<p>I'm so ****ed off right now. Honestly I'm pretty sure that I maxed out my efforts this semester, but I guess it's was not enough. I went to every single class, took notes, studied for 7-8 hours for each midterm and did well on many of them, and had no social life; All I did was study. However when it came to finals, I ran out of gas and did not so well on the finals. </p>
<p>My grades are as follows:
Linear Algebra: B-
Statistics: A-
Calculus Proofs: C
Java II: B-
Literature: B
= 2.86 GPA (Semester)</p>
<pre><code> What happened was in Calculus proofs, I had an A going into the final; in the final the teacher threw a test with many problems I did not study, so it's pretty clear that I must have did really bad. This test was on a Monday, and the Saturday and Sunday of that weekend I just couldn't study no matter how hard I tried due to multiple nights of all-nighters in the week before... no excuses, but I really could not concentrate no matter what I tried.
My literature course also and my Java II final were on the same day, the Friday before the weekend. The literature had and 8 page paper (of which I wrote 3), and I wanted to make the paper good, so I worked late into the night. But guess what? The teacher gave me a B so it was all a wasted effort. In that class, no matter how hard I tried on the papers, I always get B. Moreover, I was so tired that day that my Java II final was just an atrocity... I could have did better if I was not tired.
</code></pre>
<p>Before finals, My grades were:
A - statistics
B+/A- - literature
A - calculus proofs
B - linear algebra
B/B+ - Java II</p>
<p>I'm just so ****ed off at myself. I'm really frustrated at what do I need to do to get good grades; I'm so sick of scrapping by semester after semester. How do you guys who get all A's deal with finishing strong? I have a 2.97 GPA as a Math/CS major and I really need to get better grades (i.e. >= 3.5) as I only have three semesters left. Thanks guys if you can really help me. Classes are only gonna get harder from here on.</p>
<p>It sounds like what you need is to start doing is planning ahead a little. So instead of pulling all-nighters in a row, start studying two or three weeks out before finals (start organizing things, refreshing concepts in your head, etc.). My calc teacher (who I’ve had for I-III now) tells us straight-out to not pull all-nighters, for exactly this reason; you’ll be exhausted for the actual day of the test, and it’s not going to help, which seems like your problem.</p>
<p>Also, I find it helps to calculate what I need in my finals to do well in the class, and then I use that to make a physical study schedule for myself that I’ll follow. A good one puts the most time for the classs where you need the most help, starts at least five days out before a final, and builds in breaks and variety (so Tuesday isn’t all the Lit paper that’s due tomorrow, but also a little Liner Alg, a little Calc Proofs, and a little Java, which is fine because the Lit paper is already 90% done).</p>
<p>Last semester I had a GPA of 3.917, so this is what worked for me. It might not work for you, but hopefully it might give you some ideas.
The key to my success was to study in the morning. I would go to bed early and get up at 3AM and study. I was well rested so I remembered what I was learning and it was easier to remember it through out the day because I had touched on it that day already. It was also easier because there were a lot less distractions, nothing good on TV, no one to talk to on facebook, plus it was really quite. If I stayed up late or pulled an all nighter, I was not well rested and could not retain things as easily, so it was pointless.</p>
<p>The other thing I did was went to every tutoring hour possible. My school offered music theory and ear training tutoring (My core music classes which I struggled in) 10 hours a week. I was there every single minute of it. I would do my homework and have them check everything. For the most part, no one else was using the service at all and then wondered why they were struggling. I would go over practice problems and have the tutors drill be until I understood it. If I couldn’t understand something one way, I would ask another tutor or go to office hours for the professor. </p>
<p>I struggle with writing papers at well. If you get a paper you got a B back on, read the comments. If there are none, go to the professor and ask for direct feedback. Rewrite the essay to make it better once you get the feedback. Take it back to the professor and ask them if this is the direction you should take it your next essay. I’ve done that and the professor accepted my rewritten essay for a higher grade. Not every professor will do that, but if you put in the effort to learn and understand concepts, everyone will help you. </p>
<p>Allow yourself to have a social life. My social life isn’t the most exciting, but form study groups were you study for a few hours and then do something fun together as a reward. I made friends with the people in all my classes and we hang out a lot. You need to have time to relax and let your brain process things. Sometimes the most important part of studying is walking away from the textbook, then coming back to it later. I don’t know how it works, but you have to allow yourself to disconnect for a while and somehow it all makes sense in the end.</p>
<p>Check out the writings of Cal Newport. He has a blog called Study Hacks and has published books about studying, including one called HOW TO BECOME A STRAIGHT A STUDENT.</p>
<p>My daughter just had a very successful first semester at college and used his method to keep organized and on top of her work–no last-minute panic studying! I have also used his organizing ideas in my life and found them quite effective.</p>
