<p>sounds like CBA321 learns like Reeze</p>
<p>A guy at my school was a notorious slacker in middle school, until he got put on Adderall. He is graduating this year with Valedictorian honors, got a 2390 on the SATs and will be attending Harvard in the fall.</p>
<p>Oh, and he's actually a really, really cool guy. He's not the nerdy type of VD.</p>
<p>Adderall + natural intelligence = unleashed genius and unparalleled academic performance.</p>
<p>whats adderall?</p>
<p>I've been a straight-A student all of my life, though let's hope I don't jinx it with that, lol! Ironically, I got B's in kindergarten, but that's besides the point. :]</p>
<p>Frankly, I'm not the smartest of the bunch. I have friends who could knock me out of the water in a second if they wanted to, but the thing is, they don't. In fact, I believe the only subject I'm naturally good at is math. I try about 93240 times harder than the vast majority of the people I know, which may not be the best for my health seeing as how I get 2-4 hours of sleep on a typical school night (or I guess, morning). Then there's also this lovely thing called memory and DNA. I've been blessed with an amazing memory and capacity to learn, and that makes life a lot easier. Of course, I also go over things a bunch of times, so I'm not quite sure how that factors in.</p>
<p>I think that writing notes in class is incredibly helpful, even if you never go over them again (though you should). I know that it makes homework and studying so much easier, though most of my classmates don't take any. Also, for classes like AP Chem where the teacher never goes over the book, I actually write notes on every chapter by myself and study off of those. My notes are far from scanty, but I cut out any unnecessary information, and I do this AFTER I write the notes. This way, I go over my notes again and again in the process.</p>
<p>Oh, and teachers liking you is a plus, though I think for me, they like me because they like my grades? lol.</p>
<p>
<p>When I actually try in classes I make thorough outlines in a word document and near finals/AP exams I combine all the documents. For chapter tests, details were important. Now, I'm basically condensing it to get the main idea from all the important concepts. Hoping I think in a very organized fashion so these help a lot in classes that have a lot of new information. This is when I feel like trying in a class. It's not as effective unless you do it the entire year. And in the end it makes a nice reference when you have to review a previous class for some reason...</p>
<p>Math and science courses I just do as many example problems as possible and try to understand concepts perfectly. I don't really care if I get the right answer ... it's really the WHY that you have to know to do well on tests. If I don't understand something I just find websites that explain the concepts and eventually I'll get it.</p>
<p>English courses -- sparknotes is God. Seriously. Reading is something for people who have time. I use sparknotes when I don't have time to read chapters and then I can still participate in discussions. Then I use sparknotes before tests to get the bigger idea and avoid focusing on details that nobody cares about.</p>
<p>Foreign language--I use notecards for vocab/some grammar basics. A lot of foreign language classes for me is rereading/redoing worksheets. I guess this class is one where memorization is key. Maybe that's why I dislike it..</p>
<p>Two other things: First, I only did well in school when it got hard. During 'easier times' (like when teachers forcefeed information or when there's a lot of BS worksheets to do) I slack off and do terrible. When it gets super hard and most poeple freak out under pressure-- that's when I can perform at my best. And second, I've never asked a teacher for help. I don't know what it is, but if I can't figure out on my own... well, that's not an option. I'm an (intensely?) independent learner.
</p>
<p>Seems like overdoing it to me. Just do your homework, and make sure you understand it, if not, we have this useful tool these days called Google! As long as you do that and pay attention in class, not only will you get everything, but eventually your brain starts to optimize itself for that way of studying, and you can cut out the need to study (exept on special occasions) totally. If, for some reason you can't understand, do what I do:
You can not listen too the teacher, but teach yourself from your books the same leason that the teacher is teaching (which is pretty easy, and way more effective than the teacher). That's what I do when my teacher starts talking about how she's gettin a new stove over the weekend and how she's going to bake a pie in it.</p>
<p>Oh, and a big pointer: take classes you're actually interested in. So many of my friends take all the APs they can, but they're not actually interested in the material. I know for me, as dorky as it is, I'm actually excited to learn in my classes, and I think that's a very important element in doing well in those classes.</p>
<p>Well, I get straight A's now, but I didn't until Freshman year HS. In middle school, I got mostly B's and C's until 8th grade, when I got like 5 A's and 3 B's. Its kinda of choice for me; I can be really lazy and watch t.v., or I can be somewhat lazy, and do my homework AND watch t.v. Sports also help to focus me, so that contributes to it as well. Whenever I tell people I got a D in reading for 2 quarters in middle school, they refuse to believe me :)</p>
<p>I guess I'm not a very static student.</p>
<p>As for work, I still don't do too much: I don't take history notes, and still have a 96% in the class when others take 12 pages per week and have an 84%. I guess I figured out a system that works for me. It will probably change in college though. Darn.</p>
