Work hard, and if you don't get straight As... then work harder

Talk with the teacher if you're having problems... participate if that is a percentage of your grade... oh yeah, some people can balance a social life with school, but I couldn't... so you might try to figure that out

-- Jack's Logical Mind

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Originally posted by geekwannabebritt:
Im going to high school this year and i really want to be a straight a student for all four years.
How do you do it?

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Two sure fire methods.
A) Work hard and study a lot, some people can still manage to do this and maintain a good social life, but I couldn't..
B) Take all easy classes and ditch your goals to get into the high class schools full of white daddy's boys who got in becuase their dads are rich bastards, and take all really easy classes..

Five students claimed to have interpreted that as indicated the end of the exam, and got an extra 20 minutes to do the two questions on the back.

More specifically, I think it's better to get a B- in AP Calculus with a 3 on the test, rather than get an A+ in Algebra II and no AP test. You learn more and colleges like it better.

However, if you're hell bent on getting straight A's, then here are some tips:

a) develop good study habits, e.g. don't procrastinate, then pull an all-nighter on Sunday.

b) revise for tests as you go along, i.e. try and learn your notes properly the night you get them instead of just learning them when you find out you have a test coming up: it's much easier that way

c) find out if you are a visual, auditory or kinetic learner and modify your study habits accordingly.

d) go out with friends sometimes. if you work all the time, your brain will go into overload, and you'll burn out. You need regular breaks from studying, or there is no point. It's also recommended that you only study in 45 minute bursts, and that you don't do more than six hours a day.

There are tons of other things I could tell you, but those are the basics.

sky

Show up to class everyday, unless you're really really sick or have the kind of appointment you absolutely can't get out of. NEVER skip. This becomes a little more essential in college when they don't take attendance.

If you don't have a seating arrangement, sit near the front where you can see and hear clearly and avoid the people who don't pay attention. If you do have a seating arrangement and you're in the back where it's harder to see and hear things, ask if you can switch with someone closer to the front.

The most important thing is to do your homework. Even if you fall behind a little don't let it worry you. Even if you're feeling overwhelmed just sit down somewhere and do it, no excuses, no procrastination. If you are doing that and still having trouble, ask for help.

I went from a barely passing student in high school to a straight A college student simply because I stopped letting my homework intimidate me and I asked for help when I needed it. Even if your homework is mindnumbingly boring and dull, just do it. Even if you don't do it perfectly, just get it done. Even if it feels like pointless busy work and you'd rather be doing anything else, just get through it. All of that seemingly pointless work really does hammer stuff into your brain. It may not seem useful now, but down the road you'll be glad it's there.

Education is like a building. High school is where you lay the foundation. That foundation looks boring and pointless. I've never seen a building foundation that made me think "OOOOO! That's going to be one interesting building!" To me it just looks like a big slab of concrete, but eventually something interesting gets put on top of it. That something interesting wouldn't even be able to be there without that big boring concrete block to hold it up.

Oh, and never give up. Even if you feel like you've fallen behind and feel like you can't catch up, just keep pushing yourself to get it done. Never let yourself think that you can't avoid a failure because you can if you do the work and ask for help when you need it.

I don't think killing yourself to get perfect grades is the right way to go, but rather, I believe one should make their way through it all, and do alright, and try to enjoy the ride. Not to say I had a major social life in high school, and some people made my time there hell (being a geek is tough in sub-college education), but after I let up on the academic pressure a bit, I was able to enjoy things more. I am a procrastinator at heart, and I really enjoyed going home and not doing my homework, and only doing what was really necessary. In college, you will learn that you don't really need to do homework, but it is advisable for preparing for your tests/exams. If I wanted to, I could definitely get straight A's, but I just don't care that much - I want to get that piece of paper that's needed for many things in life, I don't need to be the absolute top in my classes. Following this same trend, I have been enjoying my time in college, and I'm working in the IT dept. there as well, which I really like, and sometimes focus on more than class (which may not be a good thing). And last semester, it probably would have been better to really pay attention in Parallel Programming, rather than reading and posting to these Forums. But it had the side effect that I needed to study with my friends more, and that was a good experience. It gave me a chance to "study" with a [somewhat] lovely person, who I would have liked more, but for other reasons which I've elaborated elsewhere.

