What makes A students into A students?

[BoxinMoxin]

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so somewhat relevant to me and my life but mostly I want to know in general, like in science classes you have kids who regularly score high A's or low A's on tests, tend to ace most tests and do really good on them and tend to make A's in most of their science classes

how do they do it?

and you can say lots of studying but I do that too and I am far from an A student

 

[FrkyBgStok]

You are not doing it right.

 

[hiphopcrates]

Well-honed time management skills.

Oh, and specific to your case: intrinsic motivation really can make or break it. Look, if it's truly not your passion (re: several of your previous posts) drop out of the pre-med track before you've pulled out all your hair. It's okay to do something else. Your parents will recover from the shock, and you'll be worlds happier for it.

 

[BeastfromthEast]

I think it a combination of natural intelligence and hard work. Some people are super smart and do not need to study as much while others are not as smart and need to study more to get the same grades as the "smarter" ones

 

[NoirD2]

Learn the whys instead of the whats.

Example: Don't learn how to take a derivative, learn what a derivative is.

Edit:
I also recently talked to a student who turned his grades around from a sub-3.0 to a 4.0. His two biggest suggestions?
1) Go to office hours.
2) Stop going out on weekends.

I don't know how applicable those are to you but they could be helpful.

 

[MartletMD]

Learn the whys instead of the whats.

Example: Don't learn how to take a derivative, learn what a derivative is.

I only half agree with this, especially if we're talking calc, chem, phys... You need to know how to take a derivative, or you will fail. While concepts are important, applications are equally important.

Also, it doesn't hurt to be disciplined enough to push through the all-night library sessions because you know there is something worthwhile on the other side.

And discipline can be learned/taught. Don't ever use that as an excuse. Pack a bag for the day, set mini-goals, make effective study sessions a part of your routine.

EDIT: This is coming from someone who failed math last year, but turned it around to an A and is doing very, very well so far this semester.

 

[ss123]

see also http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=859726

 

[Koosalagoosagoo]

The more organized I am the easier I can do things. Every class I have has a color coded binder with pockets for each homework, returned test, etc. With almost every returned homework/test/quiz I correct it at home to make sure I understand things I missed. Each day after work I set aside 4 hours to study and do homework. I enjoy using flashcards for the memorization of formulas and key facts. I also try to pick up on important diagrams or images in a textbook.

 

[Knocked Up]

so somewhat relevant to me and my life but mostly I want to know in general, like in science classes you have kids who regularly score high A's or low A's on tests, tend to ace most tests and do really good on them and tend to make A's in most of their science classes

how do they do it?

and you can say lots of studying but I do that too and I am far from an A student

OP, honestly, the further you get in your premed years and the further you get along in the application cycle you will see that GPA and college in general is secondary to the MCAT. The scores on this half a day test >>> scores during years of college tests. My advice is to honestly start focusing on that test even if you are younger.

 

[Bancrofti]

Edit:
I also recently talked to a student who turned his grades around from a sub-3.0 to a 4.0.

This is not possible.

To add to the thread though, I was in search of this question also at the beginning of college. I read a book fittingly titled: "How to get straight A's." Even when I applied myself, I had been a B - B+ student at best. After reading the book over a winter break I had my best semester as an undergraduate. I stopped implementing everything I did afterwards though and of course saw my grades see-saw again. But in my experience with pulling my own grades up and speaking with people who get good grades, it's mostly time management and planning in advance. In my best semester, I literally had a timed schedule for everything I was doing during the day for a majority of that semester. This meant eating, free time, studying lifting, everything was planned out. I kept the schedule on the back of my phone and stuck to it. Probably was my hardest semester, did the best.

 

[Koosalagoosagoo]

OP, honestly, the further you get in your premed years and the further you get along in the application cycle you will see that GPA and college in general is secondary to the MCAT. The scores on this half a day test >>> scores during years of college tests. My advice is to honestly start focusing on that test even if you are younger.

And you do that by learning the material in your pre-req classes. Not by cracking open a mcat exam book your first semester of sophomore year, which op is in. Also op one more thing, stop making useless threads

 

[Double Trouble]

You can study all you want, but at some point you either have it up there or you don't. Simple as that.