<p>Staying up late into the night affects your grades negatively more than you would think. Maybe find a group of friends in your classes to study with and compare their studying habits.</p>
<p>Cal Newport has some good ideas, although I don’t agree with everything he says. There’s also a book I highly recommend called “what smart students know”. It is written by a cofounder of the Princeton Review prep service, and aims to be for studying what their other books are for the SAT.</p>
<p>I can tell you what your basic problem is in a nutshell. You didn’t know the material well enough at the end of the semester. That’s it! You need to be learning material as the term goes along so that all you need to do at the end is brush up.</p>
<p>For that matter, you have the same problem with the midterms. You shouldn’t need to be cramming for them. The eight hours of study you mentioned for them wasn’t a solution, it was a warning. Because midterms cover less material you were able to shove enough info into your head to get B’s, but at the end of the term there was simply too much accumulated for this to still work. Both the Newport book and the one I mentioned will tell you more about how to study for your classes as the term goes along.</p>
<p>BTW I saved away a post from a grad student who taught Linear Algebra because I think he really captured one of the things you need to do in order to really learn the material. Here are 2 quotes I hope give you some ideas
<p>The only semester I got a 4.0 in was a combo of:</p>
<p>-Luck, in that some of my classes were INCREDIBLY easy
-Smart work, in that I paid attention in lecture and did all of the homework and practice problems for relevant classes
-More luck, in that a couple classes curved me into 4.0 territory</p>
<p>I was taking pretty easy introductory classes. I got a 3.8 once that would have been a 4.0 if I had gotten one more question right on my accounting final. Same as the 4.0 semester; easy classes and smart work.</p>
<p>As for your poor semester, don’t worry. I got two B-s, a B+, an A-, a C and a D (trying to get that fixed but I’ll probably have to retake the class). As you can see, it could be a lot worse.</p>
<p>Go to every class. Take good notes (not just the things on the board/powerpoint slide.) Get help as soon as you don’t understand something, not when you’re panicking at the end of the semester.</p>
<p>UTILIZE OFFICE HOURS. I can’t say this enough. Professors (for the most part) want to help you succeed, and no one ever goes to office hours. And going puts your name in their head as someone who really cares, so if you’re right on the border between two grades at the semester, they might be a little more willing to bump you up to the next grade.</p>
<p>But really, a 4.0 isn’t the end-all-be-all of University. Even if you’re going to grad school. Just do the best you can and at the end of the day be proud of your effort. Realize that grad schools care more (for the most part) about things like GRE scores, recommendations and practical experience.</p>
<p>I’m a bit surprised that your adviser would allow you to take four
STEM courses in the same semester. At my son’s school, they would flag
a schedule like this and ask you if you’re sure that you want to do
this. In general, you take two or three STEM courses and then fill in
with GEDs which are usually easier.</p>
<p>It appears that you don’t have your calculus grade back yet - so
perhaps your professor is scaling the results and you might do better
than how it looks right now. Many STEM courses will throw in problems
which weren’t specifically covered in class or homework. These tests
require you to use principals to combine ideas and techniques learned
in class. Doing additional exercises in the book can help here as can
looking through exams from previous years to get an idea as to how far
the exam problems vary from classwork and homework.</p>
<p>On papers: start early. Use a web calendar program and put in
milestones along the way. Find someone that has done well in the
course and ask for advice on information to collect. Find good writers
and ask them to review your drafts along the way to the finished
paper.</p>
<p>On work ethic - it’s fine to work hard but get in some rest, exercise
and relaxation. I find that earlier preparation and a good night’s
sleep are worth more than cramming with little sleep. Also, get your
finals schedule early so that you can plan our strategy for papers,
projects, and finals. Also, spending all of your time studying during
the semester may not be as productive as having some fun and doing a
little less studying.</p>
<p>A math/cs dual major is a tough undertaking. Have you considered
dropping one of them to make your remaining three semesters easier?</p>
<p>One other way to get more study time is to study the course materials
for the upcoming semester before the semester starts. My son routinely
did this. He had a differential equations course in the fall so he
started studying out of a textbook at the beginning of the summer
reading the material and working out the exercises. He got started
reading early and doing the homework assignments in his CS courses too
if the professor made that information available before the courses
started. He did similar things with his GEDs. This can give you a few
extra weeks to learn the material which means that you don’t have to
learn so much so fast. Knowledge is often better absorbed when it
doesn’t come at you so fast.</p>
<p>START EARLY. I truly believe that all nighters are avoidable and unnecessary. Cramming is useless.
