new system, give yourself grace, but don’t let fear shrink your curiosity. Tufts is a place that rewards intellectual bravery, and your GPA matters, but so does who you become in the process of earning it.