I intend to study harder, to get more A's (I've always gotten them in my CS courses), so that my GPA will be better for grad school, but I'm not going to kill myself studying, but I will try to study for tests sometime earlier than the day or two before .

In the end, if you want straight A's, that's probably a good thing, but I don't believe any grade is worth extreme (and constant) stress.

Edit/Append: Woo-hoo, magic number time - this is post# 386 for me! My second computer was a 386, and it's only 3 feet away from me, though it's unplugged. I intend to eventually put Linux or BSD on that sucker, and let it do more than Win3.11 can. It might be a good X Server (that's a sort of client for non-*nix people).

And don't let the bastards get you down. If you are getting straight As, and even the highest grade in any class there will be people who snicker at you behind their hands or even to your face and people who will poke fun. Sometimes it's out of admiration, sometimes jealousy, but either way if you let it get you down your only allowing someone else's opinion to dictate your actions. It's easier said than done, but I've found that focussing on my goals and what makes me happy makes it easier. Also, if you do make friends, make sure they are quality friends. Never hang out with someone just because they are willing to hang out with you and you're too afraid to be alone. There's always at least one high quality person nearby. If you find that person you've got a good friend. Look for people who share common goals and interests and encourage you in your goals. Never settle for someone who encourages you to skip class or ignore your studies to goof off and have fun.

Make sure you do have some fun though, even if it's just reading a book. Burning out is an ugly thing. Extra curriculars are good, but just remember that they are "extra" and don't let them affect your studies. Keep things well balanced.

Eat breakfast! Get plenty of sleep. Exercise. Even if you only ever go for a brisk walk everyday, get up and move around. Your mind won't function well if your body is hungry and tired and sluggish. If you don't like eating in the morning just have a little something like a nutrigrain bar and some juice or a piece of toast with peanut butter. Just make sure you have SOMETHING so you aren't running on E until lunch or even dinner.

Never save your homework for the weekend. Do at least a little bit everyday. I can't remember if we had to read alot in high school (it's been ten years), but once you get into college this will be important: when you get a reading assignment break it up into daily doses so that you get it all done before the deadline without having to read it all at once the day before. Whenever a task seems overwhelming break it up into smaller goals. Whenever I feel like I just can't read that chapter because it's boring me to tears I sit myself down and say "Ok, I'll read it for fifteen minutes and then I can do something enjoyable."

Reward yourself! Getting through tough tasks can be easier if you have something to look forward to even if it's just milk and cookies or a bit of tv or reading the next chapter of that book you can't put down.

Talk to your teachers. Ask them for tips on how to pass their class. I don't know how helpful high school teachers will be, but college instructors are usually really good about telling you what is important to them when they are giving grades (at big schools this is usually done in the lecture on the first day. Yes, that syllabus seems boring and technical, but pay attention because that instructor is telling you how to earn an A).

who did NO homework...
on the little sheat that they send home, where they have those checkboxes, she checked 'doesn't do homework' and added next to it in pen 'ever'
ha
the same certain person seems to be unable to study, maybe you can learn together

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Originally posted by rem:
(Alright, so I'm not reeeally a slacker anymore - I found out once I got to junior year that slacking off does not earn me A's any longer!!)

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You found out the right year... if you plan on goin to university

OT: Big D? as in Dallas? Denton? Deer Park? Del Rio?

-- Jack's Slacker Heart

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Originally posted by rem:
THE Big D - Dallas. (I actually only live a few miles from you if you live on campus.)

And gosh, I HOPE I found out soon enough for university... not soon enough to keep my GPA from takin' a dip, but that's life. Lesson learned, hopefully. ;P

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Yeah, I live on campus at UTD... for a school that I had never heard of before they mailed me, its incredibly hard... I actually do have to study unlike my private high school...

and excuse me for not knowing the BIG D

I had lived all my life in Houston, except for the past year at the freshman apartments here

-- Jack's Relocated Soul

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GASOLINE: For Youth on the Move

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Originally posted by rem:
Do you like UTD? Aside from the whole it's-too-close-to-my-parents thing, it seems like a good school to apply to (though I'd like to get out of Texas if financially possible).

