7 Things I Do To Get Good Grades In College

Whether you’re an overachieving college student, or you’re just trying not to fail a class, getting good grades and a good GPA in college isn’t an easy task. But if you do the right things and put effort in it, you’ll certainly achieve your goal. So here is a complete guide to getting good grades in college.

I always got mediocre grades in high school, But in my freshman year my GPA was 3.8. And it’s been above 3.2 ever since. P.s I’m a junior now.

Go to class and actually pay attention

Maybe you didn’t want to hear this one, but going to class and actually paying attention is key if you want to get good grades. If you do that, you won’t need to study a lot for the exams or quizzes, because you already paid attention in class and you already know a lot of the information. Besides, some professors really care about attendance. Even if it seems attendance won’t affect your grades, it can. So, don’t skip class. But, on the other hand, skipping class once in a while won’t hurt, just make sure to take a look at the syllabus so that you don’t miss important things.

Related: How to skip classes wisely

Study at least a couple days before the exam.

If you always go to class and pay attention maybe you can skip this one and still get a good grade by only studying the day before. But if you don’t and even if you do, study a couple days before the exam, so that you can avoid all the stress. This way you won’t be so tensed and it is more you’ll get a good grade.

Do the extra credit

Many professors offer extra credit and sometimes it is easy to get. You could boost your GPA by just doing a silly assignment that won’t take long to get done. Do the extra credit even if you think you do not need it, cause at the end it may be the thing you need to get from a B+ to an A.

One of my professors, used to give us extra credit points for just going to class!

Do your homework and meet the deadlines

Some assignments have a huge weight on the final grade, and some don’t, but either way you should do them. They can help your grade. Once you get your syllabus, mark all the deadlines on your calendar and set reminders on your phone if you think that would help. Not doing your homework, no matter how tedious it is, it’s a silly way of ruining your GPA. Another silly way of losing points is to submit assignments late, yeah at least you submitted it but your grade could have been higher if you’dÂ submitted it earlier.

Find a place to study

I get distracted by literally everything, so studying at the library or at a study lounge helps a lot. If you want to study effectively and not for long look for a place where you can focus.

Stop studying when you feel tired

If you are feeling tired and exhausted you are not going to retain any of the information you’re trying to retain for the exam. Besides, when we’re tired, it takes longer to understand some things. So the best thing to do in that case is to stop studying. Take a break or take a short nap and then go back to study. It is better to do that than to force yourself to study and then to forget everything.

Don’t be afraid to seek help

If you are struggling to understand something, don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are different ways you could seek for help, like asking your classmates, going to the learning assistance centre or going to your professor’s office hours. After all, professors are there to help you with any doubt about their class you might have. Just don’t be scared to ask and don’t think that asking will make you look stupid because it won’t. We are in college, we are there to make mistakes and to ask, we are learning. Your professor will surely appreciate the effort you’re putting into their class. And you’ll end up getting good grades.

All-nighters

We all hate staying up all night to study. But sometimes it is something we have to do, and I do it all the time. Thing is, I’m a huge procrastinator and I don’t know why, but I always end up having like 3 finals on one day. And it sucks. During finals week, I literally study all night and drank a lot of coffee. It certainly isn’t healthy (at all), but I get good grades at the end. Caffeine certainly helps me to stay awake so I can study all night. I know this isn’t a good tip, but if you want to get good grades, you need to sacrifice some things (like sleep). Point is, if you have to stay up all night to study, do it. Drink coffee or energy drinks to stay awake. Get food, listen to good music and you’ll be just fine. You could say my secret to getting good grades is pulling all nighters.

But remember that consuming a lot of caffeine and not getting enough sleep is NOT healthy, so consider this tip as your last resource. And after you’re done with exams get lots of sleep!!