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How to Raise your GPA

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Lauren Murphy
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Kathryn Burgner
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bentley chapter.

As Bentley collegiettes™, we are all familiar with constant academic pressure.  While this can lead to some serious stress, we here at HerCampus Bentley are going to help you find ways to boost your GPA without turning to all-nighters and Dunkin Donuts’ spending sprees.  Try one—or all—of the following 10 tips to improve your study and classroom habits and you’ll be sure to enjoy the results this semester.

  1. Go to Class. Remember that this is the primary reason you’re paying for college and it’s a huge waste of your money to skip class.  Whether you’re a freshman or senior, you’ll soon be entering the “real world” where attendance is not even close to optional.  Now is the perfect time to form more responsible habits, and higher attendance correlates to higher grades!  Also, there is no way you are going to learn more by skipping class. So drag your butt out of bed, hike up the Smith stairs, and show up to that 8:30.
  2. Set Goals. Whether this means aiming for the Dean’s List, President’s List, or even not getting below a certain grade in any class, setting clearly defined goals for yourself early in the semester will keep you motivated.  You can also calculate exactly what grades you need to boost your GPA by using the GPA calculator tool on MyBentley.
  3. Sit in the front row. And no, it’s not too late to change your seat! Sitting in the front row forces you to pay attention, stay off Facebook, and resist the urge to text.  You’re also more likely to participate when the professor is right there.
  4. Review weekly. Don’t wait until midterms or, even worse, finals to review your notes.  Taking even just half an hour a week to review slides and notes will help keep important terms fresh in your mind.  This is critical when you have cumulative tests, as well as when you need to write a paper connecting concepts from different units.
  5. Go to office hours.  Yes, you’ve probably heard this 100 times, but it really does work.  Take advantage of your professor’s expertise and pay them a visit before a big test or paper is due.  Plus, when the professor is giving out participation grades, or considering rounding a 3.25 to a 3.3, they are much more likely to give you a better grade if you’ve formed a personal connection during the semester.
  6. Study at the library.The Bentley Library has nearly 700 seats to study in, ranging from squashy couches to chairs and tables to rolling chairs in study cubbies.  Studying at the lib is a much better atmosphere than your room, which is full of distractions.  Separate your study time from your play time, and make more efficient use of your busy schedule.
  7. Improve your notes. Do whatever you need to do in order to take better notes.  For me, this ranges from using cute penswith brightly colored ink to listing page numbers as references to coming up with easy abbreviations for terms you find yourself writing over and over.  Cute accessoriesare a great way to boost your GPA because it can motivate you to actually use your notes!
  8. Take time to edit. Shockingly, editing means more than hitting spell-check and adjusting margins to stretch your 8.5 pages of writing into a 10 page paper.  Spending just 30 minutes to reread your paper, check for matching tenses, and improve your transitions can turn into a much better grade on your final paper.  We know you’re a smart collegiette™—so prove it to your professor with a  well-written and well-edited paper.
  9. Actually read your textbook.  You (or your parents) probably spent hundreds of dollars on your textbooks this semester, so put them to good use!  Don’t let them serve as a mini-nightstand or dust-collector in your dorm room, actually read them.  Many times, professors may quiz you on concepts that are mentioned in the textbook but not covered in class.  These are easy points, ones you don’t want to miss out on.
  10. Find a smart study buddy!  Preferably, someone that is smarter than you!  It’s always helpful to get a new perspective on a tricky concept and working with a friend makes long study sessions much more enjoyable.  This way, you’ll always have someone reliable to copy notes from in case you do have to miss class.  Don’t know anyone in your class and don’t know who to approach as a smart study buddy?  Look for someone who participates in class, sits near the front, and always pays attention.  (Hint: it doesn’t matter how cute he is, the guy who sleeps or texts through every class is not a good choice).

Sources:
http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/raise-your-gpa/
http://collegelifesite.com/6_Great_Reasons_To_Go_To_Class.htm

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Kathryn Burgner is a member of the class of 2013 at Bentley University and is majoring in Information Design & Corporate Communications, with minors in Marketing and Gender Studies. Kathryn is so excited to be a part of the Her Campus team and be the founder of Her Campus Bentley! Kathryn loves going to school near Boston, but she also loves her hometown of Dalton, MA, where she grew up in the Berkshires on a turkey farm. Kathryn loves singing, acting, dancing ballet, baking, & playing volleyball, and is interested in gender issues, fashion, and health & fitness. She is a founding member of the Masters of Bentley Acappella (MBAs) and enjoys being involved with the Women's Center at Bentley, Alpha Psi Omega Honorary Theatre Society, and Resident Assistance at Bentley. Kathryn aspires to work as an editor, social media professional, or marketing design professional in Boston, MA after her experiences at Bentley! Kathryn would like to thank her family and friends for their love and support towards all of her experiences and dreams.