Straight A's

[yellowbird12]

Seriously how do some or many of you seem to get straight A's?
I really want to know how you guys do that so that I can use the info received to possibly help me get there.

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[OwlPower22]

I knew some geniuses with straight A's. Either they stayed in their rooms all day and studied or they were inherently smart. Some people just understand things faster than us "normal" people. If you want straight A's, go to tutoring, study all day, and do nothing but study. I don't advise that, though.

 

[Keepitclassy]

Just keep studying and utilizing resources until you know everything.

There are some kids I know that achieve that simply by skimming the textbook and paying attention in class and others who study countless hours on end. To each their own.

If you find yourself lacking the quickness of others, just remember, "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"

 

[MarlboroSmooth]

This is a mishmash of stuff I've given to friends, family, and freshmen, so please forgive any redundancies.

1. If you've got the time after a class, review the material that you went over. I don't mean skim it, I mean really digest it. It helps a great deal with recall later on, and I can't even tell you how many times this has saved my ass when we've had pop quizzes or I've had to cram the night before. If anything, this makes studying for an exam less like learning material and more like reviewing material you've gone over before.

2. For early classes, I can't stress how important going to sleep at a decent hour is. When I've got 9:00 classes, I try to be in bed by 10:00. I also do a quick workout in the morning (I just wake up 15 minutes earlier than usual and do it on my floor), take a vitamin, and drink a big glass of water. Waking up early and getting the blood flowing in the morning will make a huge difference in how well your classes go.

3. If it seems like the professor is rambling, try what I do. I read the chapter before we start going over it in class, rather than after. It will give you a basis for the new material that he's going over in class, and it will click when he says it. You'll start making new connections all over the place. It seems pretty intuitive that learning is easier when you've got a foundation of prior knowledge to build on, but few people actually try to help themselves learn. Before you go over a chapter (you'll know which one just by looking at the syllabus) in class, at least skim it. Skimming won't take more than a few minutes, but dedicating a half-hour to actually looking at the material is better. You'll at least have an idea of what the professor is talking about, and you can ask intelligent questions, which will probably help you out with your own learning (and get you brownie points).

4. Don't assume that you're going to make an A and slack off. I did this in my individual fitness class and it bit me in the ass. Now I've got a B for a class that should have easily been an A.

5. I look to the textbook for answers. If your professor doesn't provide a review for the exams, use the study questions throughout the text to help you understand it. They aren't just there to take up space and make the chapter seem shorter- periodically testing yourself helps with learning and eventual recall. They often have you think critically about what you just read and ask you things that may not necessarily be answered in the text. Even if you can't answer them immediately, give it a little thought because the professor will probably be asking you something similar.

6. Use all your available resources. This is like #5, in that most textbooks actually offer some sort of pretest, or online review. The publisher is not including them so that you can throw the CDs like some sort of idiot ninja-wannabe. Rather, the publisher wants you to do well in the course, so more of its textbooks will be sold. Test yourself by quickly looking at the questions as you read the material, and/or after each class. It will help with information retention and retrieval- trust me.

7. Read often, even if it's not related to course material. Reading gives us a rare opportunity to engage in mostly linear thinking, which is something that our generations (presumably) don't practice often. As cliche as it might be, the 140-character thought is becoming more and more common, and I'm seeing fewer and fewer students who are able to actually think something through. Going through hormonal pathways last semester was relatively easy for me, but I saw some of my classmates struggle with what was almost an inability to connect information. If you asked them a closed-ended question, they could answer it immediately; however, a question asking them to give a list of possible diagnoses for a patient with symptoms "x,y,z" was met with answers that were inapplicable. Besides, the improvements in your writing will be apparent almost immediately. Enjoy higher grades because you replaced Reddit with Read It. And it doesn't hurt to know a little something about everything. Impress your friends! Make enemies! Win College Jeopardy! It's all possible if you just pick up a ****ing book.

 

[Barcu]

Variety of factors.

Don't worry about it. The average admitted gpa to an MD school is between a 3.6 and 3.7. If you can get above that, you are good.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Luck, good study skills, connections ( Friends in class), and being good at scheduling.

 

[GreenStyle]

I knew some geniuses with straight A's. Either they stayed in their rooms all day and studied or they were inherently smart. Some people just understand things faster than us "normal" people. If you want straight A's, go to tutoring, study all day, and do nothing but study. I don't advise that, though.

