What do you think is the best way to get a 4.0 gpa?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>I created a list for getting a 4.0 gpa because I really want to do well this quarter:
1. Sacrifice yourself to finish all the task, even if you have to stay up all night.
2. Take education as priority, then work, then social life.
3. Whenever you think of something else while studying, shake your head, and return right back to the task.
4. If stuck on a problem, take the initiative right away. (office hours, websites, friends, etc.)
5. Take a light nap for energy boost (30 minutes, avoid power naps for 2 hours)
6. Use as much office hours as possible and get to know the professors. (Office hours are the best resources on campus)
7. Try to exercise at least for 30 minutes on weekends.
8. REVIEW and STUDY AHEAD before the lectures.
9. If you think you are not naturally intelligent enough to review twice and get an A on a test, review six times to get an A.
10. Whenever working on something on computer, don't get distracted by social medias such as facebook and myspace. If you think you can't handle it, give yourself only 5 minutes for that and return back to the task.
11. Whenever you are distracted with unnecessary thoughts at lectures and discussions, snap out of it quickly and go back to focusing on lectures and discussions.
12. Try not to go home every weekend if you are dorming.
13. If you see someone being lazy or someone who is slacking off (ex. "Dude, it's due tomorrow, let's do it later man, everyone is doing it later except for you.), don't fall into peer pressure. Take the initiative and do yourself a favor.
14. Even if you get bad grades on tests or quizzes, don't get discouraged. review what you did wrong and just move on because there are still opportunities ahead of you.
15. Most importantly, plan ahead of how you are going to study.</p>

<p>Does anyone agree with my list? Any other suggestion you want to add to this? I really want to do my best this quarter.</p>

2

<p>It’s a good list, especially #4. It’s important to not be afraid to ask for help if you’re struggling. I didn’t do that with calculus last semester and I ended up with a D. :(</p>

3

<p>Study at the library</p>

4

<p>1 isn’t necessarily that great of an idea. Eventually you end up in the hospital.</p>

5

<p>Some stuff are good, some stuff are bad. The idea is that while you should study hard, you should also study sustainability.</p>

<p>A sound body is necessary to maintain a sound mind. So, your body always has to come first.</p>

<p>In no particular order:</p>

<p>Good stuff: 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14</p>

<p>Bad stuff: 1, 3, 12</p>

<p>The list sounds good in practice, but in reality, there’s a few things that can go wrong:

  • You study all the material but are completely shot the morning of the exam in terms of energy and make several mistakes. For other days, this means that you fall asleep during class, etc.
  • You overestimate the amount of self-control you have. For example, as the geek I am, even if I turn off internet, I’d still get distracted enough to turn it back on. The only real solution is for me to gather everything I need and study somewhere far away from internet. This usually means public library, where the internet is too slow for me to consider usable except in the most desperate situations.
  • If you lose your mental health, you’re going down. Sometimes, you need to relax or party.</p>

<p>For me, it’s about scheduling things in such a way so that it’s very difficult for things to go wrong:</p>

<ul>
<li>Study groups: people get each other “in the zone” immediately and make it extremely difficult to lose focus</li>
<li>Scheduled study times with clear end times: you have a limited amount of time and you have clearly-defined purposes and goals; just make sure you schedule more than you need as you can always “not study” should you be truly done.</li>
</ul>

<p>Also, make sure you pick a manageable course-load, and if you have project courses, pick good partners. </p>

<p>For example, this semester, I ended up with much lower grades than I anticipated in some courses because my partners in those courses simultaneously dropped the ball: in one course, none of my group members understood the material and I had to take on over 80% of the work in a 4-person group; meanwhile, my project partner in another course decided to not care after a great midterm score and didn’t do a single thing. The result was that my groups let me be several days late on those projects as I finished them almost single-handedly, despite weighing almost as much as midterms. You may ask: did I have a good group in another course? Sure, but I unfortunately had to drop the ball on them while they earned my A without me; I still have not gotten over the guilt at this point.</p>

<p>Also, in a past semester, I thought I could always work around any course load, but I took an “impossible” schedule and there was this class in which I missed almost all lectures between the first and second midterm due to assignments from other classes. Needless to say, I failed the class and deserved it. Meanwhile, had I not taken that class at all and focused on the other three, I probably could have pulled As in all of them.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>That is essentially what I did, only I didn’t fail, I got B’s-- and nearly ended up in the hospital. I self-taught myself 6 weeks of material each for two different classes in two days each and aced both finals, right after writing nine research papers in eight days. And now I am so exhausted I am not sure if I can go back for next term. OOPS.</p>

<p>This semester I set up my schedule so I have VERY long weekends and a very easy Wednesday so I’ll have more time to rest and study, so hopefully that won’t happen again. I like your suggestions for studying smart, this semester I hope to get together some study groups and I definitely need to be more short-term goal oriented with my studying. That is how I managed to teach myself six weeks of advanced material in two days, so I can only imagine how well it would work if I did it for 15 whole weeks. XD</p>

<p>Though, now I wonder if I’ll get bored with so little material to study at once. That’s the problem with not being behind. ;)</p>

7

<p>-attend all lectures unless nothing in class is on the tests (this happens)
-attend all discussions
-attend all office hours if it’s a math class
-do all homework, even if optional</p>

