Do not settle for less

By Joshua Corcuera

While scrolling through my feed in social media, I saw a meme implying that a college graduate with Latin honors (e.g. cum laude, etc.) and an ordinary college graduate would end up having the same salary once they enter the workforce. There is something worrying in this mindset.

First off, I am of the impression that the meme conveys that, when it comes to real life, there is no difference between an academic achiever and an ordinary person; that efforts, extra hardwork, and enormous commitment by achievers meant nothing at all. That diskarte is what one person merely needs to be successful in life, and both academic success and intelligence are frivolous.

I beg to disagree with this idea because in reality, one’s academic success enables him or her to gain opportunities to get ahead of most people. Of course, it does not automatically mean that achievers would be successful in life, but it cannot be denied as well that academic achievers, generally speaking, end up more successful, in terms of wealth and position at least, than those who are not.

For instance, if you compare a consistent honor student in high school against an average colleague of that honor student, it is reasonable to believe that the more intelligent one would receive numerous scholarship offers to enter universities, including more prominent institutions that produce notable alumni.

Consequently, it is much more likely for the honor student to continue pursuing collegiate studies, while the average student could only make it to higher education if his or her family can afford the tuition and other necessary expenses in college which, candidly speaking, is rising to the roof in recent years. Meanwhile, others try to get into university by being a working student which is physically difficult and mentally draining.

Henceforth, that achiever in high school has a huge advantage to obtain a degree against ordinary students in the same level. Of course, there are many ordinary students who managed to reach and graduate from college as well, to be fair. But as illustrated earlier, simple students tend to sacrifice too much, financially, physically, and mentally.

On the other hand, academic scholars, since they are achievers, do not have to worry financially nor do they need to become working students, provided they maintain their scholarships. The only thing they generally have to think of is to maintain their grades in connection with the conditions of their scholarship.

The point, altogether, is that one should not merely rely on diskarte to be successful in life. Sure, it is essential to get things done and to survive in our everyday lives, but intellect and academic success are very helpful as well. Moreover, intellectuals are necessary for the world to progress further beyond. Without academicians, we would lack scientists, engineers, lawyers, doctors, and many more professions that make life easy and worth living for everyone.

So next time someone tells you that a college graduate with honors compared to an ordinary college graduate is just the same, or that a high school graduate with diskarte is much better than college graduates, remember that academic success translates to more opportunities to go further in life. Never settle for less, especially when you are capable of performing well academically.