I got 3 B's in my career. 2 my first semester when I was actually studying stuff outside of school (I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life), and 1 B in physics I lab in the same semester I was studying for my MCAT.

And, as for OwlPoer22, that is not true (well, maybe the genetic portion). Obviously it depends on the person, but seriously, at school I went to class always, and then ****ed around with my friends all day, then I went home and focused on my school work. At 9pm everyday I went to the gym for an hour (I do recreational gymnastics) and then came home to eat again, and then study till 11:30pm or 12am at the latest and then sleep.

Most important points FOR ME (not everyone):
1)At least 6:30 hours of sleep a night, but usually 7:30 hours.
2)When it is time to work, damnit, work. Don't e-mail, don't text, don't listen to music. Work.
3) Get sleep. People seem to glamorize people who don't, but it doesn't make you cool, just function like ****.
4) Socialize. Not too much, but everyday talk with friends or family. (I swear if you ask people who went to school with me they will tell you I probably have a 3.2 GPA....since I screw around SO much at school. But they only see that side to me~
5) Exercise. I am convinced exercising makes me smarter. I have been exercising AT LEAST 4 days a week (avg likely, 5 days) for the last 7 years, and within the last 4 years, 6 days a week.
6) EAT RIGHT. The most important thing you do everyday is eating in terms of helping your body and brain function. Whom ever eats like **** will feel like it. Tons of vegies, some fruit, and good protein. You need CHO, don't let idiots tell you to not eat it, but don't eat a done. DON'T eat processed **** too much. That simple. Learn to coook.

As you can see, only one of my points had to do with actually studying. Because, even if all you do is study, that is only one part of the puzzle.

Eat right, move right, think right, act right.


P.S. Oh, and don't be too much of a d-ick.

 

[Gigantron]

I busted my a**

Seriously.

 

[sunflower18]

Seriously how do some or many of you seem to get straight A's?
I really want to know how you guys do that so that I can use the info received to possibly help me get there.

I've only completed a year of college, so I haven't yet faced the super difficult science classes such as Organic Chemistry and Physics, but I have taken a year of Gen Chem and a semester of Bio. I have a cGPA of 3.96 and a sGPA of 4.0 (I got an A- in an English course). So.. take everything that I say with a grain of salt, I guess, because I still have a long way to go! But if you are interested in what I have to say anyway, here goes.

Basically, I work really hard. I pick things up pretty quickly, so that probably helps, but I'm definitely not a super genius. I don't party or drink or do drugs ever, and I don't plan to start. I think that those kinds of things waste so much time, energy, and potential. A lot of my classmates spend their Friday nights getting wasted, their Saturdays with a hangover, their Saturday nights getting hammered again, and then their Sundays still hungover but struggling to start their homework all the same. I'm not judging those kinds of things, but I feel like it's a lot of time that could be spent more productively. I spend my weekends either getting started early on my homework or relaxing if I need a break. In general, I do all of the suggested problems that the professors recommend, take notes on all of the reading, and start studying at least a week before the tests. I try to get decent amounts of sleep -- I never pulled an all nighter this past year, so I think that helped. Starting the week before finals, I made sure to study at least six hours a day. I studied with friends but also alone -- alone to learn the material, with people to make sure that I had it down and to ask questions about the things that confused me. I sometimes go to group tutoring sessions, but sometimes the tutors are unhelpful.

I think just getting into a groove is a good thing. Also, reading SDN often and getting reality checks and encouragement helped. I decided that I really wanted / needed to do well, so that motivated me to study even when I didn't want to. I definitely took breaks and was pretty heavily involved with ECs, so I wasn't just in my room studying all of the time, but I think I put forth more effort than most of my classmates. I also enjoyed the things I was involved in, so that revitalized me a lot and made my busy-ness feel fun. That really helped.

I sacrificed a lot of social interactions, and didn't make as many friends as some of my peers. But I still have a boyfriend, friends, and acquaintances -- I'm certainly not a hermit or anything. I knew going in to college that I would have to give up some college experiences in order to be competitive for med schools. Sometimes, you just gotta play the game

TL;DR version: work hard, plan ahead, don't waste time, develop a pattern, get involved with things you love, make sacrifices -- but make sure to have a good support system if you feel overwhelmed. Best of luck!

 

[V5RED]

Since I returned to school 3 years ago, I have gotten all A's except for an A- in writing my first semester back.

