<p>Sucking up to the teacher REALLY helps. But you don’t have to think of it that way. Just talk to the teacher a lot. I’ve even scheduled appointments to talk with teachers after school about certain things. When a teacher knows you personally, they are more likely to see when you’re having a bad day. This may sound slightly inappropriate, but I have a few teachers as friends on Facebook. I’ve already used it to ask for recommendations.</p>
<p>I’ve even gotten grades changed just by doing this. In Algebra II, I had a really awful feeling about my exam. I just wasn’t coming up with the right answers, and I knew it. So the next day, I went in to talk to the teacher, and I said simply “I don’t think I did very well on my exam.” Then he pulled it out and showed it to me, and I had an 84 (my lowest exam grade ever). I only messed up on three questions, all of which included trig. So he offered to let me work on the exam for another fifteen minutes. When I sat down at the desk, I realized almost immediately that my calculator was in radians, not degrees. I fixed my errors, and got a 100% on the exam. That was only possible because I was chummy with the teacher.</p>
<p>Other good advice on here that I’ve seen is acing tests. Just improving your grade from, say, a 90 to a 98 can really, REALLY bring up your grade. But don’t skimp on homework and projects, either. You MUST complete everything to remain in good standing with the teacher. Make an effort, and you will be rewarded.</p>
<p>Contrary to popular belief, all this doesn’t take a lot of extra time. It’s as simple as paying attention in class, reviewing notes a few times before a test, writing down assignments and other tasks as you receive them, and asking for help rather than guessing about solutions. Getting a 4.0 is not hard when you use your brain. Common sense is probably the most important quality for achieving success.</p>