The end of the school year is fast approaching, which means big projects, long papers and cumulative finals are just around the corner.
According to The College Solution, 23 percent of undergrad students take on at least 20 hours of work on top of their already busy schedule. The rest of the available hours of the day are spent on balancing homework, participating in clubs and organizations, and, if lucky, sleeping.
If your GPA isn’t exactly where you want it to be, here are a few tips to boost your grade before the end of the semester.
1. Take a trip to see your TA/Professor. Your instructor is your best tool to doing better in class. By going to open office hours or attending walk-in hours, you can better understand how to proceed with the rest of the assignments in your class. This is your moment to explain how you learn and ask how you can best adapt your learning style to the material in the course. Talking to your instructor shows that you care about your grade, and most will be willing to point you in the right direction. Additionally, don’t be afraid to ask for extra credit opportunities. Asking never hurt anyone.
2. Utilize study websites. Websites like ClusterFlunk and Quizlet are two of the best websites to use when you’re in a pinch. As a bonus, both are free and open to the public. ClusterFlunk is a great way to connect with other students in your class and exchange notes. So, if you are in need of a study buddy, this is your kind of website. Quizlet is a great resource if you require notecards to study or quick quizzes to drill important information. Quizlet is especially awesome if your course is vocabulary intensive.
3. Create a master schedule. Take all of the assignments you have left for the semester and put them on a master schedule. Follow the rule of 2—give two weeks to each assignment or test. For tests, study a chapter a day so that you aren’t left cramming everything in one night. You will feel significantly less stressed and remember the information better. For assignments or papers, use the first week as preparation and the second for editing and refinement. Creating a schedule like this will leave no room for doubt and help you get those small points that people often lose to lack or preparation or laziness.
4. Do the easiest tasks first, and the hardest last. By doing easy tasks first, you will feel like you accomplished more in less time. By the time you get to a hard task, you will feel less stressed and you won’t feel like you are having a mental breakdown. To put it into perspective, don’t do an assignment like Statistics before doing an art project. You will feel boggled down, frustrated when things don’t come easy, and the easier stuff will fall to the wayside because you will give up before you have even started (and, in turn, lose the easy points).
5. On tests or quizzes, skip what you don’t know and move on to the problem or question that comes easy. If the test or quiz is timed, this method will ensure you don’t lose easy points. If you have time left at the end, use it to tackle the ones you aren’t sure of the answer.
6. Write what you know instead of fishing for an answer you can’t support or understand. The best example of this happens when you take a test with multiple essay questions. The best way to approach an essay, especially on a test where you can’t use notes, is to use terminology and ideas that you know fit with the question. This is a much better approach than putting down a whole bunch of babble—which clearly shows you didn’t study the material. You are much more likely to get partial points by applying what you know even if it doesn’t directly, or correctly, answer the question. It shows that you at least pay attention in the course.
7. As a last resort, and if your grade is in serious danger, drop the course and take it at a community college.