My biggest tool is never go into a class believing I will get an A.

I work hard and hope, but I never believe that I will get an A just on merit of my smartness.

Secondary stuff is not pulling all nighters, studying throughout the semester so that when i begin seriously studying for exams the material comes easily to me, and lots of practice problems.

edit: Also, I have slowly raised the difficulty of my semesters to avoid taking on more than I can handle. Last semester, I found out my limit when I took Orgo II, Calc based Physics II, Biochemistry, Critical Thinking, Advanced Writing, and TAing for a bio class. That was torturously hard for me lol.

 

[Amba]

Hmm. Here would be my tips:

1) Skip class. For real. If there's no attendance and everything is on a powerpoint, I'd much rather learn it on my own time.

2) Learn how to learn. Don't know how I can describe that better. It's sort of a natural development of an intuition of what professors expect and don't expect you to know. Example: Biochem was by far one of the easiest classes I took last semester, but most my friends struggled to get B's. Why? They were studying everything completely wrong.

3) Work out/run. Makes you healthier physically and mentally. Class always seems easier when I'm working out hard.

4) GO HARD THE FIRST MONTH. Don't know if I can stress that any more. Finals become a joke if you start out hot for the first part of the semester. I needed mid-70s on all my tests this semester for A's.

Sorry if I come off even remotely arrogant in this post, I'm really not These are just some tips from someone who has learned to play the game

 

[Omppu27]

just keep studying and utilizing resources until you know everything.

There are some kids i know that achieve that simply by skimming the textbook and paying attention in class and others who study countless hours on end. To each their own.

If you find yourself lacking the quickness of others, just remember, "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"

fact.

 

[NightGod]

Seriously how do some or many of you seem to get straight A's?
I really want to know how you guys do that so that I can use the info received to possibly help me get there.

Honestly? I've been a) blessed with a great learning ability and b) had amazing luck getting professors who teach to my style of learning. I've met plenty of people who I would consider easily as smart as I am who have had to work their tails off in the same classes because their learning style didn't mesh with the teaching style for that class. I'll also point out at least some of that 'luck' has been the result of conscious effort on my part-there's absolutely nothing wrong with talking to other students and finding out more about the individual professors who offer a course and then choosing one who seems to fit with your learning patterns.

Another thing that has been invaluable for me is that you shouldn't be afraid to be outspoken and active in class-it's better to make an intelligent wrong guess when the teacher asks the class a question than to sit there and stare at them in silence with everyone else. Go visit during office hours, stick around after class in that small group that always seems to hang out afterwards and ask for clarification. Teachers like students who take an active part in their education and are willing to go the extra mile to help you out when you show them that you will go the extra mile to learn.

 

[solitarius]

Not sure getting a 4.0 cum is a worthwhile goal.

Getting A's in the pre-reqs and sGPA is worthwhile however.

- Know your limits and capabilities. Can you master the material over a day, a weekend, or a couple of weeks before an exam?
- Getting enough sleep is really important.
- Accept temporary burnout that will happen at various points in the semester. Do whatever you got to do to unwind and please your inner brat.
- Study during the part of the day when you are most alert.
- Realize that your brain is not designed to study 8 hours a day. A lot of wasted time and effort is lost trying to figure this out.
- Don't underestimate labs. Lab is a lot of work for too little reward.
- Never cram the night before. It's really important to approach every exam well rested and alert for the grueling 90 minutes ahead.
- Time management is key in everything.

 

[NightGod]

I also throw in another vote for exercising, especially if you can find a workout buddy. It helps to both have someone to motivate you to get your butt to the gym and it also helps to have someone who you can talk about something other than school with on a regular basis. I know I could definitely tell the difference in my learning performance on weeks that I didn't get to the gym regularly. I'm going to personally go against the grain on sleeping, however. I averaged about 3 hours a night the entire semester and actually seemed to do so worse the rare occasions I got ~8. But learn what your body needs and listen to it.

 

[Crunk Norris]

Be clutch. Capitalize on the concepts that are most question worthy. Don't let the easy points get by you.

 

[NightGod]

Oh! and if a teacher ever says "this is important from a exam perspective" PAY ATTENTION! I've gotten dozens, if not hundreds, of easy points just by listening for some variation of those words...

 

[Cinclus]

I busted my a**

Seriously.

