<p>Right now I’m sick of being a student whose gpa is in the 3.1 to 3.3 gpa range and want to get into the 3.4 and above range. I have a fairly high IQ and was in the Gifted program, but feel my gpa does not show how smart I am. Any advice to improve will be greatly appreciated?</p>
<p>Pitthopeful - What year of high school are you currently? My son was also in the gifted program in school, and he underperformed his freshman year of high school. Maybe not underperformed as much as he failed to take advantage of the more challenging honors/AP coursework that his school offered.</p>
<p>Even though my S was identified as “gifted” way back in elementary school, he lacked the confidence and focous that he felt he needed to do well in the honors/AP classes. After some encouragement from his father and I, as well as his guidance counselor, he began to take honors/AP courses after his freshman year. He actually did better in the honors/AP courses than he had in the college prep. Turns out all he needed was the added challenge that these courses offered. So, if you’re not already taking your school’s most challenging classes, do so, and if you are, take more of them. Since you are in the gifted program, you obviously possess the intellect necessary to succeed in these difficult courses, so go for it.</p>
<p>By the way, my S was accepted to Pitt’s main campus last year with a 3.93 unweighted/4.17 weighted GPA within 4 weeks of his application.</p>
<p>Best wishes.</p>
<p>You need to just really get it together, as in be extremely organized. Make sure you have a study schedule where you write down each class and daily homework, and due dates of homework and dates of tests. You need to start planning when you’re going to study for tests days in advance, and really try to be a lot EARLIER on the things you do.</p>
<p>Make sure you have folders/binders/notebooks for each class, and that you don’t have loose papers flying around from different classes–that way, all you need to know will be in one place. Take the time to organize each folder/binder/notebook in a way that separates tests, homework, etc., so that when you need to study you can see which things go with which.</p>
<p>Since you are smart, you are fully able to do well. All you’re missing is tight organizational skills that will help you to succeed. Also, make sure your attitude towards your work is up 100% positive. You can only do as well as your mind lets you.</p>
<p>If you have problems in any subject–MEET WITH A TEACHER. This may sound weird, but to me it doesn’t because I go to a really small private school. But honestly, everyone should do this. If you miss problems on a test, meet with the teacher to go over each problem so you understand what you do wrong, so that cumulatively you will do better in the class with better overall understanding. </p>
<p>Address any and all problems in each class, stay organized, stay positive. This is coming from a student from a 3.5 gpa student in a small private school. Although my school does not actually “report” gpa’s because of the size of the school, we are able to calculate it on our own. </p>
<p>Sorry if any of this is really obvious or dumb to you, but I really think these things are what help me and also the other 3.9 and 4.0 students that I know</p>
<p>If you are as smart as you claim, maybe you should hit the books a little harder. I know lots of kids who are not intuitively bright but work really hard and their GPAs are very high. It takes motivation, effort, and drive!</p>
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<p>Exactly. Also take a look at your friends and the kind of people you surround yourself with. Are you with a bunch of 3.1-3.3 people who are satisfied at where they are? You’d be surprised how much of a motivator it would be to hang out with/get to know the 3.4/3.7/4.0 kids. Being around them will probably motivate you to work harder and do better because you want to be as good as your friends. (I say this as a friend who apparently motivated another person to begin to become incredibly studious to the effect that they got a 4.0 in college last spring!).</p>