How to 4.0 next semester??

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jg2021

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I am not (and never have been) someone who easily gets straight A’s. My cumulative GPA after two semesters of undergrad is a 3.5 and I am starting to panic HARD. I have orgo 1, stats, a 300-level spanish class (my minor), and physiology w/ lab. I just need to 4.0 this semester and I know it’s going to be so much harder than my last two semesters. Can someone please give me some pointers?
 
Get organized 10 days before your exam. Start studying daily 7 days from your exam.
 
Review your notes from class every day... you know that you are going to have a final exam. Do not wait until two weeks before to start studying. If you do review for the entire quarter or semester, you will need to put in less effort for the final and you will know the material better.
 
Anki made physiology and anatomy a joke.
Orgo is tough if you want to play it safe a suggest learning the concepts of semester one during the summer. And semester 2 during winter break


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Use Google Calendar, or whatever planning system you'd like to plan out your day, alotting specific hours to fully commited studying in your day. I feel like setting yourself time boundaries for studying specific classes induces better concentration. I find the Pomodoro technique extremely helpful for studying (four 25 minute intervals of studying divided by ~5 minute breaks). Anki is obviously a great resource for memorization.
 
Find out how you learn best... if you dont know what I mean then just ask.
Be super proactive. From day one study for exam 1 and as soon as you take the exam start exam 2 prep.
Do not wait until 1 week out to cram.
You should be 3-4 days out and be reviewing things for the exam you already studied and know.
You should be bored with study and ready for the exam.
 
-Cut back on non-academic stuff (ECs, research, downtime, etc.) to determine exactly how much time you need to put into courses to succeed. Once you've figured that out, you can begin to titrate the other stuff back.
-Always control everything that you can control. Most classes will have at least some small percentage of assignments that are basically softball points to increase your overall grade. Make sure you don't let any of these slip away or you'll be kicking yourself later. In the same vein, make sure that you are preparing to the maximum of your ability for every major determinant of your grade (e.g., exams). If the professor decides to give you some impossible test, that's their prerogative, but always do everything on your end to maximize the chances of getting the best grade possible.
-Study and review every day! If you don't understand something, go into office hours. I specifically arranged my schedule sophomore year to maximize the number of organic chemistry office hours I could attend. It's a very vertical class that's almost entirely dependent on understanding, so make sure you continue to stay on top of everything.
-You should basically be studying for the exams everyday by reviewing, attending office hours, doing all of the recommended questions, etc. That way, it won't feel overwhelming when you start really getting down to business before the exam.

Following these basic strategies, I never actually got a 4.0 for a semester but was usually in the 3.9ish range. It's doable as long as you put in the hours and don't overcommit yourself. Also, your GPA is fine right now. Try to improve it as best you can but I wouldn't "panic" at this point in time.
 
Anki for anatomy.

Common sense and dedication for Orgo.
 
If you are currently averaging a 3.5, a 4.0 is definitely possible.

It seems obvious now, but I found that I turned a major corner when I realized that studying should be about challenging yourself as much as possible. I.e. Doing A LOT of most difficult practice problems you can find, instead of the ones you know you can do. And when you feel like your brain is mush, do at least a few more. I also found it helpful to read through my notes/books and turn the material into questions, the more difficult the better.

I also found that when I made my studying as challenging as possible, I was able to keep a cooler head on tests, and maintain solid focus on long ones.
 
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