That's how I did it. It takes a lot of time, effort, and prioritizing.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

i think a lot has to do with luck IMO. Especially with what type of professor you get and how harsh their grading scale is. And when I say I luck I mean I view a 3.7 the same as a 4.0, because sometimes some professors are easier than others, this definitely applies for humanities classes (history, english, etc.)

 

[GreenStyle]

i think a lot has to do with luck IMO. Especially with what type of professor you get and how harsh their grading scale is. And when I say I luck I mean I view a 3.7 the same as a 4.0, because sometimes some professors are easier than others, this definitely applies for humanities classes (history, english, etc.)

Lol....luck does play a part, but seriously....as someone who has a high GPA, hard work trumps hard teacher any day. No sympathy for blaming teachers either way. ~

 

[obgyny]

Seriously how do some or many of you seem to get straight A's?
I really want to know how you guys do that so that I can use the info received to possibly help me get there.

I had a 3.99cGPA/4.0sGPA in college (had 2 A-'s out of 5 years of college, 3 of those years where at community college)... and I took a lot of classes because I transferred schools twice (I made up for that mostly by taking summer classes every summer). Honestly it's about finding out what study methods work for you. I never got straight A's until college (never cared about school before). So in the beginning I studied a lot to catch up: I read the chapters before lecture, re-wrote my notes, did tons of practice problems, etc. But over the years, I studied less and less. Once I transferred to a university, I stopped reading textbooks altogether and just focused on the slides. I would pay attention to the things the profs emphasize in class, so I was able to somewhat predict what would be on the exam. I was especially busy in my senior year (45+ hours per week with work, research, ECs, etc), so I really had to learn how to time manage. I had even less time to study, so I made sure to make those study hours count. I had the best grades that year (a bunch of A+'s). Sometimes having a busy schedule really forces you to be efficient.

It also helps not to take huge class loads. I think the most units I've ever taken at once was 18 quarter units. I usually hovered around 15 quarter units at the university, and maybe 12-15 semester units at community college.

I'm also more of a conceptual learner. I always focus on the big picture first and try to find relationships between things, then just binge & purge the details right before the exam. But med school is a whole other beast... I've found my college methods don't work as well with the amount of detail we have to memorize. I'm still changing around my study methods to find what's best. But my school is P/F .

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Lol....luck does play a part, but seriously....as someone who has a high GPA, hard work trumps hard teacher any day. No sympathy for blaming teachers either way. ~

Oh give me a break. Getting a 4.0 consistently every semester definitely has luck to it, I'm not taking away from 4.0 students, they deserve it but I'm just saying professors play a pretty big role/ end rant.

 

[Hemorrage]

Lol....luck does play a part, but seriously....as someone who has a high GPA, hard work trumps hard teacher any day. No sympathy for blaming teachers either way. ~

not necessarily true. In science courses where answers are primarily objective and logic based, then yes your right but in terms of humanities, social sciences, etc where a s*** ton of subjectivity is involved in grading it has a lot to do with how well you can figure out what the teacher likes to see and less of what you think.

 

[greg1184]

Lol....luck does play a part, but seriously....as someone who has a high GPA, hard work trumps hard teacher any day. No sympathy for blaming teachers either way. ~

Nope. The quality and difficulty of the professor is definitely a factor.

I wisely chose my professors when I could using my school's evaluations and ratemyprofessor.com. Not all of the professors I chose were easy, but certainly the quality of the professor I weighed heavily when picking my schedule.

 

[obgyny]

Oh give me a break. Getting a 4.0 consistently every semester definitely has luck to it, I'm not taking away from 4.0 students, they deserve it but I'm just saying professors play a pretty big role/ end rant.

You just have to adapt to the situation. For example, I had a HORRIBLE organic chemistry professor (with ridiculous tests). So I decided to stop going to this class (I'm the type to never skip classes) and just read the textbook instead (only textbook I read while at a university). The averages for this class's exams were always low (50s). So if I got a 65 or something, I'd still get an A. Curves definitely helped a lot with the difficult professors.

 

[obgyny]

Though I will say, it can be really hard to get A's in classes that have more subjective grading. For example, I took a writing class with an instructor that never liked to give out A's. For every paper, we'd be lucky if one person in the class got an A. If she didn't like your style of writing, she didn't like your paper (despite the content). I only barely managed to bring it up to an A- at the end of the course because I finally figured out the way she wanted our essays to be .

