<p>ok so , like a lot of you I am a freshmen in college . My goal , just like many of you , is to get a 4.0 my first year. I know this will not be easy, and can possibly be one of the greatest challenges in my life. </p>
<p>I know there are a lot of you out there who have gotten a 4.0 in college before, and all I want to know is how? Do you have any tips to give me?
what kind of studying techniques did you use? How did you plan out the essays? How hard is it really?</p>
<p>P.S ( dont give me that" it depends on what school your going to" stuff)
just give me the facts and details.
THANK YOU!!!</p>
<p>but for the most part, you can get a 4.0 if you do A level work on every single assignment for every single class. It's kind of like an average.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a magical method with details and specifics, there is none that will apply to every school, to every major, or to every professor. Some will give out A's to everyone that "deserves" it, while some will only give a certain percentage of the class A's.</p>
<p>The only tip that I can give you is to not fall behind on anything. Plan your time out well.</p>
<p>Organizational issues can trip you up - even a mistake by a Professor or TA can drop your grade with no reasonable chance of redress. If your goal is to get a 4.0, you can also look for the easiest courses that will satisfy your major.</p>
<p>you have 168 hrs in a week; you have time. Study hard. Do all the HW and more. Get your hands on as many past exams as you can. Start doing problems timed( after you are confortable with the topic pf course). Read books like "what smart students know". Go to all the office hours with good questions. Form study groups;Preferably some smart students and some slightly less smart students and some average; this is effective since you can learn from smarter people and have yourself tested by explaining to someone else. Ask questions in lecture the instant you don't understand something. Oh yeah, and don't forget rate my professors.com</p>
<p>Do everything you are assigned, and do it to the best of your ability. That means stupid journal entries and stupid nothing homework assignments. Read the material (no, you don't always have to read it all, but you need to be smart about what you read. Start out by reading it all until you figure out what to focus on. This depends on your subjects and classes as well--I'm talking humanities classes.). If you have a research paper, start the research early. If you're writing an essay, don't do it the night before it's due. Start thinking about it early. Plan it out, and then present your ideas to a friend or your professor. Argue with yourself and find out if there are any holes in your argument. </p>
<p>And be enthusiastic and genuinely interested in the class you're taking. If you have to miss a class and it's a small class, tell the professor why you need to be out, ask if they'd like any work ahead of time, ask what you should have completed for the following class. Be courteous. </p>
<p>And studying something you're interested in helps too. Don't make it about achieving a perfect grade. Make it about achieving the best that you possibly can, thus giving you incentive not to get an A but rather to do the very best you can do. Professors will likely reward you for it.</p>
<p>If you want to get a 4.0 in college, you have to get all As.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Look, if you want a serious answer, don't worry about getting that elusive 4.0. It's good to aim for, but if you legitimately try everything in your power to get a perfect GPA, you will drive yourself insane. The greatest thing that happened to me was getting a sub-4.0 GPA in my second semester after getting a 4.0 in my first semester; it took the pressure off of me to continue getting perfect grades in every single class.</p>
<p>It depends entirely on your own abilities.</p>
<p>Do you really think there's some super secret technique to getting a 4.0? Come on now. You need to find a method of studying that works for you; nobody else can answer that for you. You need to be smart enough to do well. There are as many different study techniques as there are successful students. Everybody has something that works for them.</p>
<p>And it does depend on the school. It depends heavily on your major. If you're an engineer, the chance of you getting a 4.0 is extremely low. If you're an education major, it's much much easier, provided you are reasonably smart.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Read books like "what smart students know". Go to all the office hours with good questions. Form study groups;Preferably some smart students and some slightly less smart students and some average; this is effective since you can learn from smarter people and have yourself tested by explaining to someone else. Ask questions in lecture the instant you don't understand something.
[/quote]
Again, these are all very subjective and vary from person to person.</p>
<p>I've never read books like "what smart students know" because I don't really care what they know; all I know is what I know, and that it works for me, and that I'm successful. Maybe those books help other people.</p>
<p>I hate study groups. I get about 10 times as much work done when I work alone. I mean literally 10 times as much, I'm not just using "10 times" as an expression. I take part in small groups occasionally, but it's never as efficient as studying alone. Again, maybe other people learn better in groups.</p>
<p>Note: I'm not trying to say that CoffeeBreak's advice is wrong or bad. On the contrary, it probably works very well for him. I'm just saying that what works for CoffeeBreak might not work for everyone else.</p>
<p>And please don't be the guy that asks lots of questions during lecture. Email the professor or talk to him/her after class. Nobody likes the guy who constantly raises his hand.</p>
<p>
If this is one of your life goals, you seriously need to re-evaluate your priorities. There's more to life than grades. Get out more.</p>
<p>edit: If my post(s) seemed hostile, it's probably because I've come to dislike students that come into college with attitudes like the OP's.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And please don't be the guy that asks lots of questions during lecture. Email the professor or talk to him/her after class. Nobody likes the guy who constantly raises his hand.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't see how this is relevant. Why should I care if I upset some people if it furthers my understanding?</p>
<p>Because it's incredibly annoying and you're wasting other peoples' time, which hinders their understanding.</p>
<p>Asking a legitimate question now and then is okay. Asking a lot and repeatedly interrupting is not. It irritates other students, and is inconvenient for the professor/teacher, who has probably planned out a one hour (or however long the class is) lecture that does not allow for a lot of unplanned interruptions in the form of questions.</p>
<p>CoffeeBreak, let's assume you only care about yourself. You still shouldn't ask a lot of questions during lecture because a) the professor may plan to address your question later in the lecture, b) the answer might become evident to you after you think about it for a while, or c) you waste time which hinders your understanding of subsequent topics. If class has ended and you still don't know the answer to your question, you can email your professor or go to office hours. Only ask a question during lecture when you are reasonably lost/confused. If you find this happening a lot, you should probably drop the class.</p>
<p>Agree with Rudin. Don't be that obnoxious kid in the front row that asks questions for the sake of asking. You can ask after the lecture. You can write emails. You can write down a number of questions and go to office hours. You can ask - suprise -your friends.</p>
<p>Try to google 'study hacks', it's, in my opinion the only resource where you find something "new" - most college books are just common sense.. </p>
<p>Try to shift from getting a 4.0 to getting the best grades and the best experience possible - nobody will care for your straight 4.0.. but that research position and those connections will help you.</p>
<p>In my opinion egoism hurts you. While study groups seldom work, you will get information from others that you can't gather alone.. Somebody always has past papers or knows somebody, who had that professor before.... By comparing answers you can correct mistakes before they are graded. And believe me, there's more to college than studying.</p>
<p>Give up much of your freedom and fun, maybe even some portion of your social life - all for academics. If you are ready to do that, grades will just follow. It might not necessarily be 4.0, but somewhere close.</p>
<p>your responses are not offensive. You are very reasonable, grades in college aren't everything, and also it is pretty arrogant to assume one "deserves" a 4.0.</p>