• Question: Did you get straight A's to become a scientist

    Asked by anon-354332 to Maike on 8 Mar 2023.
    • Photo: Maike Wilschnack

      Maike Wilschnack answered on 8 Mar 2023:

      Absolutely not. I always liked school, but my grades were a mix from A to C. More A’s and B’s in the last two years of school. And that stayed that way during my undergrad and master course.

Comments

  • Photo: Rebecca W

    Rebecca W commented on :

    In science/maths I was almost a straight A student (still annoyed at my B in A2 maths), but I was more of a B student for things like english and languages. For most uni science courses ABB at A level or AABBB for highers so you don’t always need straight A’s.

  • Photo: Nathalie

    Nathalie commented on :

    Whilst I got A, you do not need this to be become a scientist.

  • Photo: Arno

    Arno commented on :

    I went to school ages ago and in another country (Germany). We had to do over a dozen subjects and they all counted towards the final school grade. I was only good at 3 subjects, mediocre or outright crap at the rest (the latter included English as a foreign language BTW). We also had to choose 2 subjects that we studied more intensely and that counted most. Luckily for me, I liked Chemistry and Maths a lot and managed to get good grades, which helped my overall results.
    So, what I tell students: you don’t need to be smart in everything but try to excel where you can do well.

  • Photo: Martin

    Martin commented on :

    Not really… One of the best scientists I got to know during my career wasn’t a straight As student and only got a 2(i) degree. But he had the intelligence, skills and attitude to be a great scientist.

    I won’t say it doesn’t make life easier but sometimes getting straight As at school is just memory work. Being a scientist is not about memory work, it is about applying knowledge your understand. Many straight A student don’t make good scientists.

  • Photo: Thomas

    Thomas commented on :

    No, absolutely not.
    I got A in GCSE double Science, B in maths and English and history…. everything else was C.

  • Photo: Jo

    Jo commented on :

    Not at all, i got enough to go to university and worked at bringing my best self to study there. Exams are a means to an end in my opinion

  • Photo: Claire

    Claire commented on :

    I did typically get very high grades in chemistry and if I’m honest, that became my goal; to achieve higher and higher grades. However, doing well in exams is more about how much information you can consume in a short space of time and how confident you are in an examination environment. It is not a true measure of knowledge or intelligence. As the above answer states, its a means to an end, and its what you do after the exam that really defines your success.

  • Photo: Maryam

    Maryam commented on :

    No, you don’t need to get straight A’s. There are many routes to becoming a scientist, not just the traditional A’ level and degree route.

  • Photo: Clara

    Clara commented on :

    I often got high grades in chemistry, but definitely not in physics. Now I am a physical chemist, so I work with a lot of physics as well. But the physics concepts I work with now is very different than what I learned in school. If you are interested in science, there are alternative ways for a career as a scientist, even if you did not score straight A’s.

  • Photo: Ai-Lan

    Ai-Lan commented on :

    I did, but it’s not necessary. Getting good grades does help you get into your university of choice, but there are many excellent scientists who were not straight A students in school. I’ve certainly trained some excellent scientists who did not necessarily get straight As in school but did very well at university, where we are looking for more independent learning, critical thinking, problem solving, engagement and enthusiasm etc. rather than just rote learning. Many went on to obtain PhDs and become excellent scientists.