Also, strong first post.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Office hours imo are very important. If you have a decent professor, you are bound to get a couple of tips and hints on the next exam. Also, you can review your graded lab reports and try to get a couple of points added.

 

[StoicJosher]

If you aren't born one, you can't be one. That is all.

But seriously, the first thing I did after reading the thread title was to see if it was by BoxinMoxin. Explains everything.

 

[MD Odyssey]

so somewhat relevant to me and my life but mostly I want to know in general, like in science classes you have kids who regularly score high A's or low A's on tests, tend to ace most tests and do really good on them and tend to make A's in most of their science classes

how do they do it?

and you can say lots of studying but I do that too and I am far from an A student

You are going to hate the answer to this. You talk about "kids". A lot of your classmates left childhood a while ago and have embraced this world called "adulthood". So, a lot of the differences in performance that you see are due to this.

Other factors?

1. I've been studying science nearly full-time for the past 8 years. Undergrad, work, and now, post-bacc. This probably sounds arrogant, but I'm better at this because I've been doing it longer. Learning science and math is a skill that one learns over time and some of us have simply been doing it longer than you have.
   
2. This isn't high school. You aren't the smartest kid in the class anymore. High school tends to reward a different set of skills which are typically useless in college.
   
3. I study a lot. You study a lot. I study more effectively than you do because I have far less time to study.
   
4. Office hours. You spend your time in coffee shops and the library. I spend my time talking to our professor finding out what is important to know for the exam.
   
5. Integration. The trend that I've seen a lot with a lot of my classmates is that they tend to think of courses as standalone entities that have to be passed by hook or by crook. You should really strive to incorporate all the courses you study into one large body of knowledge.

You want to do better? Find the people that do well in your courses and emulate them. Some of it is natural talent, but most of it is due to working differently than you do.

Here are my pointers:

1. If you're making notecards, you're doing something wrong.
   
2. When do you start studying for the exams? I start at least a week before the exam. Case in point, I had a biochemistry exam today that I started reviewing for 9 days ago. Do you do this?
   
3. My physiology textbook is 984 pages long. My biochemistry textbook is 1382 pages long. Neither professor expects me to know all of the information in those two textbooks. I know exactly what information both professors want me to know - do you? Have you asked them? I have.
   
4. I spend an average of 5 minutes a day on my personal Facebook page. I've run into scores of pre-meds that study 8 hours a day but a lot of that is wasted time. Get rid of distractions.

So, you want to compete with me? Here's what you do - and understand that I'm writing this post with a few beers onboard, so I apologize if this sounds a bit abrasive:

1. If you spend more than 10 minutes on your Facebook page, delete it.
   
2. Start reviewing for exams 9 days prior to the exam.
   
3. Find a way to encapsulate course material in a way that makes sense to you - this might be through writing out length answers to basic questions, drawing pictures, etc. It really depends upon the material.
   
4. Put yourself in a position to teach others. I feel a bit guilty about this - I spend a huge proportion of my time teaching other people about the topics covered in my classes, so come exam time, I'm far better prepared than most of my classmates.

Back to my beer.

 

[hiyaman]

You have to be honest with yourself, are you really doing all the work required to get an A or whatever grade you desire?

You say you study a lot but what kind of studying are you doing? Is it passively reading the book? Or are you actively engaging yourself in the subject via working out problems or answering conceptual questions that you ask yourself?

Doing the work is what separates the A students from the B students.

 

[bigDee]

I think it a combination of natural intelligence and hard work. Some people are super smart and do not need to study as much while others are not as smart and need to study more to get the same grades as the "smarter" ones

Nah I think it's more hard work than anything. I think if you're really smart you can blaze through in studying only half the time, but that only applies to a very small percentage of people. What you also have to realize is that even if you placed two people in a room and told them to study ch 3, 4, and 5, person A may get done in half the time, if only because he was that much more focused while person B of equal intelligence was day dreaming half the time.

So it's really hard to measure how well someone can absorb and comprehend material better than others. If someone says they studied for a test overnight and they made a higher score than you even though you studied for it the past three days, you have to take into account the fact that they may have comprehended the material right from the start when they saw it in lecture while you may not have got anything out of lecture because you were too busy taking notes. Or like I just said, maybe your focus is only half as good as their focus.

