Thread was tl;dr (read OP tho) so if anyone else has said this, oh well. I can't say for you, but for me personally I prioritize social life above grades. I've never really studied and usually do papers late at night after I get back from drinking and usually do pretty well (3.6 high school GPA, 2000 on the SAT, 4 AP courses | 3.1 first semester of university (goddamn art class)) but obviously not everyone does. Personally I would rather do relatively poorly than be stressed out about being perfect, it's liberating to be carefree and alive.