After graduating from a private high school in New York City, where many of my teachers had doctorate degrees and the majority (if not all) of my classmates had college-educated parents, I came to the University confident in my ability to succeed academically. Sure, it was hard to get used to large lecture classes and a more intense workload than I had in high school, and I definitely received some stomach-dropping grades, but I never felt unprepared to tackle these challenges. Surely, I am not the only one: Virginia public school education is one of the strongest in the country.
Although as a community many of us get caught up in (and sometimes consumed by) our extracurricular involvements, we all come to the University to earn a degree. Thomas Jefferson’s ideals of multidisciplinary academic immersion and a community of scholars remain constantly present even as many aspects of the University experience change. When it comes to the Lawn, the selection process fails to recognize not only the variety of academic experiences students have at the University, but also the many ways the value of these experiences can be measured. Going forward, we need to recognize the intricacies of these factors in order to create a Lawn community that is emblematic of the values that we want to put forth — and this starts with removing grade point averages from the Lawn application.
The first reason GPA should be removed from Lawn selection criteria is that it creates an idea of academic success that centers largely around grades and does not account for improvement or initial academic adjustment. Classes should be a priority, but one’s academic success or failures have little to do with one’s contribution to the community at large. Last year, the mean GPA for students selected to live on the Lawn was 3.766. The average GPA in selected students’ primary major was 3.832. Many Lawn residents achieve high grades, enroll in a distinguished major or honors program, and seem to do so effortlessly. These characteristics reflect larger University dynamics. Even in the humanities, grades are paramount to constructive academic struggle. Consulting internships take precedence over art portfolios or creative writing. There is nothing wrong with aiming to achieve a high GPA while at college, or with aspiring to join the financial or consulting fields as a profession. However, it is problematic that our institutions discourage the idea that pluralisms of success can exist. It is not the presence of students enrolled in honors programs which I find troubling, but rather the absence of other students.
“Self-concept” is a term in psychology that refers to how someone thinks about or perceives himself. Academic self-concept, therefore, is an understanding of oneself within an academic context: this includes one’s ability to perform academically based on previous education, family background, geographic location, nationality, race and ethnicity. To separate academic success from identity is to overlook systematic limitations that may impede the academic success of minority and low-income students, many of which relate to self-concept. If GPA remains one of the criteria for Lawn residency, we are complacently giving an advantage to those of us who came to the University with a confidence that stems only from privilege.
My goal in writing this is in no way to disparage the value of a group of individuals who have certainly contributed greatly to the University, and have devoted themselves to this place. Rather, my goal is to provoke some thought as to how we can change the process so students who have done the same, but may have faced mitigating factors or employed untraditional methods, can also be recognized.
The Lawn application website states, “It is expected that this group of students will work for the furtherance of the ideals and traditions of the University and will strive to build an inclusive and vibrant community while residing on the Lawn.” We should take time to think about what these ideals and traditions should be going forward and reevaluate whether the selection process reflects them.
The reason so many conversations about the Lawn end in frustration is that it is problematic to boil applicants and residents down to one or even a few factors. Ideals and traditions are important, but it is equally important to think about how we can reconceptualize our values of success to account for the diversity of experiences and backgrounds at the University. Creating a community of high achievers and placing them at the center of the University community is certainly a unique practice carried out at the University. It is also an opportunity to reshape how we define success.
Mary Russo is a Senior Associate Editor for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at m.russo@cavalierdaily.com.
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