<p>Last time I picked and chose what readings to do and not do, I got a C on the midterm paper. I’ll be doing all the readings from now on. :cries:</p>
<p>At this rate, my cumulative freshman year is gonna be like a 2.9. But for some reason I decided that it was a good idea to take 3 hard classes in a semester…I just wanna get through with like a 3.6 and then really kick butt next semester. :(</p>
<p>It’s really not fair. I’m working my ass off and still getting crappy grades. :(</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I haven’t posted on these CC forums in over a year, but this post got my blood boiling to the point that I needed to throw my two cents in:</p>
<p>College is meant to be fun, many people call it the best four years of their lives, many make the friends and networks that will stick with them for years to come, and many find their significant other at some point during this time. The late-nights, the drinking, and the romance are great parts of college that I think are being ignored. </p>
<p>A little background on myself: I’m currently a junior at a local liberal arts college double majoring in Econ and Computer Science. I’ve got a 3.86 GPA and am taking the LSAT and June just to see what I can do (I really don’t care either way about law school at this point). I am currently in between jobs for about two months, but for the rest of my time at college, I’ve worked at least 20 hours/wk during the school year. Furthermore, I’ve been in a relationship for almost two years. </p>
<p>In high school I was a total nerd: studied non-stop, straight A’s, valedictorian, the whole shebang…but I would trade it in for awesome social experiences I’ve had in the last three years - great new friends, amazing parties, started a business - and much more. I’ve studied a couple hours for a final, driven to three hours to and three hours back from a concert…just in time to take the exam on 48 hours of no sleep…and I still did peachy keen. I study when I have to, turn in graded work, etc, but I’ve taken exams hungover, exams on no sleep, and have done homework drunk. There is little grade inflation at my school, and my two majors are notoriously difficult, so how do I do it? </p>
<p>Here are my tips to success in college:
<ol>
<li><p>Figure out your professors - Get an idea of what they expect, what you can shirk, who gives grades based on raw performance and who grades on effort, etc. If you know a prof doesn’t care about assigned reading…well then skip it and focus on a prof who’s going to quiz you on the latest chapter of your current textbook. </p></li>
<li><p>Participate in social activities - doesn’t have to be school related, just get out and see the world! </p></li>
<li><p>Party - Some of the best ideas and best friendships I have made have come on drunk & belligerent nights in some random apartment. Drunken conversations at 2am, meeting tons of new people, and of course the bonding experience that is the next-day hangover. Even if drinking isn’t your thing, parties are like the country clubs of college…it’s where the real work gets done. </p></li>
<li><p>Learn to Write - Yes, it does take some talent to pull a high GPA, and I owe everything I have to my ability to write well. If you can master this skill, term papers, essay exams, and the like will seem insignificant to you. The better you write, the easier classes become. I remember my sophomore year the students in a class I had freaking out over a term paper that had been assigned since the start of the year. People were prepping and whatnot weeks and months in advance. Yet, I took a couple hours the night before it was due and churned out an A paper…using the extra time I saved for more interesting pursuits. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Bottom Line: you want a lackluster college experience, then by all means follow the quoted advice. However, if you actually want to enjoy college, then I would recommend taking a step back, de-stressing, and realize that the grades will come, but you are allowed to enjoy yourself in the process.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>High school : College</p>
<p>is to</p>
<p>Big fish in a small pond : Small fish in a big pond</p>
<p>hunter, congrats. You’ve learned about moderation.</p>
<p>Too many other college students, however, haven’t. So Friday and Saturday nights spent chasing around members of the opposite sex and binge drinking result in Saturday and Sundays spent lying around sick not being able to study. Even worse, they lead to all-nighters where you work at half your potential, and then come to class too tired to listen or participate.</p>
<p>I spent my freshman and sophomore year staying up late and binge drinking. Sure, I had a great time, but alls I have to show for it now is some laughs, not being able to drink Jack Daniels anymore and lots of B’s that I’m working hard to make up for. Once I learned moderation - drink two or three nights a month only, don’t let yourself get depressed after you get turned down/break up, sleep right - my grades skyrocketed.</p>