 

[bigDee]

Learn the whys instead of the whats.

Example: Don't learn how to take a derivative, learn what a derivative is.

Edit:
I also recently talked to a student who turned his grades around from a sub-3.0 to a 4.0. His two biggest suggestions?
1) Go to office hours.
2) Stop going out on weekends.

I don't know how applicable those are to you but they could be helpful.

And those suggestions stem from a more basic main idea, study more. The person with the higher work ethic will always outperform.

 

[notbobtrustme]

It's studying smart and working hard. A lot of people memorize. Memorizing is probably the worst way to learn. Instead, understand what's going on behind the facts and you can adapt your knowledge in 10 different ways.

 

[docbrill]

OP, honestly, the further you get in your premed years and the further you get along in the application cycle you will see that GPA and college in general is secondary to the MCAT. The scores on this half a day test >>> scores during years of college tests. My advice is to honestly start focusing on that test even if you are younger.

👎

 

[typicalindian]

Your threads suck

 

[docbrill]

You are going to hate the answer to this. You talk about "kids". A lot of your classmates left childhood a while ago and have embraced this world called "adulthood". So, a lot of the differences in performance that you see are due to this.

Other factors?

1. I've been studying science nearly full-time for the past 8 years. Undergrad, work, and now, post-bacc. This probably sounds arrogant, but I'm better at this because I've been doing it longer. Learning science and math is a skill that one learns over time and some of us have simply been doing it longer than you have.
   
2. This isn't high school. You aren't the smartest kid in the class anymore. High school tends to reward a different set of skills which are typically useless in college.
   
3. I study a lot. You study a lot. I study more effectively than you do because I have far less time to study.
   
   [*]Office hours. You spend your time in coffee shops and the library. I spend my time talking to our professor finding out what is important to know for the exam.
   
   [*]Integration. The trend that I've seen a lot with a lot of my classmates is that they tend to think of courses as standalone entities that have to be passed by hook or by crook. You should really strive to incorporate all the courses you study into one large body of knowledge.
   

You want to do better? Find the people that do well in your courses and emulate them. Some of it is natural talent, but most of it is due to working differently than you do.

Here are my pointers:

1. If you're making notecards, you're doing something wrong.
   
2. When do you start studying for the exams? I start at least a week before the exam. Case in point, I had a biochemistry exam today that I started reviewing for 9 days ago. Do you do this?
   
3. My physiology textbook is 984 pages long. My biochemistry textbook is 1382 pages long. Neither professor expects me to know all of the information in those two textbooks. I know exactly what information both professors want me to know - do you? Have you asked them? I have.
   
4. I spend an average of 5 minutes a day on my personal Facebook page. I've run into scores of pre-meds that study 8 hours a day but a lot of that is wasted time. Get rid of distractions.

So, you want to compete with me? Here's what you do - and understand that I'm writing this post with a few beers onboard, so I apologize if this sounds a bit abrasive:

1. If you spend more than 10 minutes on your Facebook page, delete it.
   
2. Start reviewing for exams 9 days prior to the exam.
   
3. Find a way to encapsulate course material in a way that makes sense to you - this might be through writing out length answers to basic questions, drawing pictures, etc. It really depends upon the material.
   
4. Put yourself in a position to teach others. I feel a bit guilty about this - I spend a huge proportion of my time teaching other people about the topics covered in my classes, so come exam time, I'm far better prepared than most of my classmates.

Back to my beer.

Excellent points👍 Agree a hundred percent based on personal experience.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Upbeat attitude and approach to life. The world is my oyster man...

 

[gmcguitar4]

You just have to put the time in. For orgo, it is a ton of practice problems. If you are doing bad in that course, it's probably a flaw in your understanding of the basic principle's. Do acid/base problems, stereocenters, sn1/sn2/e1/e2. Do the most basic problems so that you full understand what is happening there. If you are confused by how your teacher teaches it, don't listen to him/her and do it on your own. I have a physics teacher like that.

 

[anbuitachi]

Are you studying 17 hours a day? No? then that's why. If yes, then you got studying issues.

