How to get the highest grades possible in high school?

[reree17]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Evidently I want to be a doctor, so I need to work hard to achieve this. I am a high school student in the UK, in year 10 (9th grade in the U.S) and currently doing my GCSE exams, which matter to med schools here. Currently I get good grades, but not as high as I would like to achieve. I'm aiming for 95% at least in sciences and maths, actually all subjects. I'm excellent at chemistry and biology but weaker in physics and maths. I also have some other subjects (history, Religious studies, geography, Spanish, English).

How can I achieve very high grades to get many A*'s? Most people say 'study hard', when I studied hard I studied too much and burned myself out. I don't think I need to study that hard at this stage. What is the most efficient way to get high grades without burning yourself out, and what in your opinion is your best 'secret' to success?

Thanks very much in advance! 🙂

 

[Journey2become]

I'm not sure how it applies to high school in the UK, but the strategy I used in college started with basically figuring out all the classes I needed/wanted. Making balanced semesters (ie: harder subjects I do not like got put into semesters that were less full). I also tried to pick one "fun" class at least every other semester (something like golf or sociology - whatever you find interesting). Note that the "fun" class MUST be easy! Lastly I found reviews of professors online that helped guide me to great teachers and away from GPA slashers. So a good teacher in a topic I was only moderately interested in was better than a more interesting subject with a teacher that outwardly said that if more than 4% of his class were getting A's then he was not doing his job. Take reviews with a grain of salt. (I was not looking for easy teachers in sciences - just trying to find the best ones. One of my favorite teachers was in one of the hardest classes I have taken up to date, but he really kept the material interesting. I would think about it all the time out of class so at times it didn't even feel like I was studying!) A lot of times you can tell when someone if just mad that they couldn't walk in and get an A handed to them so their review didn't weight much with me.
Also, if you have the option of choosing from more than one teacher for a certain topic then you might want to find out which is the better one and take it that semester.
Then you need to find the best study strategy for you (I found that studying with a group last for a test was usually a waste of time because little studying gets done - it might be different for you).
Then I studied - each class was important to me; I made sure that I had enough time to study for test that would be coming up - paying particular tests that were overlapping around the same time frame. I also did every assignment, and went to every class.
I tried to go into each class open-minded. I could have just assumed that I would hate a certain class...but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and was sometimes pleasantly surprised.
If you have more questions let me know. Hope this is helpful.

Evidently I want to be a doctor, so I need to work hard to achieve this. I am a high school student in the UK, in year 10 (9th grade in the U.S) and currently doing my GCSE exams, which matter to med schools here. Currently I get good grades, but not as high as I would like to achieve. I'm aiming for 95% at least in sciences and maths, actually all subjects. I'm excellent at chemistry and biology but weaker in physics and maths. I also have some other subjects (history, Religious studies, geography, Spanish, English).

How can I achieve very high grades to get many A*'s? Most people say 'study hard', when I studied hard I studied too much and burned myself out. I don't think I need to study that hard at this stage. What is the most efficient way to get high grades without burning yourself out, and what in your opinion is your best 'secret' to success?

Thanks very much in advance! 🙂

 

[the duck]

Evidently I want to be a doctor, so I need to work hard to achieve this. I am a high school student in the UK, in year 10 (9th grade in the U.S) and currently doing my GCSE exams, which matter to med schools here. Currently I get good grades, but not as high as I would like to achieve. I'm aiming for 95% at least in sciences and maths, actually all subjects. I'm excellent at chemistry and biology but weaker in physics and maths. I also have some other subjects (history, Religious studies, geography, Spanish, English).

How can I achieve very high grades to get many A*'s? Most people say 'study hard', when I studied hard I studied too much and burned myself out. I don't think I need to study that hard at this stage. What is the most efficient way to get high grades without burning yourself out, and what in your opinion is your best 'secret' to success?

Thanks very much in advance! 🙂

What people say is true. There really is no magic technique for studying thats better than every other one. You gotta experiment and learn what works best for you. Generally it's important not to cram for tests, reviewing the material as you go along, will mean less intense studying come exam times.

If you aren't getting the grades you want, that obviously means you do need to study more at this stage.

Another thing to keep in mind, is having interests and fun actives outside of academics helps diminish burn out. Try to work some hanging out with friends, partying, working out or whatever else you like and find relaxing into your schedule.

 

[skierbum]

two not well known sites that help LOTS:
Khanacademy.org and open course ware (google both)

 

[HH Holmes]

I'm graduating from the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) Programme in my high school, and I've learned a few valuable lessons for studying that will probably translate to all higher level (AP, IB, college level etc) classes:

1. Keep two notebooks for each course. One for class, and one for home/library. Take notes regularly in class (like normal people). Then, either every time you have the class, or before an exam, copy all the notes from that unit neatly and as organized as possible into your second notebook. Re-writing helps you study, and then at the end of the year, or for any other cumulative exam, you have a succinct, neat and organized study guide. Do not type it! Writing in your own handwriting makes you remember it a lot easier than word processed font. I don't know why this works for and a bunch of other people I've talked to, but it does.