 

[NightGod]

Though I will say, it can be really hard to get A's in classes that have more subjective grading. For example, I took a writing class with an instructor that never liked to give out A's. For every paper, we'd be lucky if one person in the class got an A. If she didn't like your style of writing, she didn't like your paper (despite the content). I only barely managed to bring it up to an A- at the end of the course because I finally figured out the way she wanted our essays to be .

It definitely helps to be able to read people. I got straight As from an English professor who even other English professors said was a difficult grader. One told me she actually never heard of someone getting all As from the guy for a single semester, let alone an entire year. It all came down to figuring out very early on that he liked 'flowery' prose and writing to my audience. When peer reviews came back saying that I used too many big words in my paper, I knew I was on track for making him happy. I had a Chem teacher who loved when students wrote out equations in the 'railroad track' style-laying out all the conversions in a big chart as we went along and just putting a single answer at the end (this was obvious early on because this is how he wrote out all of the problems he did in seminar). So, I adapted my homework/testing style to that. If your teacher has obvious pet peeves, avoid them, if they have obvious pet terminology/styles, emulate them.

Nope. The quality and difficulty of the professor is definitely a factor.

I wisely chose my professors when I could using my school's evaluations and ratemyprofessor.com. Not all of the professors I chose were easy, but certainly the quality of the professor I weighed heavily when picking my schedule.

RMP is a great resource, as long as you can read between the lines to weed out the people who couldn't study their way out of a GED (and you can figure them out pretty fast), you can get great insights into the teachers at your school. As an example, one teacher at the school I'm headed to in the fall has something similar to "just attend class for all the clicker sessions" in about 30% of his reviews and in about 75% of his positive reviews. You can be damn sure I'm not missing any of his class sessions unless I'm bleeding on a gurney somewhere. Another says "be sure to attend the recitation sessions, because there's an easy quiz that will pad your grade almost every week", guess who's going to definitely be there every Friday from 11-11:50?

Remember, most people only consider the game to be unfair when they lose because they didn't want to learn the rules.

 

[GreenStyle]

Nope. The quality and difficulty of the professor is definitely a factor.

I wisely chose my professors when I could using my school's evaluations and ratemyprofessor.com. Not all of the professors I chose were easy, but certainly the quality of the professor I weighed heavily when picking my schedule.

Like I said, sure there is luck, but RMP is just a waste of time, and so is worrying about the teacher. In my experience the students who emphasize the teacher are usually just not studying hard enough.

Of course luck is a factor, but teachers really don't make that big a difference. (Duh they factor though.....)

 

[gettheleadout]

Like I said, sure there is luck, but RMP is just a waste of time, and so is worrying about the teacher. In my experience the students who emphasize the teacher are usually just not studying hard enough.

Of course luck is a factor, but teachers really don't make that big a difference. (Duh they factor though.....)

So you see no value in determining which professors are the most adept at teaching? Give me a break. I don't care if you just love to read textbooks on your own, you better be able to see value in learning something from another person (they may even tell you something novel in class that isn't in the book...)

Don't try and spin professor evaluation as lazy students trying to avoid hard work. If you know beforehand that one professor is disengaged and sucks and lecturing, whereas another is enthusiastic and committed, who would you choose? Maybe you don't see a difference or don't care, but some of us appreciate the hard work of others who are there to educate us.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

You just have to adapt to the situation. For example, I had a HORRIBLE organic chemistry professor (with ridiculous tests). So I decided to stop going to this class (I'm the type to never skip classes) and just read the textbook instead (only textbook I read while at a university). The averages for this class's exams were always low (50s). So if I got a 65 or something, I'd still get an A. Curves definitely helped a lot with the difficult professors.

Easier said then done, sorry I'm a little bitter because I've drawn some pretty ****ty profs in my day. Especially in the humanities. For example this past semester I took a history where I killed all my tests but there was a paper worth 30% that he decided the TA should grade half the class. Long story short he gave me a C because he graded for grammar instead of content because things didnt "sound right", he bumped the grade up to a B after I asked for a regrade, but unfortunately I ended up with a B+ in there because of the paper . Humanities grading is so variable, it's annoying, glad I was a science major It sounds like your teachers graded on a bell curve, mine didn't, if everyone failed, everyone failed. Yeah yeah I know boo-hoo cry me a river.

And profs do make a huge difference, right down to the percentages , I had one bio prof that said a 95=A when most classes at my school a 93=A, ended up with a 94=A-.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Most of my best semesters came about due to picking just the right course load. Challenging enough to keep me engaged and putting forth good effort, but not so difficult that it makes me overwhelmed. Granted...I haven't gotten straight As since my freshman year, I did come close when I had the right set of classes.

