However you did on your midterms, there are still ways to improve your semester. But, especially if you’re not too thrilled with a less than sterling estimated GPA, you should take into account some qualities of life that you might need to change or add to your regular routine.
In order to help you keep your smarty pants bragging rights, we have designed a set of helpful suggestions that can help you from going from a regular student to star player with a GPA worthy of showing off.
1. Use Quizlet.com
A lot students may or may not know about this website, but it’s extremely convenient for students of various schooling levels (more so high school and college level). Many teachers will actually put or pull their tests, quizzes, and homework from the internet—borrowing from other higher level education instructors’ assignments. Quizlet not only allows for students to build their own sets of flashcards for study guides, or per chapter, they have public flashcards and quizzes that your own instructors might use. Some of these are made by current or former students. The website, altogether, is a helpful tool conducive to better study strategies and they are particularly useful for take home quizzes.
2. Examine your options
Sometimes, if you’re just too far gone in a class and you won’t be able to make the grade that you want or need, it’s time to examine your options. How far are you willing to go? Should you drop the class or S/U it. Some helpful advice in this instance is to A) Talk to your professor. They aren’t the bad guys and if they know just how and why you’re having so much difficulty (if you are), they are usually more than willing to help you out as long as you’re willing to put in the effort and B) Ask yourself “Do you need the class?” Do you need this class for your major? Do you need it for credit hours towards a scholarship? Is there a way you could drop it and retake it later while still graduating on time?
3. Hang with the right crowd
If you’re one of those people that likes to sit with friends in class that’s perfectly fine. But, if those friends are the types of people that like to talk, text, and generally ignore the fact that they’re spending thousands of dollars on a college education while in class, it might be prudent for you to switch seats. Yes, we know, classes are so much less boring with friends around. But, no one should be wasting years of debt in college just to spend it failing courses, ruining your reputation with professors, and laughing at what your BFF did last night with her latest beau. Start hanging with people who are good with the subject you’re weak in. Who knows, maybe they might need your help in another area, and they might be really cool people.
4. Organize your remaining time
Whether you’re OCD (has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) or not, organizing your school stuff is super important. Organization can mean the difference between making a great grade on your exam or barely passing. If you are putting all of your effort in the time you have remaining then you should definitely get your stuff together. No, we mean literally. Organize your notes so that it’s easy to find everything you need to study. Make sure that you’re organizing your time too. Time management is crucial to a successful college and professional career. No matter what you do in life, time management is the line between someone who doesn’t care and someone everyone looks up to.
5. Make A Plan
Don’t just wing it. Winging it can work for some people, but, most times, it just ends up coming up passing—not passing with flying colors, and in college, you want to pass with flying colors. Here, you have to make yourself stand out. So, make a plan. Write it down if you have to. Go visit your professor, write out how many hours, how many days a week, and which days you’ll be studying. Leave yourself time for fun, of course, but balance it out. Grab a calendar and put in all of your exams, paper due dates, and other various assignments. E-calendars are helpful because you carry them around on your tablet or phone and you schedule them to remind you in advance. You should probably have your reminder for exams set a few days in advance to leave yourself time to study.
6. Don’t procrastinate
This is probably the hardest tip to give because it’s so hard not to do. But, procrastination is the bane of a student’s educational career. There are so many things to do, so little time. (sigh) Some ways to stay away from procrastination include (but are definitely not limited to) setting reminders, break up the work into steps or stages, and writing down to-do lists. It’s pretty solid that people who write to-do lists are more likely to actually accomplish what they want to accomplish and do what’s on that list. If you need to, change your environment. Sometimes, all you need is a change of scenery.
7. Don’t settle
Don’t let lukewarm or bad midterms get you down! Midterms are there to let you know how you’re doing so that you have time to fix yourself in case you aren’t doing well. If you’re really dedicated to making the grade, then you’ll find a way to do it. Don’t just look at your grades and give up, thinking that you’ll never be able to pull yourself up from the depths of despair. Reach out and get help. With a writing center, math tutoring center, and an Academic Success Center, there are more than enough people on Winthrop’s campus willing to be there for you.
8. Don’t overwhelm yourself
It’s so difficult to stop all of the clubs and activities. Well, you don’t have to. Don’t drop chapter meetings (not that you really could), don’t stop going to your club meetings, your activities, or anything like that. If you really want to do it, then you’ll be able to find the time to make it happen. However, don’t overwhelm yourself when it comes to studying. Make sure to take care of yourself. Eat. Sleep. Breathe. It’ll all work out.
Don’t forget, ya’ll, even though future employers and scholarships require grades, what you should really be looking for is knowledge and skills you can use effectively and efficiently to succeed in your future careers. The knowledge is what will make your dreams come true. The more you know, the stronger you are, and the more empowerment you’ll have.