Straight A student

[Wijuu]

Hello everyone, so basically I'm a college student and I want to get better grades. I'm a hard worker and a fast learner and I don't like the grades I've been getting lately although everything is fine I don't have lots of stress or problems that might be affecting my productivity so I wonder where do these bad grades come from! ? I always do my best (although sometimes I feel like I could do more) 

So do you guys have advice on how to get better grades and how to be come a straight A student or anything about the studying process that might help? 

Thx for sharing your experience ??

[happyhappy]

@Wijuu imho, u would find better answers in google and yt for that question than in here.

[Wijuu]

@happyhappy ???? why? ?

[Windappreciator]

highly situational

[integral]

The trick to blinding memorizing everything to pass a test is to create flashcards of questions and answers based on all your notes for a subject. Then run does flashcards into a spaced repetition algorithm until you get 100% recall score for everything. This works because its the equivalent of creating a practice test based on all your notes and then practicing on that test everyday. 

 

[Yarco]

Why do you want to get straight A's in college? Is it worth all the extra effort for a transcript nobody will ever see?

In high school if you want to get into a good college it makes sense.

Employers don't look at grades or even care if you were honors roll or not. At least not in US/Canada/UK. For the most part, a degree is a degree. It's a pass/fail system and the rest is how nice you can make your resume look, or who you know.

[Wijuu]

@integral @happyhappy thx I do that sometimes especially with subjects that need lots of memorization ?

@Yarco unfortunately that's not the case in France ?

[Lincisman]

I recommend reading some of Cal Newport books, specifically: "Deep work" and "How to become a straight-A student"

The author is an expert on the subject. Also, you can check out his podcast and blog - highly recommend for everyone: https://www.calnewport.com/

[Wijuu]

@Lincisman @integral @happyhappy

@Yarco

I did read those books only last summer, thought I could get more info on the subject. Thx for sharing ???

[Danioover9000]

   Is anyone here a straight A student before? I don't relate, so if someone here was a straight A student, could you please explain to me what that's like in your day to day, when grades were really important?

[soos_mite_ah]

Plan out time for your homework and readings and don't skip anything just because you think it isn't worth that many points. Keep your efforts consistent instead of grinding and wearing yourself out one week and the next week you completely slack off. 

Take notes before class by reading ahead of time (depending on your major you should probably already be doing that). Then, when you're in class, you know what questions you have and you won't have to pay attention in class as hard because you already retained most of the information by yourself. Still note down anything that comes up in class that wasn't in the readings. 

Take care of your health by having a consistent sleep schedule and not getting hungover every weekend. Stay up to date on vaccines and don't get yourself sick if you can avoid it. The sleep schedule thing is especially important if you have morning classes. Don't sleep in class lol. 

If you know you're the type of person who is prone to physical and mental illness, try to stay 2 weeks ahead of schedule when it comes to readings and assignments so that if something comes up, you won't be falling behind and stressed and you can just focus on feeling better.  

Have a couple friends you can talk to about school or at the very least some acquaintances in your class you exchange numbers with so that if you have any questions on any assignment or questions for preparing for an exam, you have someone to talk to. I think studies have also shown that doing things in a group in college can help with your grades and for a sense of social support. 

Talk to your professors during their office hours if you are having any issues with the course, whether it's because you're not understanding something in class, you had something come up in your personal life that might affect your performance, or on future career prospects. If you have that open communication with them, they can better help you with the course and if you find that you're on the edge with a B+ but you aren't at an A, your professors are more likely to bump you up like half a point because they know you're putting in the effort. 

Also, when you're studying, aim to actually understand the material instead of memorizing things. Use memorization as a last resort if you know you won't be tested on some material in future classes. Because when you understand something and integrate it into your world view, not only do you sharpen your critical thinking skills, but you also have a good foundation to go off of when your future classes build on the same concepts. Memorization on the other hand will have you start back at square 1 in many times unless you're consistently doing it which is a lot of work with not much pay off. I know damn well that after that final is over that you aren't going to keep refreshing concepts to keep your memory so aim for understanding instead. 

Edited January 22, 2022 by soos_mite_ah

[Leo Gura]

I have a video called How To Study.

But getting straight As is the wrong objective. Your objective should be to deeply learn and master life. Grades are dumb. No one will give you a grade for mastering life.

[Husseinisdoingfine]

4 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Grades are dumb. No one will give you a grade for mastering life.

AMEN!

[Ulax]

@Wijuu Find 3 - 5 students who are older than you and got the grades that you want, and ask if you can do a call with them t ask them some questions about how they got the grades they did.

Identify the common patterns between them (this way you avoid/ lower survivor bias), and then implement those common patterns.

[Dryas]

See Cal Newport’s work. 
 

He takes insights and strategies from the highest achieving individuals, so I think it’s worthwhile. 

[Wijuu]

@soos_mite_ah @Lincisman @integral @happyhappy

@Yarco

I'm already doing most if the things you mentionned like taking care of my sleep schedule and health and understanding and notes, I think the problem is that I'm not able to attend most classes because I have to work, so  at the end I'm forced to work all by myself which can be overwhelming sometimes  and I start to panic ? 

I do have a group of friends who help me with what I have to learn fortunately. 

@Leo Gura grades matter if you want to get to the next level

 @Ulax yeah this could be helpful thx ?

@BenG I don't think that's the case for me ?

@Dryas sure I will thx ??@Knowledge Hoarder okey ??

 

[Windappreciator]

@Wijuu next level how? where?

where are you even from?

Edited January 23, 2022 by Windappreciator

[Loving Radiance]

3 hours ago, Wijuu said:

I'm not able to attend most classes because I have to work, so  at the end I'm forced to work all by myself

I think that is the main thing for you.

Can you schedule your work hours to another time? If that's not possible then ask around if other people have the same problem and then create a work group. Cause it seems as if you still are overwhelmed and panicking despite having the possibility to ask friends for stuff.

[Windappreciator]

@Loving Radiance give me some of that loving radiance

[Wijuu]

@BenG @BenG@BenG THX ? @soos_mite_ah @Lincisman @integral @happyhappy

@Yarco

@Leo Gura

 @Ulax

@BenG

@Dryas@Knowledge Hoarder