And when I had the wrong set of classes, e.g. material I dreaded, or too difficult a course load, my grades dropped.

 

[GreenStyle]

I was going to respond...but there is no point in risking an argument with anonymous people online....lol.

I didn't mean to insult anyone, only saying that bad teacher, good teacher--Only the student has the GPA.

Sorry if I was hijacking the thread~.

 

[NightGod]

Like I said, sure there is luck, but RMP is just a waste of time, and so is worrying about the teacher. In my experience the students who emphasize the teacher are usually just not studying hard enough.

Of course luck is a factor, but teachers really don't make that big a difference. (Duh they factor though.....)

I couldn't disagree more. As I said, you have to read between the lines and take everything you see there with a grain of salt, but with a bit of effort, it's pretty easy to filter out that "OMG TEACHER SO HARD = MUST SUCK" from the "This teacher is bad for reasons x, y, z. He was good for a, b, c, but I don't think that was enough to outweigh xyz." I've had some really good experiences with teachers I've chosen based on what I read there, and have missed out on some pretty awful ones by comparison. I've also gotten good insight on how to approach certain classes when there was only one choice on who the teacher was. Like any resource, it can be good or bad, but I believe the good far outweighs the bad if you approach it with an analytical mindset.

 

[obgyny]

Easier said then done, sorry I'm a little bitter because I've drawn some pretty ****ty profs in my day. Especially in the humanities. For example this past semester I took a history where I killed all my tests but there was a paper worth 30% that he decided the TA should grade half the class. Long story short he gave me a C because he graded for grammar instead of content because things didnt "sound right", he bumped the grade up to a B after I asked for a regrade, but unfortunately I ended up with a B+ in there because of the paper . Humanities grading is so variable, it's annoying, glad I was a science major It sounds like your teachers graded on a bell curve, mine didn't, if everyone failed, everyone failed. Yeah yeah I know boo-hoo cry me a river.

And profs do make a huge difference, right down to the percentages , I had one bio prof that said a 95=A when most classes at my school a 93=A, ended up with a 94=A-.

Definitely. One of my good friends in college was an English major, she had these issues a lot. I didn't envy her.

Hate to break it to you but med school makes college look like a walk in the park... and you're going to have ridiculously-written tests, a fair amount of horrible professors (which of course you can't choose), and way less time to cram it all in. It's all about being able to adapt, no matter what the situation is.

 

[gettheleadout]

I was going to respond...but there is no point in risking an argument with anonymous people online....lol.

I didn't mean to insult anyone, only saying that bad teacher, good teacher--Only the student has the GPA.

Sorry if I was hijacking the thread~.

There are teachers that don't give A's on principle. Only the student has the GPA, and if it is to be reflective of their mastery of the material, the prudent student would avoid such a teacher by doing research ahead of time.

Personally, I disagree with such grading philosophies and would not allow myself to be evaluated as such; I would avoid or drop a course with a "no-A" professor.

 

[Koosalagoosagoo]

Hmm. Here would be my tips:

1) Skip class. For real. If there's no attendance and everything is on a powerpoint, I'd much rather learn it on my own time.

2) Learn how to learn. Don't know how I can describe that better. It's sort of a natural development of an intuition of what professors expect and don't expect you to know. Example: Biochem was by far one of the easiest classes I took last semester, but most my friends struggled to get B's. Why? They were studying everything completely wrong.

3) Work out/run. Makes you healthier physically and mentally. Class always seems easier when I'm working out hard.

4) GO HARD THE FIRST MONTH. Don't know if I can stress that any more. Finals become a joke if you start out hot for the first part of the semester. I needed mid-70s on all my tests this semester for A's.

Sorry if I come off even remotely arrogant in this post, I'm really not These are just some tips from someone who has learned to play the game

Yes but your professor may add more information or hints on what will be tested, I do not recommend doing this if anyone is reading!

 

[NightGod]

4) GO HARD THE FIRST MONTH. Don't know if I can stress that any more. Finals become a joke if you start out hot for the first part of the semester. I needed mid-70s on all my tests this semester for A's.

