Straight A students: How do you do it?

<p>what do you mean by doesn't take you work to understand concepts? Like, do you even read the AP US history textbook? Or are you saying that you can read it once and understand? Same for like Chemistry, or Math?</p>

<p>Whoa, not me personally, just some people. I mean people who don't have to pore over concepts and processes to understand them, which applies more to math/physics/chemistry than to something based on memorization such as APUSH or AP Bio.</p>

<p>ah, I am just curious :) I hope I didn't sound aggressive. :P If anyone has experience with that please post. When it comes to a subject like US history, how long does it take you to read a chapter? Or a few pages? Do you take traditional outline notes? What about for subjects like Chemistry or Algebra?</p>

<p>There is no way I can have straight As with science in my schedule....I have pretty much all As except for AP Enviro...I have like a C+ in that class.</p>

<p>I just don't understand science.</p>

<p>Right. It seems that studying and all that has pretty much been covered from every possible angle. Now as to learning new languages WHILE taking 7 AP classes per year and being in half the school's clubs...this is how I do it. Unorthodox, but whatever works, y'know?
1.) Decide what language to take. Romance languages are all pretty much the same thing pronounced differently; they're good to start on and easy to continue.
2.) Talk to your Gifted teacher, if you have one, about starting another language class. This will provide pressure to perform.
3.) Use a holiday as an intense study period. In winter of my soph year I decided I wanted to take French (I was already in Spanish 4), so I studied about six hours a day over half of winter break. This was overkill, but I was v. nervous, as my teacher was starting me in French 2. Study mostly textbooks from the class; memorize basic vocab and verb conjugations. CDs can help too.
4.) Enter the class and don't be afraid to use the language & interact! This is how you will learn. I skipped up a few more years and am now (my senior year) in French 6 AP. My Spanish teacher insisted that I take German 4 AP this year, too (bleh), and I'm learning some other Romance languages on the side.</p>

<p>I hope this helps...</p>

<p>nice tips OutOfKS! Really interesting how you did it. I'm particularly interested in learning Arabic/Chinese. I'm taking French 1 now as a Junior though, and Spanish 3, so I'll see how far I go with French, since I wont be able to take french 2 next year (full schedule). But those are pretty good tips. Did you self-study German the same way?</p>

<p>How do u people go to be so early, My lord. My dorm is a loud house untill at least 4 am, even though quite hours are at 11.</p>

<p>A-san:
See if you can skip ahead a level or two in Spanish (unless your school has a really competetive/scary foreign language program)! It's also fun to watch movies in foreign languages (like Amelie, Happenstance, etc.) with the subtitles off -- it's a good way to hone listening/comprehension skills, which are helpful for the AP. Yeah, I self-studied for German. Good luck with Arabic and Chinese! Those might be harder to self-teach, because of their alphabets, but hey, why not give it a try?</p>

<p>What About Students Who Have Straight A's In A Good College?--what Is Your College Major And Main Strategies For Success.</p>

<p>@OutOfKS, well I am already in Spanish 3, and next year I might take AP Spanish, so that';s working out fine. If you are refferring to French 1, well, this is my first time learning it, so I doubt they will put me any higher. Unfortunately, I wont be able to continue to French 2 (or maybe even French 3) next year since I most likely wont have space in my schedule. Movies in foreign languages is a good idea! I think I might do that for French - since I'm already surrounded with Spanish novelas. :P</p>

<p>@vtoodler, great question! I hope some college students answer it.</p>

<p>hey for you guys who get all As, how do you guys study for chemistry? I have a midterm comin up, and i'd like to know what tips you guys do. like, how many problems should i do, how much should i focus on concepts, etc? any tips would be great!</p>

<p>Just GTFO the internet and do your homework. Its really not that hard. Stop asking how to do something and do it.</p>

<p>what does GTFO stand for?</p>

<p>get off, I have absolutley no clue for the T and F stand for.....</p>

<p>It's a not so polite but very direct exclamation =]</p>

<p>For chem - do as many practice problems as possible! Flashcards for reactions, if you're in o-chem!</p>