<p>Sleep is important. In high school, I’ve learned that the best study aid is a pillow. If I’m fresh, I’ll do better on a test than if I cram late at night.</p>
<p>One piece of advice an adult friend of mine gave me is to not part every night. Once you realize that there is a keg party every night and you’re not missing anything that you wouldn’t be able to do friday night, you’ll be allright.</p>
<p>Lots of different advice coming from all corners in this thread…I think I’ll weigh in with mine.</p>
<p>I am only finishing up with my second year of college, so obviously I don’t have a whole wealth of experience to speak from but I have attended the University of Minnesota and UW-Madison (two reasonably reputable schools) and am on pace to finish the year with a cumulative GPA of 3.98. Furthermore, I have studied abroad, transferred, and dealt with heavy depression for two semesters and counting, so I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of a lot of the curve balls undergraduate education can throw at you. I say this because although I have had to do minimal work up until this point (on average, I study 3-4 hours per week outside of class) I have had to struggle quite a bit to maintain my focus and push through a lot of the adversity that has come my way. There have been times when I was completely disinterested in all of my classes and couldn’t draw my mind away from other things to pay attention, read, or take notes in lecture. I just want to point this out so people understand where I am coming from, and that a good GPA has not just fallen into my hands, nor is it likely any of us will be that lucky. </p>
<p>That being said, I feel like everyone is different, and, accordingly, everyone will benefit from different advice. As egalitarian as I try to be, it’s pointless to deny that we are all of identical intelligence; the fact of the matter is that some people can get away with partying for much of the time or being lazy and still have the ability to ace tests and churn out superb papers. However, there are others that have to attend class regularly and work a great deal to maintain a high GPA. </p>
<p>I would say the advice about knowing how much work to put in and where to put it in is important. I have some classes (econ 101, intro to logic, literature classes) where I have gone to class a few times the entire semester and still made an A grade. At the same time, I’ve known people in the same class who went to lecture, took notes, and studied, who did worse than I did. I spent the time I saved not going to those lectures resting, enjoying myself, or working on more pressing school concerns. On the other hand, there have been classes like Biology (i’ve never been great with science) where I have had to attend lecture everyday and study for hours to get an A. It’s all about being familiar with your abilities and knowing what you need to put in. </p>
<p>In the same mode, some people are naturally great writers well others struggle to produce a good paper. Writing is one of the most difficult skills to learn, and also one of the most important ones to college. That being said, some people will be able to write their papers the night before they are due and produce something astounding. But again, not everyone can do that. My advice, is that if a high GPA is something you are really dedicated to and writing is an important part of your major, to go to workshops and read voraciously. Also, ask a friend who is a talented writer to edit your papers and give you advice. Furthermore, most schools have writing centers where people get paid to help students fine tune their papers. Take advantage of those resources. </p>
<p>Lastly, as was pointed out before, some majors are going to be more difficult than others. I doubt I would have the same GPA if I were a science major and still putting in the same amount of work that I have been. If you just want a high GPA, pick a major and classes that are either less intense, or something you are naturally good at. I have taken mostly social sciences/politics classes which happen to be an area of interest to me, and subjects that I’ve always grasped quite naturally. That being said, I am able to get away with doing a lot less memorizing and studying than a lot of people in the same class who don’t have the same knack for it that I do. Everyone’s mind works differently, and if getting a high GPA is the most important thing for you, I think its important to cater to your strengths, at least to some extent. Hopefully, what your good at coincides with what your interested in. If not, it’s your decision of which thing you want to risk sacrificing; your GPA or your academic enjoyment. Personally, I would side with studying what I am interested in and commit myself to doing whatever it took to keep me on the path toward the future I want for myself, but I understand that this isn’t always practical. </p>