I meant to point this out before. AMAZING advice. I walked into finals this semester in the same situation. Last semester I needed to get three problems (out of 60) right on my Physics final to get an A. There's no better feeling than walking into the room basically knowing that, assuming you can spell your name right on the top of the test, you're walking out with an A. Takes a LOT of stress out of Finals week. Bust your ass early on and the rest will be cake (and you'll actually LEARN something, because you have all the foundation material down).

 

[ace_inhibitor111]

Lots of good advice on this thread. As a junior with a 4.0 in ChemE I can give you a few extra pointers.

1. Work extra hard for the first test. Go to class, do the homework, don't slack off, etc. Once the first test is over you should know where the material for the test is coming from and how strictly the teacher grades.

2. After the first test, prioritize your classes. Focus on classes you didn't do so well on and make shortcuts with classes you did do well on. Skip classes you don't need to attend. If you have homework and a test on the same week, copy the solutions to the homework and look at it later. Focus on the test.

3. Read the textbook. Like 90% of my professors used it.

4. Get lots of sleep, meet people, have fun, etc. You'll be a happier person and more likely to be productive. I tend to drop all responsibilities the week before a test, however.

Hope this helps. Of course, luck definitely plays a huge role, but the more prepared you are the less luck is involved.

 

[Gamechanger]

Seriously how do some or many of you seem to get straight A's?
I really want to know how you guys do that so that I can use the info received to possibly help me get there.

Well SDN is a self-selecting group; I would be willing to bet that some of the stats given here aren't always completely honest. People tend to minimize the negative. Straight A's are great, but at what cost? If you can maintain a >3.5 GPA and still have a life (by this I mean going out and interacting with humans or doing something worthwhile in the real world) then I think that would pay better dividends in the long run. Perfect grades are great but med schools are going to interview everyone and I find that the more social interaction you have the more confidence you have in yourself as a whole person. Confidence is absolutely vital in interviews, confidence allows you to put yourself out there and talk with passion about your interests and what you've done. When you're engaging and interesting there is a good chance the interviewer is going to latch on to one of your interests and gives you a line of dialogue other than the generic. I suspect someone who gives a great interview and has good stats is much more memorable and likely to get in than someone with a awkward stumbling interview and perfect numbers. I wouldn’t under estimate the human component of med school admissions or of later patient and coworker interaction.

TL;DR = focus on being well rounded and comfortable in your own skin. More social interaction = More confidence.

 

[NightGod]

Lots of good advice on this thread. As a junior with a 4.0 in ChemE I can give you a few extra pointers.

1. Work extra hard for the first test. Go to class, do the homework, don't slack off, etc. Once the first test is over you should know where the material for the test is coming from and how strictly the teacher grades.

2. After the first test, prioritize your classes. Focus on classes you didn't do so well on and make shortcuts with classes you did do well on. Skip classes you don't need to attend. If you have homework and a test on the same week, copy the solutions to the homework and look at it later. Focus on the test.

3. Read the textbook. Like 90% of my professors used it.

4. Get lots of sleep, meet people, have fun, etc. You'll be a happier person and more likely to be productive. I tend to drop all responsibilities the week before a test, however.

Hope this helps. Of course, luck definitely plays a huge role, but the more prepared you are the less luck is involved.

I never understand why so many people give this advice. I've always made it the exception to miss a class-like, "child in the hospital" or "work critical responsibility" exception. I think I've missed 5 days total in four semesters, maybe 4, and two of those were only a missed class or two. There are so many little tips and hints that even the worst teachers will drop in a class, it seems completely foolish to me to skip. It also helps to get the reputation of being someone who's always in class in case you run into some weird situation where you have to miss/reschedule a test or something. I've actually had teachers pull me aside to ask if everything was OK because I wasn't in class the day before and they were used to seeing me there every day. I had one professor who summed it up like this "College is the only place I've ever seen where people are happy to get less for their money."

 

[Hemorrage]

I had to suffer through this in organic chemistry at my undergrad. It was miserable and all the organic chemistry teaching faculty were replaced after my class as a result. Don't let the reach for A's ruin your life. In certain cases, an A is literally impossible to achieve.

which is exactly why ratemyprofessor is a MUST

 

[Narmerguy]

This comes up every year.

First, search this. This has been asked a billion times.

Second, trying to blindly follow the experiences of others is pointless. Their success is dependent on their school, the classes/major they chose, their inherent intelligence, the competition at their school, the professors they just happened to have, etc etc. There are a lot of moving parts.

