<p>I'm so scare when school starts. Now its all down to business with no or few mistakes in the road. I need a 4.0 GPA and I'm taking some hard classes like physics, math, and organic chemistry. I always do my homework after classes but when test time comes, I always have those anxiety even I know my stuff. How do you guys get A's and how do you study for tests?</p>
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<p>Why? I can’t think of much of anything, pre-professional programs included, for which you need a 4.0. Relax, and understand that freshman year tends to be an adjustment for nearly everyone. Your Undergrad GPA doesn’t stay on your resume that long, and it’s not the most important thing for grad programs and not the only factor for professional programs or hiring.</p>
<p>If you go in thinking you need a 4.0, you are only bound for disappointment.</p>
<p>so whats a good GPA to shoot for?</p>
<p>You shoot for the best you can and see what happens. If you don’t end up getting what you want, you keep trying, and with practice you’ll get the hang of how things work in your department. Putting yourself under so much pressure as to choose a certain GPA you must have before you even have any college experience under your belt is a great way to make yourself crumble academically without giving yourself a fair chance to succeed. You can’t perform at your best if you’re running yourself ragged trying to get grades you may not even have the skills yet to achieve. It is better to just work hard and see what happens, in my experience.</p>
<p>So just HOW hare is HARD? Am I completely ignorant to think that if I simply cut back on 95% of social events for studying (excluding extracurricular) that I should be ahead of, well, most everyone else? What’s so scary?</p>
<p>There’s really no way to answer that question. It depends on you, your school, your program, your classes, and like eighteen other variables. You will just have to feel that out when you get there.</p>
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Well, in my case…I go to a school with an average GPA of over 3.6. There are a lot of bright kids there, too. I know 1 person with a 4.0. And that person does 0 ECs and something like 60-80 hours of homework and studying each week. It varies by school, of course, and there are definitely more students than just this one with a 4.0, but college courses are significantly different than most high school courses. You’ll have to deal with professors whose teaching styles don’t match your learning style. You’ll deal with (potentially) increased competition. You’ll deal with more temptation due to more freedom. For many students, living away from home for the first time is not as easy as it sounds due to the added responsibility, and for some, adjusting is the equivalent of an additional 3 or 4 credits. Then again, it’s not that big a deal for some people. You wouldn’t be the first person to get a 4.0 if you manage everything well and get some lucky breaks (sickness or hard graders put a damper in plans like getting a 4.0).</p>
<p>With that said, I checked some of OPs posts, and it seems OP is in 3rd year at CC, so not adjusting anymore and likely has a decent idea of what’s required for a 4.0 (presumably for the term or year). Focus is a large part of it - getting distracted won’t be beneficial. Putting too much stress on yourself will also hamper your success, especially if you freak out going into exams. Focus on time management. Are your test-taking skills weaker than you’d like? It may be that you understand the material but just can’t deal well with timed tests. It’s hard for us to suggest things because it depends so much on you.</p>
<p>The most important thing you can learn in your first few weeks of college is TIME MANAGEMENT.</p>
<p>While it’s great to have high goals for a GPA, a 4.0 can be quite unrealistic - especially if you are taking difficult science based courses.</p>
<p>1) Go to every class.
2) Take good notes
3) Ask questions if you don’t understand something, either during class or at the professor’s office hours
4) Read the chapters/textbook
5) Do the suggested homework
6) Do extra homework, even those problems not suggested
7) Go to review sessions/study groups when you can
8) Don’t fall behind your schedule
9) Have fun and LEARN
10) If you do everything above, your grades will take care of themselves</p>
<p>Trust me, CC does not necessarily prepare you for university level work. I transferred to Umich after two full years (no summers off) at a CC and I may as well have been a freshman with how prepared I was. Some people adjust really quickly, others do not-- just as it is for freshmen. It’s a big mistake for anybody to take the adjustment period for granted.</p>
<p>Don’t work so hard! I had one professor who had the best philosophy in the world. He said his grades are based on only your performance in the class, with no influence on “participation”, and he doesn’t care how hard you work because it’s the final result that counts in the real world. No boss will cut you slack “because you tried your best and worked really hard.” In the real world, if someone can party the night before work and get their job done better than you, then tough luck. So I got an A in the class because I’m smart and creative, and not because I wasted 20 hours a week studying when I could be having fun. Sucks to be the big studier that got a C. Oh well.</p>
<p>So the moral of this is that you should not miss out on fun just to “be ahead of everyone.” Chances are, the guy coming into 8 am calculus still drunk is doing it because he is naturally smart (or prepared) enough that he can, not because he’s a lazy frat boy. You’re naive to think you’re ahead of the game just from studying, especially at a school like stanford where you likely have kids with photographic memories, high IQs, and Greeks with test files. Don’t miss out on the social stuff because it gets to a point where you’re only going to benefit so much from another hour of studying. Take a few A- or even B+ and become a well rounded individual: join some clubs, make some friends, volunteer, and get crunk!</p>
<p>Hope my rambling makes sense</p>