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UTD is a good school if you're looking for CS/EE stuff... and you like geeks that could care less about sports... UTD Football Still Unbeaten!

(An ode for our non-existent football team)

I think you're female (your SN doesn't give anything away) and if you're planning to do engineering or CS or something similar and you have good grades... you're gonna get a scholarship... easily

One thing this school needs is more females... and I'm not saying that because I'm a guy... well maybe a little, but I've talked to a few of the administrators and they'd like to have more women here

-- Jack's UTD Parking Sticker

Finally, don't sweat it too much. You don't need a 4.0 to get into a good school.

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Originally posted by ZorroTheFox:
just sleep with all the instructors or at least pay someone else to do it. bribes work pretty good too. If you hire a PI they can dig up some dirt on them then you just blackmail the instructors. the list of ways to get A's is endless. Wow that rhymed, I'm a poet and I didn't know it........Z

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She's 14 years old, if she slept with the instructors it would already be means for blackmail, though it would help if she could get some audio or pictoral proof, just in case, and to do that all she has to do is sleep with an A/V geek..

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Originally posted by ZorroTheFox:
just sleep with all the instructors or at least pay someone else to do it. bribes work pretty good too. If you hire a PI they can dig up some dirt on them then you just blackmail the instructors. the list of ways to get A's is endless. Wow that rhymed, I'm a poet and I didn't know it........Z

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It worked for me! It's certainly the easiest way to get ahead.

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Originally posted by spungo:
It worked for me! It's certainly the easiest way to get ahead.

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I knew it!!!!! That Math teacher with the ruler, am I right????

There are still easy ways to get ahead, spungo. Well, if you call a 12-hour flight easy.

Do your homework. All of it. Every day. And ask your teacher for help if you're confused about something.

Write copious notes.

On Sunday, go over your notes for the last week and create a condensed version.

Outline the textbook for your hardest course before school starts. Do a chapter a day. Focus on vocabulary: terms of art used during the course. This is especially important for math. (I'm dead serious)

Ask questions.

If you can't stay awake, then examine how you're using your time, and make adjustments. If necessary, cut out one or two extra cirriculars. Just don't cut out the important ones .. I leave it to you to determine what are the 'important ones'. For me, the speech team was the important one.

Write incessantly. Essays, poems, short stories. Share these with others and take crittiques seriously. The people who are critical of your work are your best allies. People who just lavish praise unconditionally are being nice but are not being helpful. This improves your writing (which will improve your grades!) and builds character. Learning to write well (not just grammar and spelling -- being able to write clearly and convincingly) is essential for any career or endeavor, including mathematics.

And keep your nose to the grindstone.

Just so you know what I mean by "worked for me" .. I adopted these methods after my Sophomore year of high school. My GPA for my Jr year was 3.5; my GPA for my Senior year was 3.7. (This includes a 0.25 grade point boost for Honors and a 0.5 grade point boost for AP.) My GPA for my undergrad was 3.7. My GPA for my first round of grad school (MS in Math) was 3.9. It's not all A's, but it's good enough to have opened a lot of doors for me that wouldn't have been open otherwise.

Don't ask me about my second round of grad school. That was a major screw up on my part for all sorts of reasons. To put it simply: don't pursue a PhD unless you're absolutely in love with the field. Otherwise you're gonna end up in a world of pain.

Hope this helps.

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Originally posted by spungo:
It worked for me! It's certainly the easiest way to get ahead.

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Originally posted by rem:
Hooray for slackers who also happen to make good grades!!

(Alright, so I'm not reeeally a slacker anymore - I found out once I got to junior year that slacking off does not earn me A's any longer!!)

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i prefer to refer to us as 'gifted with abilities to absorb informtaion'
as long as i am actively participatign in class, i allways do well (except for grrrrrrr spanish), though if i just sit there, i really need to pick it up studying

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Originally posted by ZorroTheFox:
it is better to recieve ahead than to give ahead >;o) .......Z

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Originally posted by Xanthine:
I'm not entirely sure I agree, but maybe I'm just kinky like that.

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Originally posted by ZorroTheFox:
I think in a way most of us here are kinky, it is just that some of them are afraid to admit it >;o) .........Z

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Oh, and put me in the kinky category, too, while you're at it.