This is why I agree with the poster above who simply said they worked their "*ss" off. Working hard will typically get you 85-90% of the way there.

 

[trojanman217]

I got 3 B's in my career. 2 my first semester when I was actually studying stuff outside of school (I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life), and 1 B in physics I lab in the same semester I was studying for my MCAT.

And, as for OwlPoer22, that is not true (well, maybe the genetic portion). Obviously it depends on the person, but seriously, at school I went to class always, and then ****ed around with my friends all day, then I went home and focused on my school work. At 9pm everyday I went to the gym for an hour (I do recreational gymnastics) and then came home to eat again, and then study till 11:30pm or 12am at the latest and then sleep.

Most important points FOR ME (not everyone):
1)At least 6:30 hours of sleep a night, but usually 7:30 hours.
2)When it is time to work, damnit, work. Don't e-mail, don't text, don't listen to music. Work.
3) Get sleep. People seem to glamorize people who don't, but it doesn't make you cool, just function like ****.
4) Socialize. Not too much, but everyday talk with friends or family. (I swear if you ask people who went to school with me they will tell you I probably have a 3.2 GPA....since I screw around SO much at school. But they only see that side to me~
5) Exercise. I am convinced exercising makes me smarter. I have been exercising AT LEAST 4 days a week (avg likely, 5 days) for the last 7 years, and within the last 4 years, 6 days a week.
6) EAT RIGHT. The most important thing you do everyday is eating in terms of helping your body and brain function. Whom ever eats like **** will feel like it. Tons of vegies, some fruit, and good protein. You need CHO, don't let idiots tell you to not eat it, but don't eat a done. DON'T eat processed **** too much. That simple. Learn to coook.

As you can see, only one of my points had to do with actually studying. Because, even if all you do is study, that is only one part of the puzzle.

Eat right, move right, think right, act right.


P.S. Oh, and don't be too much of a d-ick.

This is probably the best advice. I did this for a couple a semesters and my grades skyrocketed. Pay attention to that sleep and socialize part! Those are good piecies of advice.

 

[sworzeh]

1. Go to a state school.
2. Don't look at the book until the night before a test.
3. Be content with not knowing things 1 week after the test (because you crammed).
4. Spend all your free time thinking about what you should be doing.
5. Don't exercise; it wastes time.
6. Eat Taco Bell for every meal.

It may sound facetious, but it's working out for me.

 

[greg1184]

Like I said, sure there is luck, but RMP is just a waste of time, and so is worrying about the teacher. In my experience the students who emphasize the teacher are usually just not studying hard enough.

Of course luck is a factor, but teachers really don't make that big a difference. (Duh they factor though.....)

Saying that students who take into account the quality of the instructor is a cop out who blames the teacher for their GPA is absolute hyperbole.

Luck is irrelevant; it is called being smart in selecting your classes in order to give you the best chance at doing the best you can do. Some professors a) curve harsher than others b) have significantly harder exams irrespective of any curve. Sometimes, there are multiple teachers for the same subject. For example, one teacher gives a plethora of C's except for the extreme parts of the curve, another has a normal curve but reasonable exams. Seeing tendency in students opinions on these teachers can definitely be helpful. There are plenty of quality teachers that although are hard, are willing to go out of their way to help as well.



You can say I am not studying hard enough all you want; that is nonsense.

RMP is absolutely not a waste of time.

 

[Neurosis]

1. Go to a state school.
2. Don't look at the book until the night before a test.
3. Be content with not knowing things 1 week after the test (because you crammed).
4. Spend all your free time thinking about what you should be doing.
5. Don't exercise; it wastes time.
6. Eat Taco Bell for every meal.

It may sound facetious, but it's working out for me.

Ew.

 

[gettheleadout]

There will always be people like this. Ignore them. They are superhuman and will likely go on to be some of the hardest working, but overworked surgeons you will find. You can still be a great doctor without having iridium in your blood.

He's kidding.

 

[sworzeh]

Or am I?

 

[phltz]

Step 1: Know the appropriate uses for an apostrophe.

Hint: Making something plural is not one of them.

 

[gettheleadout]

Really? I know quite a few people like this. Partied hard during college, but studied even harder. Never slept, never exercised; just ate, drank and studied (12 hours before exams). Emphasis on drank. Everything was a binge. Still, they're in medical school and I'm not. I don't know how they did it.

My point is that even if he actually did that, he's not seriously advocating that method as general advice for others.