How do kids do it? And by it, I mean, get straight A's

Pre-College Issues High School Life
21

<p>I<em>wanna</em>be_brown- I think you misinterpreted/I misled you. My school is very competitive, but alas, still a "public" school. It essentially has the title of public, but resembles a private school in most ways except for the amount of kids (my grad. class has about 350 kids). Our school makes up for this by 1) having a lot of teachers, and 2) what I've actually noticed, the lower classes have more kids in it (my honors classes all have less than 20 kids, whereas English, which isn't divided into hrns/advanced/regular, has about 25-30 kids). </p>

<p>In any event, your analysis still holds true. We have a solid relationship w/ colleges, and they understand that a "B" in certain classes isn't really reflective of the student (and our deans are very helpful when it comes to explaining those sorts of situations).</p>

<p>I was sort of asking more about the competition IN school as opposed to regionally or nationally. I mean, we send over two dozen kids to the ivies almost every year, so I'm not too worried about competing with random underprivileged genius in state X. However, within my own school, there is a pretty intense race for grades, and I'm trying to figure out what methods are employed by the very successful. </p>

<p>Keep the responses comin'! (if I haven't already bored everyone to death with my rants).</p>

22

<p>Straight As? Easy, depends on the class, and how good you are at a certain material.</p>

<p>Stick out in class. In a good way. Or, if you stick out in a bad way (like me), be sure to turn in extremely high quality work. Then you will be in a bad way, but a good way, and teachers will know you and kinda like you, but you won't be on their "I want to give this student an award because I like them" list. Everyone likes the rebel and underdog. Serious.</p>

<p>For history/bio classes, make outlined, logical notes. As in, first A happened, and B is a part of A, and C happened because of A, now D is a part of C, and so on and so forth. I've heard flash cards work, but it's honestly too much of a hassle for myself.</p>

<p>For math/physics/chem, DO EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM IN THE BACK OF THE TEXTBOOK. Believe me, it doesn't take more than a few hours well spent on the weekend, or in between classes, or when you're on this site for hours (don't lie, we know you're addicted), to do all the problems pertaining to a section. You can be lazy and do only the odd problems, if you're smart enough. Or, if you're really smart, then you can pick and choose which ones are important, and skip the rest. </p>

<p>Or, if you're like me, you can not do anything, and start deriving equations on the test, and then curse your fate and your bad studying habits.</p>

<p>For english, learn to BS well and hard, and write an essay every single day. It doesn't take more than 40 mins to write a pretty decent 3-4 pg essay, after enough practice. Get someone who is smarter than you to comment on your essay, and be on your way. </p>

<p>Also, make a schedule. If you develop a routine, you can manage your time well and do tons and tons of EC's, and maybe even reserve some downtime where you do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and mope around and sleep, and maybe even have fun.</p>

<p>Yeah, fun. An odd, foreign concept, but it's still there; serious. </p>

<p>Of course, all this you may be doing and still not be doing well. Then here is final suggestion: start taking out your genious classmates. We know you'll do anything to get that A.</p>

<p>Just kidding! :) But, seriously. :(</p>

<p>Sounds like a plan.</p>

23

<p>Well, in second grade I had this book called How to Do Better in School and How to Get Straight A's. I think they did help. They came in a packet for $0.99. You might want to look them up somewhere. They have a few good tips, even if it is a younger student's book.</p>

<p>I'm one of those students you described. I have straight A's, do sports every day after school, do my work, and still find time to sleep and have too much fun.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Be original. Take a new view on an English topic, attack a math problem in a new way, ask good questions in chemistry/physics/biology, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Be yourself. Speak up. Teachers really do hate suck ups and perfectionists. Begin a controversial debate. Say what you think, though, not something to conform to nonconformists.</p></li>
<li><p>Be organized. Do your work. Teachers like it that a student seems interested in doing well. If you use all materials to the max, then your teacher will appreciate that.</p></li>
<li><p>Do any extra credit. Even with a hard workload, MAKE time to do the extra credit.</p></li>
<li><p>Check your work. Just a quick overview of your test, homework, or project can pay off.</p></li>
<li><p>Know your teachers. Different teachers, different expectations. One teacher likes concrete language; another one likes analogies. One teacher likes pen; another one prefers pencil. Even the small things, like having a neat paper (no torn edges, no dog-eared papers) or decent handwriting can show that you are interested in doing well.</p></li>
<li><p>Laugh. Any chance you get, laugh. Play. Exercise. Have fun. Don't get too wrapped up in the books.</p></li>
<li><p>Have a schedule and stick to it. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, go to ECAs, have a snack, do homework, sleep.</p></li>
<li><p>Give yourself breaks during homework. Getting tired? Jump up and do push ups or sit ups or jumping jacks. Turn on the radio and dance a little. Do something to get the blood flowing for five minutes. Try to do this at least every 30 minutes. Heck, even do this in class. It helps.</p></li>
<li><p>Focus on your weak areas too! You can have a A+ in one class, but you have a D in another. Focus on pulling up that D, even if you have to sacrifice that A+ for an A (hah). Give some, lose some.</p></li>
</ol>