In no particular order:</p>
<ul>
<li>Make schooling your #1 priority. </li>
<li>After class, take 5-15 minutes of reviewing what the professor taught/lectured in class. It might be annoying but it helps you refresh your mind.</li>
<li>Get good sleep. Trust me, it helps. Eat healthy too. Eating healthier not only boosts your mood but your memory and brain stuff etc cte etc etc ya da da the benefits of eating healthy you already know. Working out is good for you too ~ I like reading textbooks while I bike or walk on the treadmill. </li>
<li>Go to office hours. Your professors will know that you’re trying and if your professor can’t help you then, write a bad review for them on ratemyprofessor. </li>
<li>Take breaks. Don’t study for two straight hours and not have a couple of breaks. I like to study for 30-40 minutes then take a 5-10 minute break. But don’t go over your break.</li>
<li>Look up studying tactics (flashcards, quizzing yourself, etc) and see which one work best for you. I personally like reading out loud.</li>
<li>Read the material beforehand so you know at least something before the professor teaches. Read the material the days you’re supposed to or do it before hand. The key is to stay ahead and not fall behind.</li>
<li>Remind yourself constantly. If that means post its everywhere, your phone going off every hour telling yourself to do homework/study, then so be it. </li>
<li>Constantly check your portal if your teacher posts quizzes, materials, homework, or assignments that way. </li>
<li>Talk to your professors before/after class… at least they’ll know you’re trying. </li>
<li>Motivate yourself. Always remind yourself who you’re doing this for: whether it’s for you so you can have a good future, your family, scholarships, making the dean’s list or sum claude magma who knows what, med school, law school, grad school, etc. Don’t give up on yourself. Always stay in a good positive mood. That’ll help you actually study better and actually WANT to learn. It’s better than having a stank attitude - you’ll hate school that way. Stay positive! Think of studying as something fun. :)</li>
<li>DON’T WAIT TILL LAST MINUTE - IT CAUSES MORE STRESS AND YOU WILL HATE YOURSELF. I hate cramming because I learn nothing and all the information I crammed just disappears out of my mind then I faint.</li>
<li>Study one subject a time. Take a break. Study something else. Don’t scare yourself with all your text books and notes. Don’t freak yourself out. Remain postive.</li>
<li>Edit: Oh and don’t instagram a picture of you “studying”.
Uhhmm I don’t know what else. I never read any of the studying books mentioned above but I think I’ll check them out next time I’m at Barnes and Nobles. :D</li>
</ul>
<p>Consider using Microsoft One-Note or Growly Notes if you’re on a Mac. These are student productivity software packages for staying organized in your projects and papers.</p>
<p>DO NOT CRAM. I cannot stress this enough. If you write your papers and prepare for exams weeks in advance, getting A’s consistently will be an almost painless process.</p>
I don’t know what else. I never read any of the studying books mentioned above but I think I’ll check them out next time I’m at Barnes and Nobles. :D</li>