2. Go to your professors' office hours/extra help/tutoring sessions (whatever your school calls it). In our school, every morning, starting an hour before classes begin each teacher is required to be in a specified classroom to meet with students. It helps... A lot. Don't just go when you don't understand something, or right before a test. Showing your face more often shows that you care, and you're interested (even if you're not). I can't guarantee it'll get you higher marks, but I can guarantee it won't. The top three kids in my school (going to Yale, Princeton and Harvard, respectively) all go to these hours routinely... Like at least three times per week. It sucks sometimes, but it's well worth it.

3. Don't cram. I hate to say it, because I usually resort to it, but it never works. If you have the time, like I said in my first tip, re-write down your notes from the class every day you have the class. Instead of studying a whole unit before an exam for a few hours and getting burnt out, you probably will only need to study less than an hour if you re-write and review for just five to ten minutes everyday.

4. For math and physics classes where there isn't wrought memorization, don't view a problem as a "note" like in history, biology or chemistry... View an equation or formula as a sequence. Memorize the steps and patterns, not individual numbers hoping that something similar comes up on the exam.

5. Consult others/books/internet/YouTube. This one a lot of people are skeptical about, but for me, it has worked wonders. I have a calculus teacher who literally has no idea how to teach. She is nice, smart and thorough, but for some reason my class and I cannot "click" into her teaching style. I found a great tutor on YouTube.com who makes videos for everything in calculus... From things as simple as the power rule to as difficult as differential equations. The same should go for physics, chemistry and so on.

Hope I helped... These are vague and seemingly simple, but are very effective if employed properly. Happy learning, and good luck with high school. Make it count!

 

[Journey2become]

I'm graduating from the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) Programme in my high school, and I've learned a few valuable lessons for studying that will probably translate to all higher level (AP, IB, college level etc) classes:

1. Keep two notebooks for each course. One for class, and one for home/library. Take notes regularly in class (like normal people). Then, either every time you have the class, or before an exam, copy all the notes from that unit neatly and as organized as possible into your second notebook. Re-writing helps you study, and then at the end of the year, or for any other cumulative exam, you have a succinct, neat and organized study guide. Do not type it! Writing in your own handwriting makes you remember it a lot easier than word processed font. I don't know why this works for and a bunch of other people I've talked to, but it does.

2. Go to your professors' office hours/extra help/tutoring sessions (whatever your school calls it). In our school, every morning, starting an hour before classes begin each teacher is required to be in a specified classroom to meet with students. It helps... A lot. Don't just go when you don't understand something, or right before a test. Showing your face more often shows that you care, and you're interested (even if you're not). I can't guarantee it'll get you higher marks, but I can guarantee it won't. The top three kids in my school (going to Yale, Princeton and Harvard, respectively) all go to these hours routinely... Like at least three times per week. It sucks sometimes, but it's well worth it.

3. Don't cram. I hate to say it, because I usually resort to it, but it never works. If you have the time, like I said in my first tip, re-write down your notes from the class every day you have the class. Instead of studying a whole unit before an exam for a few hours and getting burnt out, you probably will only need to study less than an hour if you re-write and review for just five to ten minutes everyday.

4. For math and physics classes where there isn't wrought memorization, don't view a problem as a "note" like in history, biology or chemistry... View an equation or formula as a sequence. Memorize the steps and patterns, not individual numbers hoping that something similar comes up on the exam.

5. Consult others/books/internet/YouTube. This one a lot of people are skeptical about, but for me, it has worked wonders. I have a calculus teacher who literally has no idea how to teach. She is nice, smart and thorough, but for some reason my class and I cannot "click" into her teaching style. I found a great tutor on YouTube.com who makes videos for everything in calculus... From things as simple as the power rule to as difficult as differential equations. The same should go for physics, chemistry and so on.

Hope I helped... These are vague and seemingly simple, but are very effective if employed properly. Happy learning, and good luck with high school. Make it count!

👍 I did all those except rewriting my notes - several people find it useful though.

 

[deleted393595]

I'm graduating from the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) Programme in my high school, and I've learned a few valuable lessons for studying that will probably translate to all higher level (AP, IB, college level etc) classes:


3. Don't cram. I hate to say it, because I usually resort to it, but it never works. If you have the time, like I said in my first tip, re-write down your notes from the class every day you have the class. Instead of studying a whole unit before an exam for a few hours and getting burnt out, you probably will only need to study less than an hour if you re-write and review for just five to ten minutes everyday.

Golden piece of advice right there. Just plan ahead and space out your studying to a few bits here and there and you'll be good to go.

The biggest thing I learned from high school is managing my time well. If you can prevent yourself from procrastinating and start doing things in advance, you'll have time to do what you want to do.

And besides, enjoy high school! It's easier than you think!