<p>Tarhunt, I took offense only at this-
“If your son didn’t get the grades he wanted, perhaps it’s because he didn’t earn them?” Sorry for being overly sensitive.
As I said before, he is working very hard, as he always has, to earn good grades, which ARE important to him. I think he would be happy with B’s, but he says he thinks he will only have a C in Chem. Should grades be as important? Good question. His plans are to go to graduate school. And he has read everywhere that a high GPA is critical to getting into top graduate programs, which is what he hopes to do. As for the other questions asked by Corranged, which are also good questions- "He should look at his study skills and time management skills. Does he study while talking on AIM? Should he work in the library instead of in his room? Should he set time limits for himself for his work? Should he skim some readings in order to spend more time with others? Does he take advantage of office hours, tutors, and TAs? "- I don’t have the answers because I don’t know. No, I don’t think he “deserves” A’s. I have no idea what his classes are like or what is expected. Nor do I know what the quality of his work this year is like. Maybe the contrast between the U he was at and Chicago is so great that he is not doing as well at Chicago because he got used to lower standards or expectations that what Chicago expects and requires. Maybe he just got really tough professors. I wish I knew. He has decided that Chicago and he are not a good match , which is a real surprise and disappointment to both him and myself, because the counselors at his HS thought Chicago was the right fit for him, and because, if he were to die tomorrow, [ God forbid] the words “He loved to learn” would be an appropriate thing to carve on his tombstone. But despite this, he says does not think he made a mistake transfering there. He wouldn’t have found out what Chicago is like if he hadn’t come.</p>