<p>i’ve done far less than this and i have 4 A’s and a B+ at UCLA.</p>

<p>i think the most important thing is to take the minimum course load allowed every semester/quarter.</p>

8

<p>I think your list is admirable, but it focuses too heavily on the “daily grind.” Working that hard and that consistently (and I would argue, needlessly) has to be extremely emotionally draining to the point that it’s not feasible. 1, 2, and 3 all seem very intense. There’s nothing wrong with taking breaks once you get distracted and personally, I got through four years of an extremely challenging prep school and my first semester of college without ever having to pull an all nighter. </p>

<p>If you want a 4.0, I’d recommend checking out the “Zen Valedictorian” philosophy, which is what I do. Cal Newport also has a great blog called “Study Hacks” with more info.</p>

9

<p>You know how to cheat on exams</p>

10

<p>Have a study partner and live on campus.</p>

11

<p>There’s a lot of bad ideas on that list. Everyone’s different, but I’ve had a 4.0 through 7 semesters mainly by:</p>

<p>Doing #8, #10 (I avoid computers when studying if possible)</p>

<p>Things I’ve avoided doing on your list:

  • I’ve never pulled an all nighter for studying
  • I ALWAYS sleep when I’m tired for as long as I need/want (if you can’t afford to sleep then you procrastinated too much)
  • If certain classes have monkey work (i.e. accounting) then I get that out the weekend before so I can do the real learning during the week.
  • I take every class assuming it’s “hard” even if it’s easy
  • Study early enough so that you can choose what to study (don’t force yourself to study for upcoming tests even though you’re not focused/interested)</p>

<p>Nothing else is really relevant IMO. I guess eat well and exercise and make sure to have fun–but those are life choices and you could technically get a 4.0 without any of that.</p>

12

<p>Screw the teacher</p>

13

<p>I disagree with #3 the most (and #1 next). As far as #3… You have to allow other thougthts. all our best, most creaive ideas happen that way. also, the brain needs rest and sleep to process information. the Zeigarnik effect which states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.</p>

14

<p>The Zeigarnik effect suggests that students who suspend their study, during which they do unrelated activities (such as studying unrelated subjects or playing games), will remember material better than students who complete study sessions without a break</p>

15

<p>I really like it that you have summarized what works for you. I want to repeat some of the stuff you mentioned above. When I was in college, teaching freshman classes I often found that these simple steps would have helped my students. But even after repeated requests, some of them did not get it:</p>

<p>Always read the text book and assigned materials ahead of the lecture before going to lectures. This is very important if you are taking one of those large class size courses.</p>

<p>Do all the home work, even if this is only optional. </p>

<p>Go to all the office hours and get clarifications and any additional help. Just hang out and watch your professors/TA solve the problems even if you know the stuff!</p>

<p>Find a quiet place, like library, or a place you can concentrate away from computers, tvs, games and internet. </p>

<p>Take micro breaks. </p>

<p>Become an expert in managing your time effectively. </p>

<p>Above all win and have some fun!</p>

16

<p>Speaking as a guy who’s maintained a 4.0 in math and science for his freshmen year:</p>

<p>STUDY STUDY STUDY STUDY STUDY STUDY STUDY</p>

<p>This means: read the textbook. Sit down and READ IT. Maybe make notes while you’re doing so. Do all sample problems and sample exercises, with pen and paper. Then do odd problems at the end of the chapter. Correct your answers. If you were wrong, do the problem again. Ideally you would have read the material <em>before</em> it comes up in lecture. Do not sit back and just be an “audience” at college, engage yourself. As for help on things you don’t understand, look for help on the internet (many is the time that neither my textbook nor my professor could satisfactorily answer a question, this is what the internet is for). Read more than just your textbook. Studying economics? Get a layman’s book like Basic Economics by Sowell or Economics in One Lesson by Hazlitt. Studying science? Layman’s book choices are abundant. Many times a book written for the layperson can say in one sentence what a whole chapter is trying to get across in a textbook. There are videos on youtube and elsewhere for concepts in math and science.</p>

<p>Find someplace distraction-free and study like it was your job. BECAUSE IT IS.</p>

17

<p>I think #8 is the most efficient one. Even though I am still in high school, it helped me considerably in my AP classes because I realized that I pay more attention when I know what the teacher is talking about and can follow along without getting confused. Lectures were more like a review and I was able to recall vital information more easily. Also, I was able to stay ahead in my studies and avoid procrastination.</p>

18

<p>I have a 4.0 and do…almost none of these.</p>

<p>I never ever pull all-nighters, I rarely pay attention in lectures, and I don’t review things more than I need to. I’ll often join my finds if they’re sitting around chatting.</p>

<p>To be honest, I find what works for me is that I start assignments when they’re given, and work on them steadily until they’re done, usually 2 or 3 days before they’re due. Then I can check them over and relax. I do talk to professors, though, if I need help. </p>

<p>I think the biggest thing is studying something you really love, and not stressing yourself out too much. Time management is key. I personally can’t work if I pull an all-nighter; I’m just exhausted and unproductive.</p>

19

<p>Old thread but I’ll add one: learn how to study. Studying is useless if you’re studying for the wrong thing. Find out how the professor writes the exams.</p>

20

<p>-Go to all your lectures and sit in the front row. Make sure the teacher knows your face (even if they don’t know your name).</p>

<p>-Work out more than just on weekends. Try to work out everyday.</p>