<p>Okay so my first semester in college, I was not able to get straight A's. Only B and C. After I finished all my classes then I go to library to study and finish all my homework until 5pm. Once I go home, I am not study at all and I usually enjoy tv shows and then go sleep and get ready for school tomorrow. </p>
<p>Is not study at home is the reason I was not able to get straight A's?</p>
<p>My semester starting next week, I wonder If I can get straight A's this semester :(</p>
<p>Should I drop all the entertainments this semester and only study, study and study and study? :(</p>
<p>No. I got 3 As and 2 A+s last semester. I studied a lot but not all the time. Some weeks (tests and quizzes) more than others. I completed all homework and participated in class. when I did projects and reports, I exceeded requirements, doing more research than required, using more sources, etc. I watched Khan Academy and YouTube videos to expand my knowledge (there are colleges, even Yale, that post lecture videos.) I did all reading assignments, once when due and again before the tests. I used a recorder for lectures in one of my classes and just took notes in the others. I still made time for leisure, especially during weeks no big assignment was due and there were no tests. Midterm and Finals weeks I had zero free time.</p>
<p>Study study study is usually a bad plan… if you cut all the fun out of your schedule, it’s likely to make you miserable, and then your grades’ll suffer.</p>
<p>Straight A’s is pretty hard to get in college… sometimes classes are just hard (especially if you’re at a great/challenging school). Sometimes students just take on more than they can handle, like too many or too hard classes. Sometimes just adjusting to college in general can affect things.</p>
<p>What you should do is take a step back and look at where you struggled last semester. Did you get poor grades on papers? Do you have trouble with exams? Problem sets? Given the amount of time you spent studying, did you feel like you understood the material? Etc. But figure out where problems were, so you can focus on fixing that. Also, think about your study habits… are your strategies effective? Maybe look for new ones if you don’t think studying is working out for you. Basically, try to study smarter, not harder. But yes, you might need to think about putting in more hours anyways. Just make sure you schedule in some time for fun!</p>
<p>It’s different for everybody. I don’t think you should drop ALL the entertainments (been there, done that, didn’t end well, I ended up getting physically and mentally sick/exhausted and actually did worse than when I actually relaxed and took it slow). Rather, limit them. It could be that you underestimated the difficulty of college level work? I know I did when I first started; I tried to use high school habits for the first month and I saw it quickly wasn’t working so I made a big turn around. Although I have yet to get straight A’s myself (closest was 3 A’s and one B+), I’d say just pay attention to the harder/more difficult classes that require more time. Also, don’t try to take all hard classes in the same semester. You need a balance of easy and hard; if you have all hard classes then they likely all will require quite some time; more than you probably have to offer.</p>
<p>I am not sure with the term study smarter. Last semester, I took good notes, review them carefully and I am pretty sure I understood all the materials covered in classes. When I have any questions, I usually go to the tutoring centers and ask the questions. The only thing is I never read the materials ahead. And when I feel tired or when studying, I always close the book right away and get home to take some rest. </p>
<p>In the trig class I had last semester. I fail the test even I do understand the material sometimes. I don’t know why !!</p>
<p>I mean is once I go home, I want to put all the college works aside and only watch tv and relax. If you tell me to study at home, I can not do it.</p>
<p>I think it’s good to have realistic goals for each semester at the start, and to adjust them according to your progress. Usually, at the start of each semester, I decide in which classes I can reasonably expect to earn A’s and in which I can reasonably expect to earn B’s. Unless I have really difficult roster of classes, I at least start off trying to make the B’s into A’s as well, but depending on things like first test performance, I can realize how likely it is that the A will happen.
I think setting up these expectations is good for prioritizing the schedule of work and also good for not ending up with big disappointments. A lot of people who were straight A students in high school won’t get those grades in college. Facts of life!
On the prioritization end, you’ll have an idea of what you need to do to get A’s. The answer is never study, study, study. But the answer does involve a lot of studying :). The amount of time you should spend on your homework is probably fairly obvious whatever it takes to get it done the best that you can possible do it. And if you are getting bad grades on those assignments, that answer is probably fairly obvious as well attend the office hours given by your professors or TAs, work with classmates, and if none of that takes, find a tutor. But how much time to spend preparing for lectures and especially for tests can be unclear. For lectures, it will usually suffice to do any required reading. If there are preparations that are recommended but bot required, do them as time allows. For big evaluations like tests and papers, it’s not always clear how much time to put in to get out a big grade. The method that works for me is making a schedule of what to review, then using all time (except for food, hygiene, and sleep) remaining between finishing review and the test itself to review my review as it were. But I think different things work for different people, and some classes are ore set up for some study methods than others. You’ll have to find what works for you.</p>
<p>whatever you do, DO NOT cut down on your fun time. You absolutely need a social life or else you will start feeling lonely, overworked, and exhausted which leads to ultimately giving up on your schoolwork.</p>
<p>I agree that you should study smarter. More does not always make better, and likewise, less does not always equate with worse. </p>
<p>I’m actually kind of nerdy right now and am tracking how much time I spend on schoolwork. Tbh, doing so is a pain. I have to make sure I have an uninterrupted chunk of time, and also, I have to pay attention to starting and ending times. I’ve found that I’m ultimately trying to just reach some kind of total amount of hours, and that’s ridiculous. If half of those hours were spent worrying about how much time I was spending on my work, they’re pretty useless. </p>
<p>So now I’m going to go back to just getting stuff done and doing it efficiently. If you sit down and focus, everything you do doing your deep, focused time will be more useful than anything done during forced study time. Work on your hardest stuff first and then switch over when you start feeling drained. Do what you feel you should do and make sure you’re ahead of schedule or at least aren’t behind. </p>
<p>Getting an A doesn’t always mean one studied more. It also might mean you just “get it” better. If you really, really pay attention in class and somehow absorb everything effectively, you’ll find that you’ll need less studying time. </p>
<p>Please don’t burn yourself out. School is but one part of your life. If you sacrifice other things for it, you’ll never know how they might have benefited you. </p>
<p>Good luck with your new semester!</p>