How to get a 4.0

[ZzKingz]

Everyone seems to think that straight A students work their asses off and never have free time. Good grades, believe it or not, do the opposite. With a 4.0 GPA, I find myself having more time for after school activities, free time, and whatever else I may need to get done. Here's how to get them.

1. Motivate yourself; make a long term goal (Mine was to get into Stanford). After this is done, set up a short term goal, like achieve 3.5 or higher for example.

2. Develop interest in core subjects like math, science, social studies, etc.. This will make school more fun, rather than a chore.

3. I found that a homework folder works spectacularly if HW completion is a problem for you. Keep it with you at all times, and only keep ungraded work in it.

4. Prioritize your work. I my math homework done first because it's a pain for me to get done after 4:30-5:00 PM. Basically I get the tedious work done first.

5. Set up a study hall time. I stay at school until 4:00 every day, and it's not that bad. I usually do homework in the library or practice the violin in the orchestra room. This creates a very flexible study hall time that can be relied on.

6. Write assignments and due-dates in a planner. This isn't very important in elementary and middle school, but it gets very important later.

7. Organize your stuff. It allows you to easily find papers.

8. Take notes, but not excessively. I am very luck to have a superior memory, but if you don't, jotting down info can really help you.

9. Advocate for yourself. Teachers love it when you do this, and it means more to them is you say it, rather than your parents.

10. Ask questions. This helps information stick longer, not just until a test. It also helps you gain a bit more from a class than you're required.


Everyone's different, but this is what helped me. Comment for questions and other tips.

[ShatteredWings]

5. Set up a study hall time. I stay at school until 4:00 every day, and it's not that bad. I usually do homework in the library or practice the violin in the orchestra room. This creates a very flexible study hall time that can be relied on.
A lot of schools anymore don't have study hall options, does this mean we can't do 4.0?

8. Take notes, but not excessively. I am very luck to have a superior memory, but if you don't, jotting down info can really help you.

9. Advocate for yourself. Teachers love it when you do this, and it means more to them is you say it, rather than your parents.
1) not taking good notes (ie "excessively"), you may as well not take notes. I write down everything and still get Bs
2) teachers pet-ing actually can get you worse grades, because they get annoyed


IDK, everything else I do, and i still have a 3.5 unweighted...

[INFERNO]

;850354']A lot of schools anymore don't have study hall options, does this mean we can't do 4.0?

No, it means go to the library.


8. Take notes, but not excessively. I am very luck to have a superior memory, but if you don't, jotting down info can really help you.

In some of high-school this works but for university, it doesn't work to give you the 4.0 or even a B. Taking notes of what is said is necessary but you'll get the high marks when you can integrate that knowledge with the knowledge from previous lectures so you get understanding more than merely knowledge.


9. Advocate for yourself. Teachers love it when you do this, and it means more to them is you say it, rather than your parents.

For some it may but for others they do get annoyed pretty fast. For example, in high-school, my teacher for the various math courses could be complimented all day long but he will not give you a higher mark. It may change how he feels about you but teachers should and hopefully do mark without taking into consideration their feelings of each student.

In university, it works even less.

[Nickk XD]

I get pretty good grades, like a 3.8 GPA. My lowest ever at the High School was 3.667.

I find myself dedicating hour upon hours to school work just to achieve that. Last year's schedule was hard as a sophomore...this year, junior year, is even harder.

I have 8 classes, two of which are at the college.

Spanish III
Ceramics
Advanced Placement Biology
English
Teacher's Aid
Math Analysis

At the college:
U.S. History Honors
American Sign Language Lab (an easy class just for practice)

I spend hours and hours on AP Biology and Math Analysis. I don't spend too much time on history, but I am forced to write a lengthy term paper.

Last year in spanish was hard, but this year I have a lazy teacher...so...

I don't necessarily think your 10 step approach is accurate for everyone...or anyone. It completely depends on your schedule, the school, and what else you do in your free time. My school has high expectations and has a minimum amount of homework per week policy, which forces teachers to assign homework. Living in California, I also go to school more hours per day/per week than most anywhere else. I go from 8AM until 3:12PM Tues-Fri and 8AM until 1:19PM Mon. I also added the OPTIONAL U.S. History class which is from 7AM until 7:50AM before school.

[Jove]

with your notes take the newspeak approach :p

ie "concentration" in my bio/chem notes is shortened to ConcN

[ZzKingz]

I don't mean being a teacher's pet, I mean asking for help, like to be seated in front for example.