24

<p>me? i'm just a really good memorizer and since the majority of tests is just spewing out information, i tend to get really good grades. also, i work just hard enough to get that A. Luckily for me, my "good enough" is GREAT to my teachers. For me, also, I participate a lot...so maybe if you're borderline, but the teacher sees you participating a lot, they can somehow boost your grade so that you earn the A. </p>

<p>Honestly, I don't know. I myself have gotten straight A's all my life. <em>knocks on wood</em> And I don't mean to be arrogant, but I just happen to do really well in most of my subjects. I do all my work to the best I can and pray that it comes out well. </p>

<p>But for those subjects where I'm less likely to do well, i study harder. For example, in Algebra II this year, I passed with mostly 92's and 94's in the beginning of the year. But later on, I studied more and did extra work, so the last quarter I got a 97...</p>

25

<p>I go to a stupid public school...thats why i have straight A's. Im not a study-whore either.
My sister went to IB and had like 5-10 B's and a C or two and completely regretted it because she kinda looked dumb on her college app's... so Im glad Im at my stupid traditional school... it makes me feel smart :)</p>

26

<p>Straight As aren't that hard if you know how to study effectively, and i suppose putting in extra time helps as well. The weekend is a great time to catch up on studying you didn't do during the week, especially in the mornings when there is nothing to do... Then again, some people are just geniuses...</p>

<p>Oh, and some people can BS (shoot the bull, as my bio teacher would say, haha) really well... My friend started writing a paper at 6 AM, finsihed by 7:30 AM, and still got a A... Yup, the key to passing english... BS... haha</p>

<p>And some classes are just easy, even AP/IB/Honor classes can be, depending on the teacher. My bio AP class had somewhat difficult exams, but we would have so amny points based on assignments it was really easy to get an A, even if you got just okay test scores...</p>

27

<p>yay i finished my last term in high school with all a's</p>

28

<p>I make straight A's by attending a high school where classes are only offered by demand, and almost everyone else is sub-human, so the classes demanded usually have the prefix "Pre" in front of them. I'm lucky to have had the chance to take Chemistry II. I'm also luck to be taking Calculus and Physics next year (regular high school courses, not AP). You see, my school sucks utterly, so I don't have much of a choice in the courses I take. Dual-enrollment at the local community college would cost money (especially since I don't yet own a car or have a license), and most of the teachers run away screaming when I mention offering AP courses. meh....</p>

<p><em>edit</em> I'm only half awake while typing this, so I made a few stupid errors. Sorry.</p>

29

<p>Pay attention in class and don't daydream;
Take good notes;
Know if the teacher will really test from parts of the book she didn't lecture on;
Manage your time well;
Try to have your papers ready two days before they're due;
Do everything you're asked to do;<br>
Put extra time into the classes that are most difficult for you;
Study uber hard for the first test and adjust once you get a feel for the teacher; and
Play school like it's a game because, in a way, it is.</p>

30

<p>For the people that do daydream: </p>

<p>Forget about the teacher and read out of the textbook. This way you can still daydream and you won't lose pace. Works like a charm for me.</p>

31

<p>I have a really good memory. Also, you have to learn where to work hard and where you can get away without doing a damn thing. For example, I read my APUS textbook really thoroughly this year and spent way more time on that class than most people. However, I realized a few weeks into the year that all I had to do in French when it was a week we were doing vocab was look at the book for 15 minutes the night before the test and memorize the words. Then I was free to do whatever the hell I wanted in class, such as stare into a corner, do other homework, or just not come.</p>

32

<p>It's impossible to get straight 7's (we have a 7-point scale) at my school--literally impossible. No matter how hard you work you're bound to end up with a motley selection of 6's, 6+'s, and 7-'s, though allegedly 7=A+ and 6=A-. Such is life at a grade-deflated private IB school.</p>

33

<p>two words: work hard
and of course intelligence is always a factor :)</p>

34

<p>winged frosh year with 3 89.5s. :)</p>

<p>then I tempted fate with soph year with 3 more 89.5s.</p>

<p>this year, I was safe-lowest grade clung to the curve for an A- in AP Bio!</p>

<p>I was lucky enough on exams, and what I couldn't do, I winged with AP exams. (you get a 5, your lowest test score is dropped)</p>

