So you wanna shoot a 4.0, eh? In my experience, doing so isn\u2019t nearly as hard or complex as the average naysayer would have you believe. In the collegiate world, easy GPA\u00a0 improvement can be accomplished by implementing these simple strategies.\u00a0(Hint: #6 is the most important)<\/p>\n
1. – Remember to attend all finals and tests.<\/b><\/p>\n
You may think I\u2019m just trying to be funny, but seriously. I\u2019ve only fallen to \u201cB\u201d status twice in my entire time here at Whitewater, and one of them was because I forgot to go to a midterm.<\/p>\n
As a side note – you know this list is legit. Why? Because I didn\u2019t take my midterm, and still got a \u201cB\u201d in the class. #thatswhy<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2. – Hand write your notes.<\/b><\/p>\n
A deceptively simple trick of academia is to hand write your notes. I don\u2019t know why this works better than typing them, but science has shown this to be true. So do it. It\u2019s not that hard.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t believe me? Here\u2019s the proof:\u00a0http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop\/<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n In addition to improving your retention rate, hand writing your notes will increase the amount of time it takes you to record any given bit of information. This means you spend less time doing nothing, and, therefore, less time being bored in class. =P<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. – Go to class.<\/b><\/p>\n Set two alarms, you knew it would snow this winter, nobody cares that you\u2019re in sweats, the gym is open crazy late so you can go after class, and sitting in the same room as your Ex for an hour has never caused a fatality. Oh, and Netflix has a pause button.<\/p>\n 99% of your reasons for not attending class are dumb. Real talk: getting there is half the battle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. – Make friends with your professor.<\/b><\/p>\n This is a big one, and by far the most sly hack in the student hack handbook. Being on your professor\u2019s good side is easy, and will act like insurance against poor academic performance.<\/p>\n Getting on your professor’s good side is as simple as laughing at their jokes, smiling, not falling asleep on the first day, introducing yourself, asking how their day\u2019s\u00a0going, and asking good questions during class. If you can\u2019t find a reason to speak to your professor after class, ask for clarification on something they taught that day. If that\u2019s not your forte, pull a \u201cMean Girls\u201d and pretend to not understand something you actually understand really well. That works too.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that professors want nothing more than for their students to learn. Establish a good relationship, and your professor will be more inclined to \u201ccut you a break\u201d, tutor you outside of class, or offer you additional extra credit opportunities when you ask for them. That being said . . .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5. – Do every extra credit opportunity.<\/b><\/p>\n As long as it doesn\u2019t conflict with strategy #1 or #3, you should always attempt the extra credit opportunities. Think about it. Extra credit essentially makes your graded work count for less of your total grade. Also, extra credit has no potential for lowering your grade.<\/p>\n THERE IS NO DOWNSIDE.<\/p>\n A lot of the things I\u2019m telling you to do are meant to create a buffer between bad academic performance and how said performance negatively affects your grade. This is one of the simplest, and best ways to guard your grade against a bad test performance, or a series of poor homework grades.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 6. – Ask \u201cwhy\u201d, not \u201chow\u201d or \u201cwhat\u201d.<\/b><\/p>\n This is the secret to remembering anything.<\/p>\n When you are in class, and a professor shows you how to do something, you should never be content to just learn HOW to do a thing, or WHAT a thing is. Always, ALWAYS know WHY they are doing what they are doing, or WHY it is what it is. Here\u2019s an example of WHY this is important:<\/p>\n Memorize these numbers: 3 2 1 4 7 8 9 6 5 3 2 1 4 5 6 9 8 7<\/p>\n Got it? Did it take you a while?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now, get out a calculator, a phone, or anything that has a standard 3×3 number pad on it.<\/p>\n \u201c3 2 1 4 7 8 9 6 5\u201d – This is the first half of the number. It is also the sequence of numbers you get if you trace a letter \u201cG\u201d on a standard number pad. (start with the 3)<\/p>\n \u201c3 2 1 4 5 6 9 8 7\u201d – This is the second half of the number. It is also the sequence of numbers you get if you trace a letter \u201cS\u201d on a standard number pad.<\/p>\n \u201cG.S.\u201d – this is the abbreviation of \u201cGuardian Studios\u201d, an animation studio that has an angel as\u00a0 its logo.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s my point, when we first started this exercise, you were trying to memorize a series of meaningless numbers. Now that I have explained the reasoning behind the numbers, all you have to do is remember the letters \u201cG.S.\u201d, and you can remember an 18 digit number. Crazy, right?<\/p>\n This is the key to understanding and remembering anything complex. In your classes, the meaningless string of numbers could be an equation, or a sequence of events. If you know WHY the equation does what it does, you will be better able to remember and use it. If you know WHY each event led to the next, you will be able to remember the events.<\/p>\n Also, if you forget part of what you need to know, you can use your \u201cwhy\u201d level of understanding to figure out what you have forgotten. For example, if you forgot the letters \u201cG.S.\u201d, you might still remember that the company\u2019s logo is an angel. That knowledge will hopefully lead you to remember the phrase \u201cguardian angel\u201d, which then leads you to \u201cguardian studios\u201d, which then leads you to \u201cG.S.\u201d<\/p>\n See what I mean? Learn WHY a thing is, or WHY you perform a process, and you will remember things you never knew you were capable of remembering.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Well, that\u2019s all of them.<\/b><\/p>\n You will note that none of these things have to do with the actual school work itself. That wasn\u2019t a mistake. If you can learn the material effectively, doing the work won\u2019t faze you at all. So remember these pointers, and if you don\u2019t miss your midterm, you should be well on your way to\u00a0 4.0 status.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So you wanna shoot a 4.0, eh? In my experience, doing so isn\u2019t nearly as hard or complex as the average naysayer would have you believe. 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