It's midterm season, and students all over campus are getting increasingly stressed out. This is my least favorite aspect of college. No, not because I hate taking exams and writing papers, but because I can't stand academic competition. While I understand that competition is an important motivator to many students, I believe that our mental wellness would be significantly improved if we did not constantly compare ourselves to one another.
How many times have you talked to a friend and compared your work loads? Does it look something like this:
Friend: I have so much work to do! I have two papers to write this week!
You: Oh yeah, that sucks. Well, I have a paper, two exams, and a bunch of reading.
This compelling need to compete work loads is completely unnecessary. I am guilty of it too, I'm not denying it, but I think we all need to be more cognizant of what we are saying and how it affects others. It is especially destructive when we compete with people outside of our own majors. How can we compare work loads across departments? It's like comparing apples and oranges.
This constant need to validate our own stressors is invalidating the stress of many other students. If I open up and say that I'm stressed about an exam, having another person tell me that they don't understand my stress because they have much more work isn't beneficial to either party involved. People are allowed to be stressed about whatever they want to be stressed about. There is absolutely no need to voice out loud that you do not understand another student's stress. Their stress should not affect you in any way, shape, or form.
Relatively recently, medical schools across the nation have done away with a grading system all together in order to better the mental wellbeing of students and to eliminate the competitive nature of academics. When the University of Virginia, Mayo Medical School, and Saint Louis University changed to pass-fail as part of a curricular reform, students had lower levels of moderate or severe depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and stress. In addition, researchers even saw greater group cohesion among students.
I learned about this pass/fail system while I was taking part in the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), which is now called SHPEP. The TAs in this program were current medical or dental students, and they described the benefits of the pass fail system. I learned that this grading method, in addition to lowering academic stress, also lead to an increase in students helping other students, as seen in the previously mentioned studies.
Right now, this academic competition I am writing about stems from a student wanting to be the "best student". The "best student" has a lot of work (perhaps the most work), but is self-sufficient and always receives good grades. With professors stating that they are unable to give everyone As, the fight for the A becomes vicious. Students stop helping students in their classes in hopes of beating out the other student for the higher grades. The competition is so fierce that students lose sight of the benefits of group studying.
Studies have shown that group studying, however, does lead to many benefits. These include faster learning, the development of new study skills, and the gain of new perspectives. In addition, group studying can even be used as a procrastination solution, as having a set time to study with people holds students accountable for getting their work done in a timely fashion. It is important to remember that in helping other students, you are also helping yourself. There is no need to try to cause other students to fail just so you can succeed.
In conclusion, I believe that academic competition is a toxic behavior. In a time where everyone is already stressed out about their futures, adding additional stressors through competition leads to increased levels of depression and anxiety. By eliminating this competition both inside and outside of our majors, we will likely improve own own mood and the moods of other students. So next time someone complains to you about their stress, do not bring up your own workload in response. Instead ask them if there is any way you can help, and if they are indeed in one of your classes, offer to study with them. We need to facilitate a healthier and happier environment in order to truly prosper.
