What’s “fair” when it comes to learning?
There’s an interesting post over on Jeff Rybak’s Macleans blog where he answers a question from a student who can’t help but feel that it’s not “fair” that his friend gets high 90s while skipping class and doing little-to-no (apparent) studying.
I’m afraid I left rather too long a comment again, but it reminds me of the post I wrote from the other perspective intended to help bright or advanced students to not become frustrated, resentful, judgmental and downright unpleasant when forced to take classes that are too easy for them.
It just goes to show you, there’s no point in being jealous of someone else’s experience. We could never hope to make things “fair” for any two students, let alone a whole class or a whole school, because we can’t control for the millions of variables at play that make your situation completely different from any other student’s situation.
You will generally find what you are looking for, so instead of looking for unfairness, look for opportunity. There’s plenty of both at university; one will make you miserable, and one will make you a better person.
And, in case you don’t have older siblings or friends to teach you this, don’t buy all the textbooks upfront. Half of them you won’t even use. 
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That was a good piece, thanks for hte link. The other thing to consider when one is dissatisfied with grades (compared to work put in) is whether you are doing the right kind of work. And professors have office hours. If you are going in with a genuine enquiry about how to improve, they are usually very helpful. Because some kids are doing a lot of work on the wrong stuff and getting mediocre grades when they could be getting outstanding grades without working any harder.
I agree, buying textbooks is overrated. Though the course syllabus should give a good indication of how crucial they are.