<p>chillaxin thats tru, but if you really want to get into a nice college, an you're not interested in matj,science,english, or history, you're screwed.</p>
<p>I have currently 84% in french and am absolutely dying in that class <em>boring</em> don't get me wrong am usually not a slacker (have 101% in science so far) advice to get me motivated, and is 84% low for grade nine, when it comes to ivies??</p>
<p>To all the peoplwe who have not yet taken a language:
TAKE SPANISH. I do no homework, and rarely pay attention in class, and I've aced almost every quiz and test and right now, I have a 106% in there.</p>
<p>I've basically got straight A's. The key to my success which many people lack is motivation. I do all of my work and study knowing that if I do well it'll make all the difference</p>
<p>That doesn't hold true for all schools, ScAR. I know that at might school, Spanish is pretty rigorous, even for exceptional students. Classes really vary from teacher to teacher. For example, French at my school is a relatively easy class, but does that mean that we have an exorbitantly high percentage of people getting 5's on the AP exam? Nope.</p>
<p>Hmmm interesting question. I have never really thought about what made me a straight A student. I guess taking every single assignment seriously regardless of the point value is important. I have also spent a lot of time studying for tests. Sometimes as much as twelve hours for a single test... I don't know what else I do... Blowing off friends and working straight through the weekend happens a lot as well... Being a straight A student is sort of overrated unless you are a genius and don't have to work at it.</p>
<p>I've had all straight A's throughout high school ...until now with senior year with one B for 1st semester. And now I think I'm looking at 2 really low B's for the second semester haha. </p>
<p>But I don't think there really is a key for being a straight A student. Some people sleep through class and don't do the homework but still manage to fly by, while others have to study 24/7 to keep their A's. I guess some good pointers could be: be organized, pay attention, have a good relationship/connection with the teacher and understand what he/she looks for in the work.</p>
<p>question question question!!!
and planning.</p>
<p>-Don't be lazy, but don't study too much either. After a certain point you get diminishing returns from studying, and you could better spend those hours sleeping so that you don't mess up on your test the next day.
-Learn how to skim when reading.
-Ask if you need help.
-Pay attention in class. Seriously, if your teacher's decently good, he/she will teach you stuff that's not in the textbook, like techniques for solving problems that are better/easier than what's in the book.
-For social studies classes (especially AP classes): take notes on the book as you go along, this can save you a lot of time later on
-Decide how important homework is to you. If the choice is between completing a 5-point homework assignment that could take hours to do and getting some sleep so that you don't make stupid mistakes on the 60-point test tomorrow, figure out how important doing the homework really is.
-basically, know how to manage your time.</p>
<p>Unless your teacher sucks, you shouldn't have to study 10 hours a night for a single test to get As. So figure out a balance between sleep and good grades.</p>
<p>"Don't be lazy, but don't study too much either. After a certain point you get diminishing returns from studying, and you could better spend those hours sleeping so that you don't mess up on your test the next day."</p>
<p>Wow. Those words are BEYOND true. One night I decided to stay up until 4am (four huge tests the next day). I actually failed one of the tests (as in F!! Which has never happened before!), got Bs on two of them, and only one A. I was too tired to concentrate -- I actually took a five minute break during one of them to rest my eyes. It's really, really not worth it. Learn as much as you can when you can, but don't cut dramatically into your sleep. A few hours, okay, but not to the point where you won't be able to remember anything in the morning besides how tired you are.</p>
<p>That doesn't hold true for all schools, ScAR. I know that at might school, Spanish is pretty rigorous, even for exceptional students. Classes really vary from teacher to teacher. For example, French at my school is a relatively easy class, but does that mean that we have an exorbitantly high percentage of people getting 5's on the AP exam? Nope.</p>
<p>No matter what though, you have to admit that Spanish is technically the easiest, because most of the words are very, very similar to English. I know this stands true for some French and maybe even Geran words, but in spanish for eample, telephone is telefono.</p>
<p>
Wow. Those words are BEYOND true. One night I decided to stay up until 4am (four huge tests the next day). I actually failed one of the tests (as in F!! Which has never happened before!), got Bs on two of them, and only one A. I was too tired to concentrate -- I actually took a five minute break during one of them to rest my eyes. It's really, really not worth it. Learn as much as you can when you can, but don't cut dramatically into your sleep. A few hours, okay, but not to the point where you won't be able to remember anything in the morning besides how tired you are.
[/QUOTE]
I think you kind of proved his point there...</p>
<p>well, i dont get letter grades, but ive always been in the top 2 in class...</p>
<p>Id say - read a lot. I read a lot of books and am a very fast reader, reading like 400 pages an hour. So, i just need to read my textbook once before the exam on the day before... that is if I did study...</p>