[INFERNO]

I don't mean being a teacher's pet, I mean asking for help, like to be seated in front for example.

Isn't that the same as #10 then?

[Jean Poutine]

listen.
don't be a complete fuck-up.

all that is needed. especially in america.

[ShatteredWings]

listen.
don't be a complete fuck-up.

all that is needed. especially in america.

Not really... To get a passing grade yes, but 4.0 unweighted erm no.

[Rutherford The Brave]

I have a 4.0 All I do is of course my work, and 15 mins of study for test/quizzes. Only sometimes I go off the beaten path. I always have time for student council and lax/golf

[Memory]

Most people can get a 4.0 if they desire it enough.

[kumarrage]

Here in canada school is HORRIBLE. I'm in middle school grade 8. We do stuff like 40% of 60. WTF!??!? In romania, in grade 5 u start chemistry and zoology. Grade 4 u stop doing arithmetics and start moving on to stuff like trigonometry, algebra, geometry, calculus. I swear to god, evreyone with an education from here is gonna be a bum. So i study at home everyday with the help of my parents, because this country and USA rely on immigrants cause their fucked up too much in the ass to improve their worthless education. Where do i get in life with having to practice the area of a pyramid in grade 8 and 9? SERIOUSLY. do something. Other countries outside of canda and usa have 100% much better education but they don;t have the money. I find it very stupid that there are 2000000000 times smarter people in other countries that don't have the oppurtinity of having a great education and university. Romania is recognized for maths i know, romanian is second most spoken language at microsoft and we have harvard coming each year to select top maths students from grade 12. it feels like with the education here i can qualify as a janitor.

[Nickk XD]

Education in the United States is very good; however, the standards are much lower that other countries. We require little compared to other countries.

We require education here until age 17-18...with a 12-13 year based system, unlike other countries that only require it until age 15-16 and have 2-3 levels of education. Other countries, like previously mentioned, focus on careers versus high level thinking things. In Australia, you go to school until about age 16 then you can choose to continue two more years and have a higher level job like a scientist, doctor, or teacher or choose to do an apprenticeship where you begin a career immediately (like Welding, Mechanics, etc). In the USA, everything is focused strictly on going to school, completing it, and then going straight to a major university. We spread our education out more than other countries, so we learn at a slower pace.

The thing with math and other subjects are that they are repetitive. In Grade 8 and 9 we also did percentages. Then we built onto them. We began to do functions with them and stuff.

Why do they require these somewhat pointless classes? When will you ever use what you learn in your Algebra class in the real world? You won't. My math teacher always gives us lectures about why we have to do this stuff. It has nothing to really do about knowing the area of a pyramid. It is about "higher thinking". If you can learn to do these difficult (or sometimes not so difficult) equations, you can then go to chemistry and do well in chemistry. If you can do well in English, then you can read a biology book with higher level language in it. Then you can become a doctor because you can follow instructions and arithmetic well. My math teacher says he has never used Algebra in the real world...ever. But obviously he used it in college, which eventually got him his career, because he's a math teacher.

Here in canada school is HORRIBLE. I'm in middle school grade 8. We do stuff like 40% of 60. WTF!??!? In romania, in grade 5 u start chemistry and zoology. Grade 4 u stop doing arithmetics and start moving on to stuff like trigonometry, algebra, geometry, calculus. I swear to god, evreyone with an education from here is gonna be a bum. So i study at home everyday with the help of my parents, because this country and USA rely on immigrants cause their fucked up too much in the ass to improve their worthless education. Where do i get in life with having to practice the area of a pyramid in grade 8 and 9? SERIOUSLY. do something. Other countries outside of canda and usa have 100% much better education but they don;t have the money. I find it very stupid that there are 2000000000 times smarter people in other countries that don't have the oppurtinity of having a great education and university. Romania is recognized for maths i know, romanian is second most spoken language at microsoft and we have harvard coming each year to select top maths students from grade 12. it feels like with the education here i can qualify as a janitor.

[kumarrage]

Education in the United States is very good; however, the standards are much lower that other countries. We require little compared to other countries.

We require education here until age 17-18...with a 12-13 year based system, unlike other countries that only require it until age 15-16 and have 2-3 levels of education. Other countries, like previously mentioned, focus on careers versus high level thinking things. In Australia, you go to school until about age 16 then you can choose to continue two more years and have a higher level job like a scientist, doctor, or teacher or choose to do an apprenticeship where you begin a career immediately (like Welding, Mechanics, etc). In the USA, everything is focused strictly on going to school, completing it, and then going straight to a major university. We spread our education out more than other countries, so we learn at a slower pace.

