As many of my peers can agree, almost nothing was as important to my parents as my ability to get and maintain good grades in school. And once I got into high school, any grade that wasn't an A was considered a bad mark.
As my mom would later tell me, this strictness ensured that I would not only get into any college I wanted, but that I could study anything I wanted without obstacles once I got there.
She turned out to be right and I easily got accepted into my first choice, but a widespread case of fraud uncovered by the FBI demonstrates how valuable her methods turned out to be.