The 7 Secrets of Highly Successful Students

[rudy-Diiriye]

Here is how to deal with student-ship 101.

 

What does it cost a student to go to college without any idea of how to manage the process? It may cost a lot. Students who have knowledgeable parents or older siblings to guide them can finesse the process, earn higher grades, get along better with faculty, solve problems with the business office, and so on. But students who are the first in their family to go to college have no one to guide them, and their mistakes can cost them that awesome post-college job, or access to the best graduate schools.

 

At a recent conference, I sat at a table full of staffers from various undergraduate research programs. We got to musing about how nice it would be if all students knew the insider tips and techniques the best students seem to soak up from the ether.

 

This is not about being smart. This is about being savvy. So from our notes scribbled on a stack of paper napkins, here is what savvy students know that others seem to miss:

 

1. Grades are engineered, not "earned"

A savvy student wants to earn as many A's as possible, as few B's as possible, and avoid C's at all costs.

 

So how do you engineer your GPA? Class-shop at the beginning of each semester. Sign up for more classes than you can possibly take, and drop boring or difficult professors sometime in the first two weeks. (It won't show up on your transcripts.) If you get a bad exam or quiz score, ask the professor what you can do to earn extra credit. Reading an optional book, writing a one- or two-page paper, or even just helping the prof out with mundane tasks such as setting up for class can push you back into the A column.

 

If you're not earning the grade you want in a class, negotiate an "incomplete" grade, then do whatever it takes to get that I turned into an A or at least a B. (Be warned, some profs won't give an A on an incomplete, no matter what you do). Or, worst case scenario, drop the class before finals. You don't want to do this a lot, but a "withdrawal" or two stamped on your transcript is much better than a low GPA.

 

Get involved with study groups, and your GPA will likely go up. Take a light load during the semester when you have a known difficult class, such as organic chemistry. And finally, be sure to take enough of a class load that you can ditch a bad class without dropping below minimum credits, especially if you're on financial aid or your parents are strict about the four-year plan.

 

2. Visit professors outside of class

Professors are people, too. They worry about being liked, whether they're gaining a few pounds and whether or not they're good at their jobs. So go visit them. Ask them for clarification of some point they made in class. Try out your paper or lab ideas on them to see if you're headed in the right direction. Ask them the best way to study for the exams.

 

It's probably not a great idea to focus on grades only, as in "What do I need to do to earn an A in your class?" Get your professors to help you be a better student. And maybe ask, "Have you lost a little weight?"

 

3. Prerequisites matter

Naïve students always want to go around prerequisites and take any class that interests them. This is unwise. Prerequisites are in place to make sure you have the skills you need to do well in a class, so skipping them is perilous. Don't take "Population Biology" until you've had "Math 321" or you'll be sorry. If you think you don't need the prereq, contact the professor and find out before you sign up for the class.

 

4. Internships are required, not optional

The norm now is two internships, not just one, so you have to build them into your summers starting at the end of the sophomore year. Recruiters look at students without internships as deficient, no matter how strong the GPA and rigor of the curriculum. Earning money on a fishing boat may be great for the first summer, but those other two summers need to be used for internships to support your post-college career or grad school plans. You can find a paid internship if you need the money, or a part-time internship combined with a part-time job. Savvy students know this, and un-savvy students go fishing.

 

5. Study abroad in the sophomore year, not the junior

The junior year is a time to concentrate on your major and get the most out of your department. If you're abroad, you can't do that. Plus, some students get distracted by drinking in Naples, or that cute French guy or gal in Nice, and blow their GPA during the study abroad. Grad schools and employers care most about your GPA in the final two years of college, and if you go abroad in the junior year those grades are prominent. Finally -- and don't tell anyone -- but most sophomores aren't 21 yet. In most of the world, the drinking age, official and unofficial, is much younger than that. So...

 

6. Read your handbook and catalog

How many credits make a full-time course load? How many classes do you have to take to major in X or minor in Y or double major in X and Y? What's the last date to drop a class without it appearing on your transcript? Is there any place to get a short-term, emergency loan? If you retake a class, do both grades appear, or does the first grade disappear? These are the kinds of questions that your catalog and handbook answer.

 

Here's a massive tip: The rules in the course catalog that's published when you begin your college career often apply until you graduate, even if the rules change. So keep that catalog! Don't rely on your adviser or your professors for rules and regulations. They might not know them very well anyway, and you'll pay the penalty for following bad advice.

 

7. It takes the entire senior year to get launched from college

No matter what your major, the career center can help you get a job or apply to graduate school. Naïve students don't worry about life after college until they've graduated. They miss a huge chance. You're only a college senior once in your life. Participate in the on-campus interview process, because it's part of the college experience and it's there for every undergraduate. English majors and philosophy majors can get great jobs out of college, but not if they're hiding out in the game room dissecting Kant and Bukowski and griping about how nobody gives them a chance. Spend the entire senior year making sure that come June, you know where you're going. That's what the savvy students do.

 

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[MAXIMUS POWERS]

Nice post Rudy. cheers

[Conspiracy]

good read thanks rudy!

[ANTARA]

Quality stuff, you have to be a strategist not only when choosing the various modules that make up your degree but also when it comes to revising for the exams.

 

 

Most importantly, to be an A-class student you definitely need some serious time management and when it come to this Randy Pausch is the main man, watch him in action

[OdaySomali]

Had I known then what I know now!... ciilkaambi is the worst thing.

[Bluelicious]

Thanks for the useful tips.

[Mukulaalow]

good tips.