The thing with math and other subjects are that they are repetitive. In Grade 8 and 9 we also did percentages. Then we built onto them. We began to do functions with them and stuff.

Why do they require these somewhat pointless classes? When will you ever use what you learn in your Algebra class in the real world? You won't. My math teacher always gives us lectures about why we have to do this stuff. It has nothing to really do about knowing the area of a pyramid. It is about "higher thinking". If you can learn to do these difficult (or sometimes not so difficult) equations, you can then go to chemistry and do well in chemistry. If you can do well in English, then you can read a biology book with higher level language in it. Then you can become a doctor because you can follow instructions and arithmetic well. My math teacher says he has never used Algebra in the real world...ever. But obviously he used it in college, which eventually got him his career, because he's a math teacher.

I agree with you, however, I don't find myself going to a good university with the education given. I find mathematics useful in almost everything in life. I know that some parts of it are NEVER EVER used, but it develops your thinking and logic. I find it very humorous how big of a difference there is between the education between 2 countries. If I came from Romania or another country in the east in grade 8, I would be called a "genius" over here. However, you do need to come at a younger age to see what is around and to understand the language. I really hope that this education doesn't stop me from achieving what I want in life, and that is to attend one of the best universities there is.

[Nickk XD]

It's not a matter of another country being "smarter".

They use a much different technique to teaching. They may not even do the standard k-12 system that we know. Just for the info, the education system between Canada and the U.S. are identical (with the exception that each country, state, province, etc. may have different standards set up).

In Romania specifically, they make sure you know English and sometimes even German in Kindergarten (Romania is on a modified k-12 system). Kindergarten in Romania is much like that of the United States and Canada.

In Romania, you do not start elementary school until age 8. That's far above what is allowed in the United States or Canada. Here, you start about 6-7...rarely 5. Education is free, like here. They do charge for some materials, like books, however. They offer a flexible style schedule where you could have school in the morning, skip the afternoon, then come back in the evening...or you could go straight through until afternoon (like here), and a few other options available. They also have many many more vacations (like 1 week for Easter, 1 week in February, summer is 3-4 months long, and they have various other holidays). The average school day is about the same as our countries.

Basic education is the same as the U.S. or Canada UNTIL grade 4. They then reshape your education based on how smart you are and your previous performance. This then separates friends from each other. This also predetermines what you are able to do in life. Smart people go over there and dumber people go over there kind of system. They also focus heavily on religion (8 years of education based on religion). This takes away from academics.

They also have high school--but guess what...it works just like getting into a university does here. At the end of 8th grade, you are given a test to determine if you're "smart enough" to enroll into high school. If you do poorly on this test, you do not go to high school. Instead, without yours or your parent's decision, you are placed in a school for the crafts/trade for two years to get a career...without further education. This happens when your 13-15!

I agree with you, however, I don't find myself going to a good university with the education given. I find mathematics useful in almost everything in life. I know that some parts of it are NEVER EVER used, but it develops your thinking and logic. I find it very humorous how big of a difference there is between the education between 2 countries. If I came from Romania or another country in the east in grade 8, I would be called a "genius" over here. However, you do need to come at a younger age to see what is around and to understand the language. I really hope that this education doesn't stop me from achieving what I want in life, and that is to attend one of the best universities there is.

[kumarrage]

I do know the education system there, I've lived there for about 7 years, and my parents always tell me about it. Thanks for the response, but I'm wondering how it works in Canada. I have close to no clue.

[Nickk XD]

So you live in Canada and have no clue how it works? I thought you lived in Canada and attempted to compare it to Romania. Let's just put it this way: In Canada, if you try hard and want to be something...you can. No matter how "intelligent" you really are. You can go to a university as long as you get good grades in the classes you have. In Romania, your future is predetermined for you. They choose if you go to high school, then later college.

In Canada you're on a Primary, Secondary, then High Education system. This is also known as the k-12 system.

You attend mandatory school until age 16 (18 in some provinces). After that you can drop out which forfeits your ability to enter a university or continue and graduate and then apply to a university.

Many universities have special requirements you must meet to be enrolled there.

