Was I overambitious? Getting high marks in a social science degree (Philosophy)

hey! philosophy graduate here - i completely agree with the sentiment that getting a first - especially a high first - is much harder than getting a 2.1, it is relatively easy to get a 65, but a 75+ requires a certain kind of originality, a level of critical thinking and structural execution that is far more advanced. it is absolutely an incredible achievement for you to have been consecutively getting an 80 - i know that it hurts for your average not to reflect that, but don't let it take away from your achievement in those essays! some professors told me the highest mark they ever gave a student was 82 which was when they "blew them away" so i was chuffed to even get a 78. also, it's most likely not that you didn't write a good essay, but that you missed the mark of what you were supposed to do (which reflects nothing on your skill) - i understand how you feel about the lack of socialising and not putting yourself out there, but je ne regrette rien! what's done is done, you may have sacrificed yourself but it DID lead you to getting great marks, even if your final essay didn't reflect that. as someone who has lived both extremes (by only socialising and not focusing on studying and only studying and not focusing on socialising) the burden of not studying was 10 x more stressful and no matter how much i enjoyed meeting new people, it always dawned on me that i wasn't doing enough. some people find the perfect balance between the two, but i'm not that kind of person, i like to put my all into things so i tend to neglect what's not my priority. but that's just my opinion! you're stil young and have a world ahead of you to get out there!

Thank you so much! This reply actually means a lot. I know at the end of the day, I've learned loads from all the research I've done and that's what really counts. I'm thinking of doing a masters somewhere down the line, and realistically if I did do a masters/phd I think I would shoot for a teaching position as a lecturer after that.

If I did a PhD there's no way I'd wanna go back to the real world after that! I know how competitive the academic job market is, so I guess I was telling myself I needed to have perfect marks in order to have any kind of chance. But it's probably not the case! I think I just needed to hear that I was being a bit crazy there. Thanks for taking the time out to reply, it's really reassuring.

Thank you so much! This reply actually means a lot. I know at the end of the day, I've learned loads from all the research I've done and that's what really counts. I'm thinking of doing a masters somewhere down the line, and realistically if I did do a masters/phd I think I would shoot for a teaching position as a lecturer after that.

If I did a PhD there's no way I'd wanna go back to the real world after that! I know how competitive the academic job market is, so I guess I was telling myself I needed to have perfect marks in order to have any kind of chance. But it's probably not the case! I think I just needed to hear that I was being a bit crazy there. Thanks for taking the time out to reply, it's really reassuring.