 

[NoirD2]

I only half agree with this, especially if we're talking calc, chem, phys... You need to know how to take a derivative, or you will fail. While concepts are important, applications are equally important.

Also, it doesn't hurt to be disciplined enough to push through the all-night library sessions because you know there is something worthwhile on the other side.

And discipline can be learned/taught. Don't ever use that as an excuse. Pack a bag for the day, set mini-goals, make effective study sessions a part of your routine.

EDIT: This is coming from someone who failed math last year, but turned it around to an A and is doing very, very well so far this semester.

Don't learn JUST how to take a derivative. That'd be bad to not learn how to take a derivative lol, that is like 99% of Calculus.

This is not possible.

Semester wise. His first semester he got all C's or less and turned them around into A's for the second semester. Maybe college grades don't work like that IDK 😀.

 

[Ost3oclast]

so somewhat relevant to me and my life but mostly I want to know in general, like in science classes you have kids who regularly score high A's or low A's on tests, tend to ace most tests and do really good on them and tend to make A's in most of their science classes

how do they do it?

and you can say lots of studying but I do that too and I am far from an A student

Time management, pay attention in class, study, try to "understand" material instead of just pure memorization, get lucky with genes, don't gun for other students just do your own thing, always stay positive with life....thats what I do....

 

[13132]

Move in with the professor.

 

[Person0715]

Time management skills + motivation + determination + photographic memory = A

 

[BoxinMoxin]

I hear time management a lot, real life and in terms of grades, tell me, how does it really work?

Like I don't work, don't have a job, am not really involved in anything it is just that I study for 2 hours and then get bored.

Hard to describe it really.

 

[BoxinMoxin]

To me the situation is really frustrating. In a lot of my 4 hour classes I start off slow, I really don't know WHY but then the SECOND TEST IS THE WORST OF THEM ALL, THE THING IS THE FRIGGIN DEVIL! I always do bad on the second test and the third test is my best, usually a very high B or a very high A. I end up pulling out of the class with a B or C which is really frustrating to me.

 

[Propylene]

so somewhat relevant to me and my life but mostly I want to know in general, like in science classes you have kids who regularly score high A's or low A's on tests, tend to ace most tests and do really good on them and tend to make A's in most of their science classes

how do they do it?

and you can say lots of studying but I do that too and I am far from an A student

Dedication.

 

[docbrill]

Dedication.

This.

 

[V5RED]

If you're making notecards, you're doing something wrong.

I have to disagree with this. My notecards are a vital part of my studying, and given that I am always either the top or very near the top student in my classes I think I am doing something right.

 

[ANATOMYgirl22]

good genes probably help some... and I've just noticed that the people I know who get A's are the people who are willing to stay up all night and live off coffee for a week if that's what it takes. I think its just a mentality that some people have and others don't.

 

[NKChemEng]

You are going to hate the answer to this. You talk about "kids". A lot of your classmates left childhood a while ago and have embraced this world called "adulthood". So, a lot of the differences in performance that you see are due to this.

Other factors?

1. I've been studying science nearly full-time for the past 8 years. Undergrad, work, and now, post-bacc. This probably sounds arrogant, but I'm better at this because I've been doing it longer. Learning science and math is a skill that one learns over time and some of us have simply been doing it longer than you have.
   
2. This isn't high school. You aren't the smartest kid in the class anymore. High school tends to reward a different set of skills which are typically useless in college.
   
3. I study a lot. You study a lot. I study more effectively than you do because I have far less time to study.
   
4. Office hours. You spend your time in coffee shops and the library. I spend my time talking to our professor finding out what is important to know for the exam.
   
5. Integration. The trend that I've seen a lot with a lot of my classmates is that they tend to think of courses as standalone entities that have to be passed by hook or by crook. You should really strive to incorporate all the courses you study into one large body of knowledge.

You want to do better? Find the people that do well in your courses and emulate them. Some of it is natural talent, but most of it is due to working differently than you do.

Here are my pointers:

1. If you're making notecards, you're doing something wrong.
   
2. When do you start studying for the exams? I start at least a week before the exam. Case in point, I had a biochemistry exam today that I started reviewing for 9 days ago. Do you do this?
   
