While I wholeheartedly agree with Preeti Chemiti ’23 that mental health resources are a necessity (On the Campus, September issue), I fear that a good portion of current students’ stress is related to the pressure of grades. One of my most striking moments at Princeton was about two weeks after starting in 1971 when I found that for just about everyone I knew, the whole high school push to earn the highest possible grades had sloughed off and been replaced by the wonder of learning and doing new and exciting things. We couldn’t wait to share this excitement. And this was an era in which only about 30% of grades were A’s. I fervently hope this defining Princeton experience has not been lost forever.
While I wholeheartedly agree with Preeti Chemiti ’23 that mental health resources are a necessity (On the Campus, September issue), I fear that a good portion of current students’ stress is related to the pressure of grades. One of my most striking moments at Princeton was about two weeks after starting in 1971 when I found that for just about everyone I knew, the whole high school push to earn the highest possible grades had sloughed off and been replaced by the wonder of learning and doing new and exciting things. We couldn’t wait to share this excitement. And this was an era in which only about 30% of grades were A’s. I fervently hope this defining Princeton experience has not been lost forever.