<p>Just to conclude, I really think it’s all about finding out what you need to put in, and being truly dedicated to doing what is required. Determine what advice you need to listen to, and then set yourself to following it. I think if you do those things and maintain your focus, you will have no problems finishing college with a stellar GPA.</p>
<p>Two random thoughts:</p>
<p>(1)
I recommend putting in the effort even if writing isn’t an important part of your major. For one thing, it’s just important to know how to get your thoughts across clearly, no matter what you want to do. For another, though, I knew some non-humanities majors who struggled with writing, and all of their grades suffered from the huge amounts of time/energy they had to dedicate to occasional writing assignments. </p>
<p>(2) There’s an element of luck involved, particularly at the 3.9 level. Of course, that’s not all it is–hard work, intelligence, savviness, etc. are the main players–but it’s certainly a part. In my experience, there was more subjective grading in college than in HS. Every B+ I received in college could be explained more by bad luck than by lack of effort or objectively poor performance. Of course, I also received a few A’s and A-'s that didn’t at all reflect my actual understanding (or lack, thereof…) of the material! It goes both ways.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your GPA in college determines the law schools you can get into. The law school you attend will determine your future job prospects and the caliber of connections you meet. Your GPA in college determines the rest of your life.</p>
<p>
This is elementary advice I’m sure most people know by now.</p>
<p>
This advice doesn’t relate to the topic I addressed, and if it does you haven’t explained how.</p>
<p>
Again, I don’t see how this relates to the topic I addressed. From my experience, during parties people don’t typically chat about the academic work they do.</p>
<p>
Again, elementary advice. We are in the Law School forum, and it is presumed that one seriously considering law school knows how to write well. Writing well alone, however, isn’t the key to a 3.9 GPA.</p>
<p>
Of course one is allowed to enjoy oneself in the process – I never mentioned the sacrifice of enjoyment as an action that one must take to yield a 3.9+ GPA.</p>
<p>“The grades will come” … Yes, the grades will come, obviously. Anything from an A to an F. You seem to be assuming that one can easily obtain good grades simply by de-stressing, working less, caring less. Empirical evidence shows this is not true for the majority of people.</p>
<p>“If you actually want to enjoy college,” then do things you enjoy doing. However, you seem to be narrowing down “enjoyment” to the stereotypical conception of what one derives as enjoyment from college. People may also derive some of their enjoyment from successful academic achievement, and there tends to be a trade-off between these two types of enjoyment (play and success at work), although some amount of both tends to be necessary for a healthy lifestyle for most people.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Backing up hunter here, you might be surprised (and elementary or not, I personally think it’s still a point worth mentioning). I knew kids who came to college–and I mean smart kids at great schools–having coasted right through HS. Some of them had to pick up ‘basic’ study/work skills (including ‘learn how to prioritize’ and ‘know your audience’) once they got to college. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Nothing alone is the key to a 3.9 GPA. I also agree that writing is an important part of this, though, and should be emphasized. Again, elementary or not, I still think it bears mentioning. I certainly know law school aspirants who struggle with writing, or who write decently, but very, very slowly (to the detriment of their other coursework). </p>
<hr>