3. My physiology textbook is 984 pages long. My biochemistry textbook is 1382 pages long. Neither professor expects me to know all of the information in those two textbooks. I know exactly what information both professors want me to know - do you? Have you asked them? I have.
   
4. I spend an average of 5 minutes a day on my personal Facebook page. I've run into scores of pre-meds that study 8 hours a day but a lot of that is wasted time. Get rid of distractions.

So, you want to compete with me? Here's what you do - and understand that I'm writing this post with a few beers onboard, so I apologize if this sounds a bit abrasive:

1. If you spend more than 10 minutes on your Facebook page, delete it.
   
2. Start reviewing for exams 9 days prior to the exam.
   
3. Find a way to encapsulate course material in a way that makes sense to you - this might be through writing out length answers to basic questions, drawing pictures, etc. It really depends upon the material.
   
4. Put yourself in a position to teach others. I feel a bit guilty about this - I spend a huge proportion of my time teaching other people about the topics covered in my classes, so come exam time, I'm far better prepared than most of my classmates.

Back to my beer.

👍👍👍 This right here. I pull 100s in bio consistently, because people started asking me to help them with the material, and the more I went through it, the more I understood it myself.

Which doesn't go to say be arrogant about it. They are your peers. In no way should you place yourself above others EVER in college, because you are working with people and not against them. Trust me, this will come to help you at some point in the future.

 

[MartletMD]

I hear time management a lot, real life and in terms of grades, tell me, how does it really work?

Like I don't work, don't have a job, am not really involved in anything it is just that I study for 2 hours and then get bored.

Hard to describe it really.

That might actually be your issue. I know I manage my time about 140000000x better when I have something on my calendar other than school, and I hear from others that having something else other than school is actually crucial to their success.

Get involved in something, get a calendar, and you will have to start planning when you can do things and start realizing when you cannot. If you can get dedicated, it'll be a wake up call and you'll start studying more effectively. If not, it will be one more excuse on a list of why you failed this semester.

 

[Hotshy]

Paying attention.

 

[medaholic]

I hear time management a lot, real life and in terms of grades, tell me, how does it really work?

Like I don't work, don't have a job, am not really involved in anything it is just that I study for 2 hours and then get bored.

Hard to describe it really.

I think your answer reveals a lot. High grades are simply a reflection of hard work. Someone who has studied for 4 hours, would have put in twice as much work as you, and naturally will do better.

How do you work harder? It's a combination of motivation, good work habits, time management, knowing what to study for and how to study effectively. Simple tip, you can try studying with someone who gets these "A" and I assure you, you'll see his/her work ethic is the difference.

 

[Person0715]

good genes probably help some... and I've just noticed that the people I know who get A's are the people who are willing to stay up all night and live off coffee for a week if that's what it takes. I think its just a mentality that some people have and others don't.

I disagree with this. What really is there to gain from staying up all night to study or drowning your system in caffeine just stay stay awake? Do you really believe that people retain information properly when they are sleep deprived?

The mentality you described, in my opinion, is more of a procrastinator's mentality. Yes, they may get good grades sometimes, but probably not consistently. Getting A's consistently requires constant dedication, not just some flimsy wavering dedication.

 

[alienwares]

I think a really important goal is to try creating a sort of positive-feedback loop early on. Try to do well early, and if you do studying becomes much less of a chore and much more enjoyable... and you learn more efficiently too if you enjoy what you are doing.

If you can set this sort of situation up in a class early on, you're virtually guaranteed a high grade unless you completely stop trying after your first positive results. The hardest part for me seems to be really nailing that first test.

 

[myronnie]

It's easy..
Dedication
Hard work
The commitment to not just memorize but to understand
AND NO TAKING FING SHORTCUTS

If you just want an easy A and want to memorize..be ready to be studying all the time and feel under pressure while barely skimping by. It becomes much easier when you adopt a whole nother philosophy.

 

[kunalp89]

Couldn't agree more. I've seen students study so hard and still fail gen chem exams. Many times these students will concentrate more on memorization rather than understanding.

