- Joined
- Dec 30, 2014
- Messages
- 641
- Reaction score
- 416
Hi all,
I just wanted to write a little bit about my most recent grade trend as I am sure some of you might not have the greatest GPA's and are looking to start increasing it. Over the last 4 quarters at my university, I was able to raise my GPA from a 3.29 to a 3.6 and I am currently about to start my last quarter of junior year. (Last 4 quarters were 4.0 (13 units), 4.0(4 units over summer), 3.92 (15 units), 4.0 (15 units). I still have some work to do and am looking to get my GPA up to a 3.7 but I am confident that if you apply yourselves, you guys can too bring your GPA up.
Here are a few of my tips....
1.) Identify what you are doing wrong....
Countless times i hear people say "I'll i get a 4.0 next quarter/semester!" and then that following semester they are doing the same exact stuff they did previously. Figure out why you arent doing well. Are you not understanding the material well enough? Are you getting lazy? Too many extracurriculars? Identify your weakness and fix it quickly. For me, I was getting lazy and would just loose focus the last couple weeks leading up to finals causing me to not do as well as i could have, resulting in a B or B- in a few classes. I challenged myself to stay focused for a full 10 weeks (quarter length) and prove to myself that i could get a 4.0 and i did!
2.) Find students who are excelling and figure out what they do!
One of the most beneficial things that I have done during my UG career was to study with individuals who are extremely bright and motivated. It is ok for people to be smarter than you! Use that to your advantage and study with them. Bounce topics off each other, dive deep into the material and start getting into higher level blooms taxonomy type thinking such as application and integration of concepts. It is not enough to simply memorize a Diels Alder reaction, you need to be able to apply the fundamental concept to differing problems and molecules. That being said, working with people who are excelling will expedite the process of deepening your understanding on a particular topic.
3.) Dont be afraid to reduce the number of extracurriculars you are doing for a semester....
Sure grades are not everything, but they are a very critical component of your application. It is a lot easier to fix a lack of extracurriculars than it is to fix a poor GPA and the earlier you realize that the better. Take some time off from volunteering, or shadowing and focus on yourself and your GPA. Trust me, once you figure out what works for you in terms of studying, it makes those hectic semesters with tons of extracurriculars a bit easier. You realize you dont need to spend 4 hours a day studying for every class but an hour or two will suffice.
4.) Challenge yourself to work hard every single day for the full 24 hours you are given.
I have yet to hear a story where someone gave it their 110% effort and still did not achieve success. You are no different. Invest in yourself for a quarter or semester and give it your all. I promise you that if you apply yourself every single day to the topic at hand, you will come out with a much deeper understanding. Give it your all, there is a time and place for parties and fun but think about your goal and whats going to get you there. Hard work will, so buckle down and grind it out.
5.) TEACH OTHER PEOPLE!!
Once you understand a topic yourself really well, go teach somebody! ANYBODY! Go talk to your dog! Just speak the process or reaction out loud and more often than not, the more times you do that, the better it will stick with you. If you can teach somebody a topic to the point where they understand it well, you can confidently say that you know that topic inside and out. Do not underestimate the power of teaching your friends, it works.
These are just a few tips/suggestions i wanted to get out there. Sorry if it was a little long, i wanted to make it as concise as possible while still being thorough. Your mind is an extremely powerful thing and once you convince yourself that you can obtain success, it becomes addictive. You want success all the time and that is the point you should want to be at. Be addicted to hard work and success, it will change your life.
Thank you all! 🙂
I just wanted to write a little bit about my most recent grade trend as I am sure some of you might not have the greatest GPA's and are looking to start increasing it. Over the last 4 quarters at my university, I was able to raise my GPA from a 3.29 to a 3.6 and I am currently about to start my last quarter of junior year. (Last 4 quarters were 4.0 (13 units), 4.0(4 units over summer), 3.92 (15 units), 4.0 (15 units). I still have some work to do and am looking to get my GPA up to a 3.7 but I am confident that if you apply yourselves, you guys can too bring your GPA up.
Here are a few of my tips....
1.) Identify what you are doing wrong....
Countless times i hear people say "I'll i get a 4.0 next quarter/semester!" and then that following semester they are doing the same exact stuff they did previously. Figure out why you arent doing well. Are you not understanding the material well enough? Are you getting lazy? Too many extracurriculars? Identify your weakness and fix it quickly. For me, I was getting lazy and would just loose focus the last couple weeks leading up to finals causing me to not do as well as i could have, resulting in a B or B- in a few classes. I challenged myself to stay focused for a full 10 weeks (quarter length) and prove to myself that i could get a 4.0 and i did!
2.) Find students who are excelling and figure out what they do!
One of the most beneficial things that I have done during my UG career was to study with individuals who are extremely bright and motivated. It is ok for people to be smarter than you! Use that to your advantage and study with them. Bounce topics off each other, dive deep into the material and start getting into higher level blooms taxonomy type thinking such as application and integration of concepts. It is not enough to simply memorize a Diels Alder reaction, you need to be able to apply the fundamental concept to differing problems and molecules. That being said, working with people who are excelling will expedite the process of deepening your understanding on a particular topic.
3.) Dont be afraid to reduce the number of extracurriculars you are doing for a semester....
Sure grades are not everything, but they are a very critical component of your application. It is a lot easier to fix a lack of extracurriculars than it is to fix a poor GPA and the earlier you realize that the better. Take some time off from volunteering, or shadowing and focus on yourself and your GPA. Trust me, once you figure out what works for you in terms of studying, it makes those hectic semesters with tons of extracurriculars a bit easier. You realize you dont need to spend 4 hours a day studying for every class but an hour or two will suffice.
4.) Challenge yourself to work hard every single day for the full 24 hours you are given.
I have yet to hear a story where someone gave it their 110% effort and still did not achieve success. You are no different. Invest in yourself for a quarter or semester and give it your all. I promise you that if you apply yourself every single day to the topic at hand, you will come out with a much deeper understanding. Give it your all, there is a time and place for parties and fun but think about your goal and whats going to get you there. Hard work will, so buckle down and grind it out.
5.) TEACH OTHER PEOPLE!!
Once you understand a topic yourself really well, go teach somebody! ANYBODY! Go talk to your dog! Just speak the process or reaction out loud and more often than not, the more times you do that, the better it will stick with you. If you can teach somebody a topic to the point where they understand it well, you can confidently say that you know that topic inside and out. Do not underestimate the power of teaching your friends, it works.
These are just a few tips/suggestions i wanted to get out there. Sorry if it was a little long, i wanted to make it as concise as possible while still being thorough. Your mind is an extremely powerful thing and once you convince yourself that you can obtain success, it becomes addictive. You want success all the time and that is the point you should want to be at. Be addicted to hard work and success, it will change your life.
Thank you all! 🙂
