<p>practice exams.</p>
<p>Honestly getting a 4.0 is not really all that hard. It comes down to doing all homework even if its only suggested, review old exams and quizzes, ask for help when you needed, and regularly go to class. I probably only put in about 10 to 15 hours outside of class to do homework and study for upcoming tests and thorough Sophomore year in Chemical Engineering I have a 3.98 (the one class I got an A- in was a partner project so in reality the classes that were based on my sole performance have been all A’s)</p>
<p>btw 10-15 is an estimate there are weeks I put in more like 20-25 especially during finals week or a week heavy in midterms</p>
<p>Never give yourself a five-minute break to go on the internet. You’ll keep delaying and delaying until suddenly it’s two AM and you haven’t done any work. Has happened to me way too many times.</p>
<p>ViciousPoultry: Those are great things and they do work (I got my first A- doing almost everything you mentioned), however, I think the premise in your reasoning is that people are taking solely quantitative courses. What about those taking “essay” courses (courses where you write nothing but essays)?</p>
<p>I will admit to not having read all the thread posts, but in my experience thru 14+ years of engineering and science, the biggest factors that affect one’s grades in the quest for perfection are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Professor and his/her grading policy</li>
<li>Professor and his/her personality</li>
<li>Lots of in-major vs out-of-major courses</li>
<li>University’s grading policy</li>
</ol>
<p>Effort, etc all play a role of course, but one could be Linus Torvalds taking a CompSci class with the wrong prof and he’ll be as toast as the rest of us. This is true in classes that tend to do a lot of collateral damage (general math, physics, chem, English, etc) to one’s GPA. </p>
<p>If the university does not give letter minus/plus grades, it is true that while an 89 is a B, a 91 is an A, and makes things a LOT easier to 4.0. In a +/- scale, a 92 is an A- and good luck with that. </p>
<p>In-major classes vs out of major are very important - if you’re a CompSci major sailing thru some accursed English Dept course to punch your ticket, good luck. Not so easy to compete for 4.0’s with people who spent lots more time in the English Dept than you do. (and vice versa)</p>
<p>Who’s the prof… well, some are ‘easier’ than others no matter how we slice it. </p>
<p>If the grading policy is mostly tests, again, good luck. If half the grade is a project, as a lot of my CompSci classes were back in the dark ages, it’s a lot easier. </p>
<p>So the answer is to do all the right things, but keep in mind that it’s usually something else :-)</p>
<p>Please sticky this thread.</p>
<p>A real good thing to do but this is a very early thing, is to get a roommate whos in the same major. This proved to be very helpful for my cousins when they were in college. Since they were both pre med students their roommates helped out with the MCATS. And they did to with classes and since they were in the same major they were in a lot of the same classes. So this actually will really help with your GPA and standardized tests.</p>
<p>Always go to class.</p>
<p>Okay,we know to study for quantitative courses like chemistry, mathematics,physics, etc. But what are your tips for courses that are only essay based (i.e. you grade is determined solely off essays)?</p>
<p>^^ Pray to christ you get a lax professor. I hate essays because if you’re on the prof’s bad side or the prof is having her period she (or he, minus the period) can give whatever grade they feel like.</p>
<p>Study smarter (not harder). Learn what really works for you and what doesn’t… If flashcards work better than note outlines, make flashcards. If note outlines work fine for you, skip the flashcards. </p>
<p>Study based on the professor’s exam style. Make practice exams, find practice exams online, and have friend’s use your notes to make practice exams for you (and you should return the favor of course). </p>
<p>Get plenty of sleep, but not too much sleep. Also, get a morning routine established (one that doesn’t include “oh crap, I’ve only got 10 minutes to get dressed and get to class”). Eat breakfast and allow yourself time to enjoy the morning. (my day stays busy once it gets started, so I wake up about 20 minutes earlier than what’s actually necessary just to allot myself that downtime, but it’s likely I won’t get any for the rest of the day).</p>
<p>Find inspiration… If you lack inspiration to study and push yourself to be your absolute best academically, it’s 100% necessary to find some. Why did you go to college in the first place? If it’s because your parents said so, then it’s really time to look for inspiration. Once you find a good inspiration, surround yourself with it… Quotes, pictures, maps, etc. Something you can glance at when you’re bored with studying and really wishing you would have gone to the bar instead. A good inspirational piece should make you glad to get your nose back into the book and away from the booze. </p>