<p>yeah serously, no need ot be an ass about it. thanks tho celestial605</p>

<p>just wanted to chime in....
to start with- i go to a jewish day shcool ( private school) adn i have class from 9-5 , but prayer starts at 8... i am not taking anything that isnt basic( welll- im in straight honors, but i dotn count that)... literally... i am taking physics, pre-calc, 11th english and ap history..... not too hard till u add on 5 classes in judaics classes.... lol</p>

<p>anway-- i go to school an hour away... i get home at 6:30 on a normal day, and 2-3 times a wekk i usually have rehersal for the jcc musical( dependign on the month of course)... this gets me 11 classes worth of reviewing adn work stqartign at 9:30 at night....</p>

<p>thankfully- my school doesnt assign a lot of judaics work... obviosuly review- but who has time for nightly review( i know i know.. it makes test easier)
since classes mainly focus on skills, i pay attention-- i actualy find my judaics classes easier to apy attention in then the general studies.... Maybe thats why i started thinking in hebrew sometimes....
anyway- i can coutn on everynight having 20 min of math, once a week having 30 min of phiscs, ap his reading for 20-40 min, adn about 15 min of hebrew work ... not countign teachers who usually dont goev work but sometimes do....</p>

<p>anywasy.. add it up: its 85-105 min a night( about 1.5 hours...) plus procarasination, dinner, and email.... i make it a point to go to bed by 12:15 everynight... even if the homeowkds not done... my ap homework isnt collected( every day he picks someone else to gev it in... or he will afte rthis break) iam 90 pages behind in hsitory bc i knwo basic americna history for class, i will pay attention ther, adn now that i ahev a 2 week break 9 sukkot... = feast of tabernacles)i am gonna to do 150 pages.... </p>

<p>anway:: to skip to the important parts: find an online timer... liek the kind ur mom put on aol when we wer elike 9... after an hour set it to log u offline... i dotn care where u are... or set it to auto-log off after 11;30.... we switche doff aol, adn i havent been abe to find an online time that words for me.... but i swaer by this... it means i HAve to be in bed, but i can still go online and stuff.. grnted im a 85-95 student, so maybe u want to take the straight a students advice, hbut this works for me</p>

<p>also: priotitze... i procratinate really badly, but i always do the math work first- cuz if i dotn ill fail ( personal expeience, btw.. well- 71 isnt relaly failing but wtvr)... put off stuff that isnt due until fter lunch fo tommorw- even if its an essay.... ull be mor rested tommrow to tackle it even u have another huge night of work..,.and do that first, then do the rest fo ur hw, proofread it then bed</p>

<p>anywya: im a really distracted typist but in sum:
if its ur worst subject do it first
if its not due tommorw and u haev a ton of work that is, put it off
time ur online time- spend time with friends adn do work</p>

<p>work the system</p>

<p>great advice booklet0519! And welcome to CC. :)</p>

<p>At gregdunn, interesting advice there, do you think maybe you can ellaborate a little bit? How do you work the system?</p>

<p>You really have to learn time management, and you have to work really, really hard. </p>

<p>If something just isn't done by midnight, I stay up to do it. My body has become adjusted to getting little amounts of sleep (5-6 hours/night) which isn't the best, I know, but it works for me.</p>

<p>Other than that, you have to know when to ask for help and seek out teachers. Get on their good side. Ask questions in class when you don't get something. Etc., etc....</p>

<p>Also, I do the plays and musicals at my school, and I'm usually a lead, which is just as (if not more) time-consuming as a sport. I have rehearsal everyday, and when I get the chance, I do my homework when I'm not onstage. Same with my other clubs and such. I also do homework between classes, like, right at the beginning when everyone's getting settled, or when there's free time at the end of the planned lesson and the teacher is nice.</p>

<p>I do NOT do social things during the weekdays, apart from AIM/phone time. My EC's ARE my social things.</p>

<p>During the weekends, of course I make time for friends. Making memories is important to me, more important than getting good grades. But because I put everything I do as a priority on my list: school, friends, fam, EC's, I always manage to get them done, because they are all important to me.</p>

<p>You really have to want it. Really really really.</p>