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There is a tried and true method to getting good grades, and you’ve probably heard about it 1,000 times. A classified *secret*, if you will, to the all holy 4.0 GPA that everyone desires. What is this way of witchcraft you may ask?
GOING TO CLASS.
Don’t “fall” into the habit of skipping class as the months get colder!
Yes. To some it sounds simple. To most, it’s a no brainer. However, everyone begins the semester with good intentions that slowly die. We’ve all done it: abused a teacher with a lenient absence policy, or perhaps stopped showing up to lecture. Why does this impact you so harshly?
Even if you’re not the most engaged student in the room, simply being present during a lecture or powerpoint can spark up your auditory memory, and during the test, you’ll definitely know more than the student who didn’t show up at all. Just absorb the material, think about it. Sometimes, the students furiously scribbling notes are learning less than the kids that kids that are listening, asking questions, and participating in class discussion.
Don’t believe us that going to class can help you get better grades? Take a look at some of these testimonies from our Her Campus team at Appalachian State!
The auditory gal:
Last year and this semester were the best of my class attendances and I definitely have seen my grades improve. When you go to class, you catch things your professor says that make it easier to study, like sometimes I can literally hear the lecture that an exam question was about. I have one professor that will tell us an exam question if class attendance is low, so going to that class when no one else does is great.
Making relationships with professors and peers:
When I was in larger business gen eds, it was easier for me to skip because I didn’t have classmates that I talked to and no relationship with the professor. I felt like it wasn’t a big deal. Once I got into my major courses and actually made friends in my courses and chatted with my professors, I was more inclined to come to class and actually enjoy it versus just showing up to show up! My grades have significantly improved from attending class!
Not only going and participating, but being prepared and open with instructors:
Fortunately, I have never skipped, knock on wood. However, that being said, you cannot just go to class and go through the motions expecting to get a good grade. I have learned, in all four semesters here this far, in EVERY one of my classes, EVERY professor actually likes it when we come to their office (for a question or a chat) or stay after class to talk to the about the material or be genuinely friendly. On multiple occasions, my favorite professor, Jeff Cloninger, has told me I’m a good student, despite my not making 100’s on quizzes or tests because I have talked to him after class and routinely speak up in class. On the other hand, I have not been fully prepared for two classes in my honors seminar, but I was straight forward with my professor and made and stuck with an appointment to see her, and it has been fine. She even laughed it off the last time.
Not getting too cocky after a good grade:
Most of my science classes don’t have mandatory attendance and most of the teachers put the lecture online. But the truth is, if you miss class, it’s a guaranted way of failing. Missing one lecture for me feels like I’ve missed an entire week worth of material. Last semester, I took cellular biology and aced the first exam, so I decided I didn’t need to come to lecture. The second and the third exam I bombed because I either missed a few lectures or I didn’t ask my professor for assistance. For the last two exams, I decided to finally ask my professor questions during class and even visited him during his office hrs for additional assistance. This was my first time really engaging with my professor and because of that, I ended getting almost perfect scores on my last two exams.
Not only are you missing valuable information, but you’re also wasting money! Real, hard earned money. More times than not, each class meeting is worth hundreds of dollars, and each time you skip- you’re practically throwing money away.
What can you take from all of this?
Drag yourself out of bed, regardless of how you look, or how lazy you feel, and participate in the class. If all you do is show up, you’re going to do much better than the kids that never came!