<p>Compete… even if it’s with yourself. Competition is what keeps most of us reaching higher and striving for better. If you have a friend that seems to make awesome grades, let your competitive drive kick in and take over. It’s okay to be frustrated that they’re doing better than you, but don’t sulk about it, use that frustration to fuel you. If you already have the highest GPA of all your friends, compete with yourself. Average ALL your grades for last semester together, if it’s a 96.4, then push yourself to top that next semester. One important thing about competition though, keep it healthy. Keep it a “game” and don’t get entirely serious about it to the point that if you “lose” the competition you fall into depression. </p>
<p>Get organized. Your space, your time, your class materials. Everything should have some sort of organizational system. That may be different for each person, but just know yours and if it works. If it doesn’t, try something different. If you have tried over and over again to implement a filing system but just cannot stick to it, perhaps try an organized piling system. It takes trial and error, but when you find something that really works for you it’s not hard at all to stick to. When you have everything organized, you will lose the stress of “where’s that handout I got 3 weeks ago” and “omg, I think I forgot about an assignment that may or may not be due tomorrow.” </p>
<p>… I’m really glad you made this thread. My little brother starts his freshman year next Monday and I’ve been trying to give him advice (he wasn’t the greatest high school student), but it’s the same stuff he’s heard over and over since he was in high school really. So getting some new advice to give him (and take myself) is great!</p>
<p>The best way to get a 4.0 gpa is to work and try to actually understand the course material, instead of being like a premed and working only for a grade. This typically means starting things early, thinking about what the professor is saying in lectures and by choosing to assign certain homework problems, and not scheming about how to beat the system and earn a good grade without learning anything.</p>
<p>Sometimes it’s just not possible to get a 4.0. I know of a physics professor who had test averages in the 20% range and refused to curve. This wasn’t quantum physics it was freshman stuff. So while a lot might be on your shoulders, sometimes there’s nothing you can do to avoid being screwed over.</p>
<p>To put it into a metaphor, you can drive your car as carefully as you wish. Doesn’t mean you’ll never get into an accident as long as there are other drivers on the road.</p>
<p>And a 4.0 isn’t the end all anyways. No employer is going to see “4.0” and think you’re Jesus.</p>
<p>^ I don’t have a 4.0 gpa, but in my experience, I haven’t run into a professor who is so incompetent or so ‘evil’ that he doesn’t reward students who know what they are doing with an A. I tend to think that such professors exist only in the minds of students who believe that they are entitled to good grades without learning anything. So no, I don’t think that sometimes it is impossible to get a 4.0 gpa.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Trust me, they’re out there. My ECE prof last semester had the idea that “know what they’re doing” implied having a level of mastery that most graduate students wouldn’t even have. He wasn’t a bad guy or evil though.</p>
<p>I feel like this is getting into an argument where we quibble about the meaning of words, but that is just an example of having really high standards. It’s arguable about whether it is worth it to meet those standards and earn an A, but I don’t think that it would be impossible in that case. </p>
<p>By the way, almost all graduate students aren’t really masters of anything. They are still learning things too in graduate school.</p>
<p>The best advice I can give for math and science classes is to just review the material as much as you can. I can tell you that I’m not a very math-enthusiast person, and science is way worse, as well. In my math classes, I read the textbook that my teacher told me to cover and I read them SLOW and thoroughly! As if I’m in elementary school. Then I find the practice problems and follow the examples and try and solve them. If I do get them right, I repeat and apply it again to newer problems. If I make a mistake, I go through it again and see where I went wrong, and if I can’t identify the mistake, that’s when I go to the teacher ask him/her.</p>
<p>A lot of you guys are giving one sided advice. You’re giving advice with the premise that everyone is taking STEM courses or whatever. What about those who have courses where there’s nothing but essays? For once, me and sad have a similar question. </p>
<p>I ask because I’ll be taking my third “essay” course this semester and want to do REALLY better. The past two “essay” courses, I’ve gotten B- for both. I want that to turn into an A this semester. Any advice would be gravy.</p>
<p>I will screw the teacher real hard on the desk on the chair in the bathroom. and let him or she do me.</p>
<p>i like to study real hard</p>