Going to college can be super intimidating, with the school, friends, and your whole life changing.
What’s even more challenging sometimes is the academic rigor shock. It’s not as easy to get a 4.0 GPA in college or even just a high GPA in general as it was in high school.
So, as a recent college graduate, (eeeek) I wanted to share my biggest study tips and habits that I used to graduate in 2.5 years with a high GPA before I forget them 🙂
I hope that this helps you get a 4.0 GPA in college or just the college GPA you’re striving for!
Remember that GPA isn’t the end all be all though, don’t forget to live your life 🙂
1.Change your mindset
This is not the same as high-school, it won’t be the same level of difficulty as it.
I’m not saying this to freak you out, but more so just to be prepared.
Be prepared to learn, be prepared to grow, and be excited about it.
I’m not saying you’re going to like all or even most of your classes, but just having a growth mindset and understand that you’re going to learn and it’s going to be hard is going to help you come to terms with the material and the workload so much better.
2.Planner
GET A PLANNER AND USE IT
Having a planner literally saved my life and academic career.
I made sure to get a planner that had horizontal rows where I could write all my classes, and then vertical columns that had all the days. This is the one I used and I loved it.
At the beginning of the semester when you get all your syllabi, go through all of them and write down all your due dates of small and big assignments, quiz dates, and exam dates in a specific color that you don’t use for anything else (I did red).
Then, at the beginning of every week I want write out all the things I needed to do that week in a little side list and then write them out in a specific day.
Each night, I would go through it and fill out the next day’s column based on what I had accomplished that day.
You don’t have to do it like me, do what works for you! But make sure to have a system in place so that you know what you have to do that week and that day.
There’s only 24 hours in a day, and we gotta make the most of them. I find that if I don’t plan, I just spend so much time thinking about what I need to do.
3.Schedule in time for basic care
This relates to the last one.
When you’re making a list of everything you need to do the next day, write down your basic needs!!
When we’re super busy, the first thing to usually go is food, showers, skincare, reading, relaxing, etc.
But if you write it down, you’re more likely to actually do it.
So I would always write my workouts, my meals, showers, and reading in my list EVERY DAY.
I would also make sure to have a cutoff time for when I would be done working.
I know it’s hard to stick to, but if you do, you’re going to prevent yourself from burning out later on!
4.Figure out how you study best
I don’t know if this is just me or not, but the way I learned best really changed from high-school to college.
In high school I would kind of just review my notes the night before and hope for the best.
But, that really changed in college. I had to make flashcards based on the book and lecture and quiz myself which was a lot more work.
Again, I’m not saying that flashcards is the golden key to good grades – the flashcards are based off of your notes so they’re really only as good as your notes.
And, everyone learns differently, so flashcards may not be for you. But, that’s what I did and it was honestly so so helpful in making sure I actually knew the information.
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5.Start studying in advance
So I couldn’t just starting reviewing my flashcards the night before.
There was wayyy to many of them and I needed time to review them multiple times.
So I would start around 5-6 days before the test to make sure that I really knew the content!
I’m not gonna lie, studying the night before does work for some classes and some exams, but the likelihood that you’ll get an A is pretty slim.
Study smarter not harder.
Start on your harder classes earlier, and then maybe you can wait a little bit to start studying the easier classes.
6.Go to Office Hours
I feel like a lot of people don’t talk about this and I have no idea why.
Go to your professor’s office hours at least once a semester!
If you need help with something, definitely go because I’ve found that a lot of my Professors were better at explaining in office hours than in class.
But even if you don’t have a question, just stop by at the beginning of the semester and introduce yourself!
Not many students do that, so the professor is more likely to remember you.
And if you need a favor like a little grade boost at the end, they’re much more likely to give it to you!
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7.Start out strong
This was so huge for me.
I always made sure to start off my semester with studying hard and getting good grades because for some reason I ALWAYS do bad on finals.
Try and really get focused in the beginning, and your later self will be thanking you when you have a bunch of papers and group projects due.
8.Don’t be afraid to say no to going out
I know, I know. It’s freshman year, and you don’t want to seem like that lame person who never goes out.
But you really just have to choose your priorities and if getting straight As is always a priority for you, you may not be able to go out every weekend.
Don’t feel bad to say no! Have a strong reason for why you’re doing what you’re doing, and I promise, no one will think you’re weird or lame or anything.
ALSO, I’m not saying never go out!! PLEASE DO! But you just might not be able to every weekend.
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9.Take a break and a step back
Like I said, PLEASE TAKE A BREAK.
This is honestly something I was really bad at during college and something I wish I could go back and change,
I always thought that I wasn’t being productive if I wasn’t doing something for school, but I didn’t realize that spending time with friends, reading books, relaxing, was also productive for my mental health.
So please please, take some time to go out with people, make a nice dinner, or do whatever you need to do to show yourself some self-care.
You only get these 4 years to make memories, so make the most of them.
10.Don’t beat yourself up & do more
I know that GPA is important for internships, jobs, and grad school, but it’s not the end all be all.
People who want to hire you also want to see that you have interests, and you honestly are going to want to do something outside of school.
Join some extracurriculars, you’ll appreciate that time away from studying!
Also, remember that if you don’t end up with a 4.0, it’s okay!
No one expects you to get a 4.0 GPA in college, so please don’t be too hard on yourself.
Enjoy your time, work hard, but remember that a grade is just a grade, and it truly doesn’t define you.
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