Story Time: Ever since middle school I’ve been getting 5-6 A’s in my classes. Freshman and Sophmore year I took Honors classes and they were easy. I’m now a Junior taking AP US History, Physics 1, and Calcus AB. I didn’t want to deal with 4 AP’s so I took Honors English instead. But what brings me here is who has something to say that will enlighten and make me optimistic about school. It’s hasn’t been 30 school days and I’m already at a D in History, C- Physics, and a B- (will drop because I just took a test) in Calculus. What used to be 3-6 hours of homework for 5 days has become 30 hours a WEEK. Like come on give me a break and that doesn’t include studying. What’s funny is I have my AP classes for the first 3 periods so it’s pointless to get extra study time during lunch or in between classes before a test because of all that content they expect me to know. But (based on what I’ve heard) a D weighted like a C? So, will I still be able to follow my Mother’s footsteps and her Mother and get into the medical field. A school I’m aiming for is Stanford but I’m fine with going to a school like UC Berkeley or taking a community college then transferring. I have no idea what I want to be when I grow older but for now… that’s what I’m sticking to. Anyways, before I lose my-self esteem and become depressed because of my grades. Leave a FRIENDLY comment. It might just inspire me or whatever. P.S. I’m sleep deprived. Anyone else? I-)
You can do this. You need to change how you study if you want to get into Stanford. D’s are not acceptable to colleges.
Talk to your teachers about what is required for you to study…30 hours week is not working for you right now.
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GO TO CLASS, READ THE BOOK, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
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Go to Teacher’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
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If you have problems with the homework, go to Teacher’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
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Form a study group with other kids in your class.
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Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or chemistry whatever. Watch online videos on line about the topic you are studying.
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If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
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Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
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For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
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How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
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If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the guidance counselor and talk to them.
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At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The teacher may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
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Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
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If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
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If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the teacher’s office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
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Take advantage of the “re-do”…your teacher wants you to learn the material. Future material depends on it so you need to have the foundation. By explaining what went wrong you really understand it. Take advantage of this.
AP’s are going to be a lot more work than honors classes. I have watched a high school student take 6 or 7 classes at once, and spend probably about 15 hours a week, possibly more, studying for just one of her classes (AP European History – I doubt that APUSH is going to be much easier).
Definitely you don’t want to just do the minimum. You will probably need to spend most nights doing homework from dinner until bed time, and you will want to do some work during the days over the weekend. Keep a list regarding what work you need to get done and when each item is due. Try to keep ahead as much as you can. You can do it, but you will have to spend the time to do the work.
If you get in, Berkeley or Stanford are going to be harder. When I was a graduate student at one of these, I pretty much did nothing but go to class, sleep, eat, and study. Between classes I studied. On weekends I would sleep in until 10am, study all day, but take Saturday night off to have some fun. That is what a top university requires.
Going to be brutally honest here. You sailed through your earlier years of school because you were smart. Unfortunately, this means that you didn’t have good study habits that are going to become crucial to your academic success.
You can fix this, but you’ll have to work harder and smarter. Harder - Did you study your AP materials over the summer? Try to get ahead on the subject matter, so that when your teacher starts talking about Chapter 5, you’ve already heard it, and can focus. See if there are any students who might want to form a study group. Go talk to your teachers during lunch or before/after school (ask them what time works best for them); it’s better to get to know them now, instead of at the last minute.
Smarter - When you read through your APUSH book(s), read it well the first time and take good notes. It’s a waste of your time to just keep reading the chapter over and over again. Make a timeline as events and important dates get discussed to help keep
I’m not trying to be harsh on you. This is actually what happened to my kids - sailed through school till junior year. I keep telling them that school gets harder, not easier. (I think the message is finally sinking in.)
You can do it! Develop those good study habits now, and reach out for help from various sources.
Hit “post” before I finished the sentence.
“Make a timeline as events and important dates get discussed to help keep the data aligned and how the events relate to each other.”
Thank you for your comments. I’ve read what you’ve all said. My biggest factor that’s holding me back is the amount of time I spend socializing and playing games. I can’t find a balance between school and my personal life. But I have this thought/ idea that I don’t want to become a person that just does their work and study all the time and just have a small amount of time to have fun. It’s like a habit or an addiction and you think about stopping and focus on work but then you don’t do it and end up getting distracted easily/ procrastinate. I hate myself but it loosens the heavy feeling as I type this. My left hand (lefty) hurts from all the typing and writing and I sleep late finishing my work. (I start at 7 but getting distracted and in-between breaks takes longer). I’ve grown a single white hair on the side of my head.
Apart from that, I don’t keep a planner (I never wrote in it when they provided it for us) and this year they decided not to give one. I usually keep my assignments organized in a folder then put graded work into a binder.
All in all, I’m somewhat beginning to understanding what I’m being taught but I’m feeling self reliant on answers from other students, and answer keys provided as I do my homework or just waiting the teacher to give the answer. (I don’t copy unless you consider rephrasing and adding additional information as copying). I still do my work independently and ask my peers if I’m stuck. Most of the time, we are both stuck and I just put a reasonable answer. It’s funny how people used to ask me for answers but now I’m the one that asks.
P.S. Progress report came in and my mother was not happy seeing two C’s and a D+. I can try to retake those tests to bring my grade up but, I’ve got lots of current work to do. I was also given a PSAT study test I’ve noticed most students that are given it don’t actually use it and just take the PSAT on the day it’s given, October 11.
Junior year is when academics get serious. You’ve just hit that wall, and discovered that your study and organizational skills are lacking. Bottom line – most students who get great grades and get into top colleges work very, very hard. You can’t get around that.
Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
“I don’t want to become a person that just does their work and study all the time and just have a small amount of time to have fun.”
If this is true, then you aren’t aiming at Berkeley or Stanford.
“most students who get great grades and get into top colleges work very, very hard. You can’t get around that”
Exactly right. Then when they get to the top colleges they work harder.
A professor I know says: “You have to want to do it”.