 

[hmmmmm]

so somewhat relevant to me and my life but mostly I want to know in general, like in science classes you have kids who regularly score high A's or low A's on tests, tend to ace most tests and do really good on them and tend to make A's in most of their science classes

how do they do it?

and you can say lots of studying but I do that too and I am far from an A student

because they're named ching chong ding dong

(btw i'm asian so no ban plx kthxbie)

but srsly, cuz they understand the material and have the smart dna🙂

 

[BoxinMoxin]

You are going to hate the answer to this. You talk about "kids". A lot of your classmates left childhood a while ago and have embraced this world called "adulthood". So, a lot of the differences in performance that you see are due to this.

Other factors?

1. I've been studying science nearly full-time for the past 8 years. Undergrad, work, and now, post-bacc. This probably sounds arrogant, but I'm better at this because I've been doing it longer. Learning science and math is a skill that one learns over time and some of us have simply been doing it longer than you have.
2. This isn't high school. You aren't the smartest kid in the class anymore. High school tends to reward a different set of skills which are typically useless in college.
3. I study a lot. You study a lot. I study more effectively than you do because I have far less time to study.
4. Office hours. You spend your time in coffee shops and the library. I spend my time talking to our professor finding out what is important to know for the exam.
5. Integration. The trend that I've seen a lot with a lot of my classmates is that they tend to think of courses as standalone entities that have to be passed by hook or by crook. You should really strive to incorporate all the courses you study into one large body of knowledge.

You want to do better? Find the people that do well in your courses and emulate them. Some of it is natural talent, but most of it is due to working differently than you do.

Here are my pointers:

1. If you're making notecards, you're doing something wrong.
2. When do you start studying for the exams? I start at least a week before the exam. Case in point, I had a biochemistry exam today that I started reviewing for 9 days ago. Do you do this?
3. My physiology textbook is 984 pages long. My biochemistry textbook is 1382 pages long. Neither professor expects me to know all of the information in those two textbooks. I know exactly what information both professors want me to know - do you? Have you asked them? I have.
4. I spend an average of 5 minutes a day on my personal Facebook page. I've run into scores of pre-meds that study 8 hours a day but a lot of that is wasted time. Get rid of distractions.

So, you want to compete with me? Here's what you do - and understand that I'm writing this post with a few beers onboard, so I apologize if this sounds a bit abrasive:

1. If you spend more than 10 minutes on your Facebook page, delete it.
2. Start reviewing for exams 9 days prior to the exam.
3. Find a way to encapsulate course material in a way that makes sense to you - this might be through writing out length answers to basic questions, drawing pictures, etc. It really depends upon the material.
4. Put yourself in a position to teach others. I feel a bit guilty about this - I spend a huge proportion of my time teaching other people about the topics covered in my classes, so come exam time, I'm far better prepared than most of my classmates.

Back to my beer.

As much of an arrogant person you sounded like in the post, in all of my threads, that is the post I read about 5 times, outstanding post indeed.

 

[JESSFALLING]

My advice for anyone who is doing poorly is to slow down! By taking a lighter load, they will have more time to examine and address the reason(s) for their previous poor performance.

 

[SoonerFromTexas]

Don't study to get an A. Study to get a 100. Chances are, you won't get a 100, but you will surely get an A. 👍

 

[WonderLander]

You have to find your own way to study. Some people like flashcards, some like to draw things. It just takes a bit of practice to find what method really sticks for you. If you can't be engaged in your studying, you won't remember anything. It's not about studying more, but about studying smarter and more effectively.

 

[KaplanKrackers]

Everyone in this thread is placing way to much emphasis on hard work. I agree that studying 'smart' is important, and putting in the time is necessary for anyone, but genetics play a very large role.

It's easy for those who are naturally gifted to claim it's just that they study 'better'. When you're naturally smart it's easy to just tell others to understand the concepts behind the material as opposed to memorizing. Understanding how concepts fit together, and grasping the big picture is easy because you're smarter, so naturally you tell other people that's all they have to do.

It sucks...but the reality is that some people are just smarter than others. How else do you explain ppl that work their asses off for the MCAT and can't break 30?

 

[mauberley]

It sucks...but the reality is that some people are just smarter than others. How else do you explain ppl that work their asses off for the MCAT and can't break 30?

The same way I explain people who can't be bothered to type out full words when using a keyboard. 😉