<p>Well, hello! I'm currently a freshman and due to some very tough circumstances, my grade average is at an 85. Does anyone have any advice as to how I might be able to maintain straight a's next year? I basically need to maintain straight a's for the next few years if I want to land in the top decile :P
Advice will be greatly appreciated! :)</p>
<p>Study. Do the homework when its assigned and always turn it in on time. If you dont understand a concept in a class, then ask for help as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Be prepared for numerous late nights resulting in sleep deprivation far beyond unhealthy. Also, you can’t have friends, any fun, any free time, and you can’t do anything on the weekends except study.</p>
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<p>Wrong!! That statement is so wrong its kind of amusing.</p>
<p>I’ve been a straight A student all of my high school career so far and I’ve never had sleep deprivation, I go out and party at least twice a week, I have friends and tons of free time on the weekend.</p>
<p>Difficulty of getting straight A’s depends entirely on your school. Inflated schools will require relatively little effort, of course.</p>
<p>Make a habit to do homework immediately. Get a start on things like papers early and get feedback when possible. Study for tests more than just the night before. I wouldn’t say sleep deprivation is inherent. Do all of your work and reinforce it with studying. If doing that prevents you from getting as much sleep as you otherwise would get, then so be it. That’s the price of getting A’s.</p>
<p>Also, don’t let ECs die in your pursuit of scholarship. You’ll be thankful down the road.</p>
<p>Well, not everyone’s the A student type…</p>
<p>There seem to be two types of genuine A students (rigourous curriculum, good grades), and many tend to share the properties of both:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The gifted kids. They learn fast and easily and don’t require much effort to do well in class. Their weakness is in their basic student skills (organization, planning, note-taking, responsibility, etc.); since their success does not usually require that they work hard, they don’t develop these skills. Inevitably, their classes catch up to them and this vacuum is made evident.</p></li>
<li><p>The hard working kids. These guys have being a student down to a science. They have more life skills, but have to work to keep on top. High intellect is necessary if you don’t want to be labeled as a BWRK (bright, well-rounded kid) (BWRKs are everywhere and don’t stand out in the more selective admissions depts). The hard-workers must work to stay on the same level of the gifted kids. They are more consistent than gifted kids and have an almost superior advantage over them in school and life, but not on standardized tests.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>By high school, it’s usually the goal for gifted students to become more hard working and hard workers to find their natural specialty (a field where they’re gifted). Those outside of the types are either gifted kids who failed to adapt to harder classes or people of unextraordinary student skills or intellect. Both parties have their greatest hope in becoming a hard-worker. The process of achieving a type and consolidating it is…difficult once habits are as inherent as they are in high schoolers.</p>
<p>I think the late night just caused me to ramble about something I know little about…Sleepy time.</p>
<p>Check out Study Hacks by Cal Newport.</p>
<p>He’s a lifesaver.</p>
<p>Don’t listen to these wack cats. Listen to me guru daxlo.
Now kid, i hate to break it to you, but cupofjuice is right. If your course load is really that hard, STUDY! Don’t play video games during the week, try not to hang out with friends during the week, and try not to go to more than 1 party a week. Be prepared to wake up a 5:00 A.M to finish your work some days. Trust me, i’ve been there.</p>
<p>^^ There’s a third type thought, it’s those kids that are gifted in certain classes, but have to haul ass in others just to keep up. I fall straight in this 3rd category. I have to work way too hard in math and French, but my study skills are impeccable. </p>
<p>Maybe i’m some hybrid, meh…</p>
<p>just try to stay ahead of everything, do more homework on the weekend, and do not waste your time procrastinating, being lazy, or work slow! i always had these problems, especially if you get sick of school. </p>
<p>sometimes, even an EC will collaspe my whole sleeping schedule. like when i was in a fall musical, i did not come home until eight on two nights, and had to stay up at 12 or 1 a.m. doing hw. i couldnt really ask my teachers for an extension or what on my hw or assesments. high school was not always meant to be fair, esp. those who are taking courses at an acclaimed school and want to get straight A’s.</p>
<p>but weekends are especially a good time to catch up on sleep and stay ahead of work. thats if your up to the challenge. 
good luck! hope this helps!</p>
<p>Everyone’s a bit of a hybrid between gifted/hard-working (or they’re neither). But still, how easy it is to get A’s fundamentally depends on your school. In some schools, being gifted is enough. In others, gifted kids will eventually have to learn how to work.</p>
<p>In a decent school that doesn’t have too much grade inflation and isn’t a daycare, you probably have to give up your weekdays, at least, if you want straight A’s.</p>
<p>At my school, the only people who have ever had straight A’s had 2400s. I have a 2370 and pull a 3.86, so obviously there are some extreme discrepancies between schools.</p>
<p>Still, to get straight A’s generally one must be diligent as well as naturally intelligent. Differing combinations of those two qualities may also lead to A’s. In the end, though, as some have said, the type of school you go to effectively will dictate how to get A’s.</p>
<p>do your homework. study for tests. dont procrastinate. also it really helps when you know what your grade is in every class. mainly because if you know you have like a 98 in a class and an 88 in another class, you can focus on the 88 class a little more and maybe not study as much for the 98 class.</p>