35

<p>Oh, learn how to take tests well, especially multiple choice tests. Test-prep books are generally a good way to learn how to test...</p>

36

<p>as the others have said (and from personal experience), suck up to ur teachers, be a model student so that if you happen to get borderline grades, they might remember your GREAT personality and give you the benefit of the doubt. trust me, it works!</p>

37

<p>at my school, it's less about knowing the material and more about keeping up with assignments and homework, and testing well. You have to turn all your homework in, do everything on time, look like you're interested in class, and cram for the final. But you certainly don't have to really know the material. In my experience, and this is a generalization, but at my school kids with As don't take as much from the class as kids with Bs or A-s.</p>

38

<p>Well I think many of us agree that the first step is to get on your teachers good side. I don't consider that sucking up -- I'm talking about just being respectful and showing them that you aren't trying to take advantage of them. When you talk to your teachers, though, remember that you REMAIN THEIR STUDENT. Maybe it's just me but I am so irked when I see students talking to their teachers like their best friends and they apparently don't see the creeped out look on the teacher's face. Just be respectful, I think is the first step.</p>

<p>Play your strengths. I never knew I could write a killer essay until over the summer in my Consumer Ed class. I was bored one night and decided to make like a 10 pt essay an outstanding essay. My teacher talked to me about how "amazing" it was and I rolled with that. This year all of my teachers tell me how my writing is outstanding. I don't talk in class at ALL (I pay attention, I just won't raise my hand unless I feel bad for the teacher because I don't want them to talk to themselves lol) but I stand out to them because I can write a paper. </p>

<p>Hand in all your work on time. If you can, do the extra credit. Be organized. Ask questions when you have them. Talk to your teachers when something is going on in your life. I had a MILLION things going on at the end of April/beginning of May and because I was so good at showing my teachers my dedication during the year, I got to slide out of so many things because they could tell I was juggling everything I had to do. I even forgot to write a paper in English (that had been assigned for about two weeks) because I was up all of one night studying for an AP test. My teacher wouldn't even let me apologize - she was just like "I know you have a lot going on" and I got an A+ on it regarldess of it being a day late. </p>

<p>On top of just respecting your teachers and showing them your ambitious and dedicated, and apart from studying [of course] -- what helped me get straight As for the first time my junior year [late in the game, but nice, regardless] was making connections. If you can connect your subjects/what your learning/what you've already learned it makes life easier. Connect the pieces of the puzzle, yanno? Make sense of them -- don't just memorize them. Apply them. I think that's the best advice ever. Think about it - you're basically being forcefed this informatoin .... so TAKE IT! You'll probably have to learn it someday, so why not just learn it now?</p>

<p>And my whole mindset whenever grades start fresh (semester/quarter/whenever): I have 100%. I have an A+. Do whatever it takes to maintain that A+. </p>

<p>It's kind of like a game! I kind of just wanted to push myself so I started that whole mindset but I continue it still. The point is that you should look at your grade not as "how can I gain?" but more as "how can I keep every single point?" Ultimately, at the beginning of the term, you have all the points. So don't lose ANY of them.</p>

39

<p>-If you are not understanding a subject well, ask your teacher for help. No, you do not look stupid. It's better to ask for help than sitting there and constantly struggling. If you ask for help, the teacher sees that you actually care about the class, which could be valuable if your grade is on the edge.
-Teachers cannot stand absolute perfectionists. A girl in my Chemistry class had a 101% in the class, but would constantly bug the teacher to add points to her test. The look on his face told the entire truth. He couldn't stand her.
-Keep all materials organized. Use dividers. They help a lot to keep everything neat and orderly. When you go back and study for the final, having all your materials organized will help a lot.
-Record all homework assignments and deadlines in a planner. They really help to keep you organized.
-Avoid procrastination and learn to BS well (especially in English)
-Don't wait until the last second to study for a huge test. Start studying the week before hand. Organize materials, and study in 30 minute chunks every day. When I did this, my grades went up.</p>

40

<p>^^^ "Teachers cannot stand absolute perfectionists."^^^</p>

<p>I have to second that. </p>

<p>Does anyone feel as if teachers are just bitter about giving out A+ grades?</p>

<p>My English teacher would gush over my papers... but I never got anything higher than a 98%. NEVER. It was my goal to get 100% on a paper -- it never happened. And she'd never have anything bad to say about my papers either! It was all compliment after compliment... but never perfect. I just thought it was interesting...</p>

<p>Oh, and I got an A+ in both Chemistry [third quarter] and US History [fourth quarter] and I think my teachers were annoyed about that. I had over 100% in AP Human Geography all year and he'd never put A+ on my report card. </p>

<p>I wonder where the anti-A+ attitude stems from?</p>