<p>Now, I don’t think that relaxation, partying, getting out, etc. are necessarily the keys to a high GPA, but I think the overall point of hunter’s post was balance, with which I agree. The best students that I knew were not the ones who lived in the library and obsessed over every grade, nor were they the ones who came home drunk multiple times per week and wrote their papers in the hour before class. For the most part (and yes, there are exceptions to every rule), they were the ones who worked hard, but knew (and respected) their own limits.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>^ Agreed. I also agree with the point that not everyone necessarily needs to balance work + partying, specifically. For some, it’s a balance of work + movie nights, or work + sleep + gym, or whatever. To each his own, but I think the point is ultimately the same: there should be a balance of work and non-work. In my personal experience, a healthy dose of pleasure actually makes me work much better. If I work too hard for too long, I just get crabby, emotional, and stressed. I lose focus, productivity declines, and I drive myself nuts with anxiety. I was lucky enough to have a roommate who could always tell when I was reaching that point and who’d say “Come on…I’m driving you to In-n-Out and then we’re going to watch some Friends before you pick this back up.” Eventually, I caught on to her point, and realized what a good one it was. I’m not saying that it’s always a good idea to drop what you’re doing and de-stress–sometimes you do need to keep plugging away, and it’s important to know that, too–but knowing yourself + your own limits is a good thing.</p>
<p>I wanted to bump this thread because while searching for Rhodes Scholarship apps, I came across this remarkable profile that I think tops even BDM’s example:</p>
<p>In his three and one-half years at the University of Nebraska, Jeremy has completed approximately 250 credit hours while maintaining a 4.0 G.P.A.; he is on course to graduate with six majors and four minors. He is a 1993 Presidential Scholar and a World Herald Honors Scholar. He is president of the Honors Program Student Board, vice-president of the Residence Hall Association, and cofounder of the Allies Group, an organization of straight students for gay rights. As vice-chair of the Nebraska delegation to the 1996 General Conference of the United Methodist Church, he authored three successful amendments to the church’s lawbook, including one rewriting the church’s position on science and technology. Jeremy belongs to the marching, concert, and jazz lab bands, as well as to the University Singers, the oratorio chorus, and the glee club. He enjoys piano and organ, hiking and running, and travel. </p>
<hr>
<p>OK, maybe a 4.33 at Duke is harder to get than at Nebraska, I think this guys drive…or perhaps toolishness…really sets a new bar. His majors were:</p>
<p>B.A., Physics, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Political Science, and Economics.</p>
<p>I do not know a single person at Berkeley with a 4.0 and only 2 people with a 3.9+.</p>
<p>One was an EECS major who was amazing, the other a transfer from a JC so that GPA doesn’t really count.</p>
<p>
At Cal Poly we had one mechanical engineering guy graduate with a 4.0 this last year. I asked one of my professors how often that happens. He said it was the first time he’d seen it since he’d been there (5 years). We probably had a throughput of 1000 people in 5 years.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s pretty amazing. He must have been 1) an insomniac and/or 2) a prodigy. hehe</p>
<p>He did take 5 years (not uncommon at Poly), so that certainly helps.</p>
<p>
What’s this profile’s source? The profile isn’t very credible, because who would do 6 majors in 3.5 years, let alone getting A’s in all of them, unless the university (Nebraska) is very easy?</p>
<p>ysk - Rhodesscholar.org, so it is legit.</p>
<p>[Rhodes</a> Scholars Elected 1997](<a href=“Applying for the Scholarship | The Rhodes Scholarships”>Office of the American Secretary | The Rhodes Scholarships)</p>
<p>I’m going to make a tongue-in-cheek response…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Majoring in easy humanities, like ____ (American, Gender, Ethnic, Legal) Studies, Mass Communications, Political Science.</p>
<p>These have the “reputations” on my campus…</p>
<p>btw, I’m not a 3.9 student nor is my major the hardest. (My major’s Economics and it’s considered about in the middle for difficulty since it requires some degree of math and logic) But I have taken some Poli Sci classes and they have been pretty much cruise-through As. I did none of the reading, wrote my essays the night before, crammed for the midterm/final and pulled multiple straight As. Now you know why it’s the most popular pre-law major.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I never worked that much in high school even with 12 AP classes (4.0 GPA) and I have worked even less in college (granted, lower GPA). My major isn’t the hardest, but most engineers I know don’t even work 2 to 3 hours a day although they probably don’t have 3.9s. 2-3 hours a day is an insane amount of work compared to most people I know. (Maybe I just know slackers?)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Best response. :)</p>
<p>should we not take the courses that we 100% know we can’t get A?</p>
<p>^ Up to you. I have taken some courses simply because I’ve heard people lauding the professor and the subject material despite the fact that I knew that I would probably get a B.</p>