I suggest visiting a school guidance counselor at your school to discuss your options.
I do know the education system there, I've lived there for about 7 years, and my parents always tell me about it. Thanks for the response, but I'm wondering how it works in Canada. I have close to no clue.

[Antares]

You don't have to be smart to get a 4.0 GPA really...
You just need to be able to study effectively, turn in all assignments on time with no errors, and pester the teacher a lot.
Studying effectively and being able to memorize details is most important because on the tests you need to remember what you read, learned, etc and be able to answer the right question from that.

The last thing I would say is try. Put in some effort and care about it.

The rest is just fluff

[ZzKingz]

It's VERY difficult to create these habits, but they are extremely effective; I almost failed last year and now I have a 4.0

[staying_alive]

Alright, i didn't read every post so feel free to bash me if i repeat anything previously posted.

Every year, at graduation, we have lots of Valedictorians (4.0 unweighted students). However, they're split into 2 unofficial categories by teachers: those that deserve it and those that don't. Those that do have very little free time, take very challenging classes, and participate actively in extracurriculars. Those that don't deserve it take easy classes to pass with A's and a 4.0.

From your first post, i'd classify you in the second category. I apologize if I missed this, but what classes are you taking? I mean no disrespect and am not accusing you of anything, i'm simply wondering.

I agree with some of your tips, but you should consider yourself lucky. Studying and staying focused is difficult for lots of kids, and many of us have other interests besides what we're learning in school. I have a 3.9 unweighted as a sophomore, 5 out of 6 classes in my school day is either Honors, AP, or a grade above.

Also, I noticed that you said you nearly failed last year, but now you have a 4.0. This is interesting to me. Are you saying you actually got failing grades, or that you pulled it together before grades were finalized? If it's the former, then you're looking at the wrong GPA. There's a cumulative GPA and a yearly GPA. The cumulative one is every single grade you got in high school while the yearly refreshes itself every year. Please specify what you're talking about.

All in all, these are great tips, albeit from someone who doesn't seem to understand how a student can struggle with school.

You don't have to be smart to get a 4.0 GPA really...
You just need to be able to study effectively, turn in all assignments on time with no errors, and pester the teacher a lot.
Studying effectively and being able to memorize details is most important because on the tests you need to remember what you read, learned, etc and be able to answer the right question from that.

The last thing I would say is try. Put in some effort and care about it.

The rest is just fluff

This is both correct and blatantly incorrect. For regular classes these tactics work just fine. If you can get all the worksheets in and do decently on the test, you'll do fine.

However, I assume you've taken an AP class? The ones I have taken are not structured this way at all. For example, AP World History. There are 60 pages (two book chapters) of notes due per week, weekly quizzes (~25 questions in 7 minutes, no multiple choice), and lecture notes that you need to have in order to do even remotely well on the quizzes. There's little time for questions because you're too busy deciding what's important enough to write down. Not to mention, AP exams are curved according to an entire country's knowledge level. You're no longer competing against classmates, you're competing against thousands of others.

Don't be ignorant. One must be smart to do well in any class other than a basic core-curriculum course.

[Jean Poutine]

Here in canada school is HORRIBLE. I'm in middle school grade 8. We do stuff like 40% of 60. WTF!??!? In romania, in grade 5 u start chemistry and zoology. Grade 4 u stop doing arithmetics and start moving on to stuff like trigonometry, algebra, geometry, calculus. I swear to god, evreyone with an education from here is gonna be a bum. So i study at home everyday with the help of my parents, because this country and USA rely on immigrants cause their fucked up too much in the ass to improve their worthless education. Where do i get in life with having to practice the area of a pyramid in grade 8 and 9? SERIOUSLY. do something. Other countries outside of canda and usa have 100% much better education but they don;t have the money. I find it very stupid that there are 2000000000 times smarter people in other countries that don't have the oppurtinity of having a great education and university. Romania is recognized for maths i know, romanian is second most spoken language at microsoft and we have harvard coming each year to select top maths students from grade 12. it feels like with the education here i can qualify as a janitor.

http://pisacountry.acer.edu.au/displayGraph.php?cycle=2&cycleChange=2&hostCountry=CA&countries[]=&regions[]=&cc[0]=RO&indicator=1&domain=1&95conf=on&mid90percent=on&meanMale=on&meanFemale=on&oecdAv=on&sortOrder=mean&1_options=true&theme=1&cmd=storeGraphRequest&requestid=1272763475875&items=2&

gtfo