Tests, Grades and the Whole Sha-bang, Again

I'm taking my first set of tests at B-school. Takes me back at least five years. Just that here, there is an entire support system provided by professors, tutors walking us through sample sets, other 2nd year students chipping in with tips and suggestions, colleagues uploading solutions or leaving them at the local photocopier, information being broadcast over instant messengers, everyone pulling and pushing everyone else to, somehow, write something respectable in that hour or 2 in the exam halls.

The competition is fierce, but it's a respite from the real world. It's a small contained system, the competition is internal, the competitors have recognisible faces and after the tests we all share lunch on the same table.

The grades make for more than just bragging rights. Line the students up. How do you pick and choose for your organization? Since no other parameter is quite as measurable and comparable across the board, just assume CGPA is an indication of how well someone will contribute to your organization, sort and pick your workforce. The Lords of today are I-Banking and Consulting. We are yours for the taking.

It's fun answering tests when they've lost the sanctity they once enjoyed back in school. The simile I've found fitting is: grades and degrees are like visas to enter highrises where, otherwise, the receptionist would have shooed you away. So, you got a visa to enter, what now? Did anyone tell you what to do once you've reached there? From my experience, it's all about who gets the corner office on the top floor with the river side view and the ex-"Miss So-and-so High School" secretary, first.