We’ve all been there before – the highly anticipated, yet simultaneously dreaded end of the semester. The stakes are high, the GPAs are low and the clock only seems to be ticking faster as each day passes by. You want to enjoy your upcoming Christmas break, but first, you need to redeem your grade by finals week.
Here are five ways to do exactly that:
1. Check your professor’s extra credit policy
Okay, so this one may seem pretty obvious, but many students miss out on extra credit opportunities simply because they gloss over the syllabus at the beginning of the semester when extra points aren’t really needed. Most professors will offer some amount of extra credit, no matter how miniscule. Even if your professor hasn’t explicitly stated that they offer extra credit, you may be able to work something out with them by offering to write an additional paper or participate in a relevant project. The possibility of extra credit points is worth looking into, especially if you’re teetering between two letter grades.
2. Don’t miss any more classes
Many professors don’t factor participation points into your grade until the very end of the semester. Aside from this being downright annoying, it can cause confusion and frustration when you discover that you’ve racked up a few more absences than you had accounted for and your grade consequently takes a blow. Attending class for the next few weeks just might make all the difference in your participation grade, in addition to filling you in on the course’s final topics and giving you an opportunity to initiate the next step.
3. Form a study group before the final
Not only will this make the task of studying more bearable, but it will inevitably hold you accountable for setting aside time to review. Study groups are generally beneficial because they allow students to fill in each other’s informational gaps. If big groups aren’t your style, try simply reaching out to the person sitting next to you – the chance that they’ll deny your offer to study with them is pretty slim.
4. Do everything you can to ace the final
Although a final exam’s colossal effect on your overall grade can be daunting, you can definitely spin it to your advantage. Talk to students who have had your professor in the past, spend an extra hour or two at the library and compile your own study guide in addition to the ones that classmates and/or your professor have shared. If your studying starts to feel like overkill, you’re halfway there. At the end of the day, your final grade will make your hard work worthwhile.
5. If all else fails, talk to your professor directly
Of course, some professors are more understanding than others, but you’d be surprised at how willing many of them are to work with you if you simply put in the effort to schedule a meeting or visit them during their office hours. This tip is especially relevant if your subpar grades are the consequence of a specific, uncontrollable event, such as a severe illness or a traumatic experience. The worst that a professor can do is leave your grade unchanged.
Bonus tip: Double-check your grades on each of the class’s assignments to make sure everything has been marked correctly
It happens more often than you might think. Ultimately, professors are people too, and are therefore just as fallible as us students. You may get lucky and be able to gain some unexpected points for work that you actually did, whether in the form of an assignment they lost or a test they skimmed too quickly. If you truly are desperate, it’s worth a shot.
As the semester comes to a close, opportunities to improve your grade become scarce, but there are a handful of tricks for giving your score one final boost. Hopefully you can you utilize at least one of these tips to obtain the grade you deserve. Good luck surviving these last weeks!