A Definitive Guide: Get Straight A's Without Breaking a Sweat

Let me preface this by saying,

I am not writing this post to encourage laziness or cheating, but because I know what it is like to be in a class that you have absolutely ZERO interest in, but still have to take to satisfy requirements to graduate. If you are looking for ways to cheat you won’t find any here.

1. Take classes online learning courses whenever possible
2. Participate
3. Go into office hours
4. If you have a group project, assume the leadership role
5. Sit in the front, not the back
6. Study for your exams in class – net time

If you have read my other posts you would know that I am vehemently opposed to the way our education system is set up. Not only are we teaching the wrong material, but we are teaching it in a way that is outdated. Be on the lookout for my manuscript on the state of our education system.

So what makes me the expert?

That’s a good question. I am currently finishing up my sixth year of undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. I am a general management major. The reason it is taking me so long to graduate is not because I am a horrible student that keeps failing classes. If that were the case I wouldn’t be writing an article with “highest grade” in the title. No no, it’s because Whitewater is my 3^rd different college and management is my second different major. Different schools require different classes. The same goes for majors. Long story short, I spent two years taking classes that I didn’t need to take. Hence the six years it is taking me to graduate.

What kind of student am I?

My GPA is 3.4. Last semester (fall 2009) I participated in four different student organizations and completed an internship that took up 20 hours a week while I was enrolled in 19 credits.

Participate

Show up to class and show up often. Even though your “participation” grade only accounts for five or ten percent of your total grade, it will factor in a lot more than you think. Consider this:

There are two boys in class, Herald and Hank. Herald appears to be a model student. He shows up to class everyday, raises his hand, and participates in class discussions often. And then there’s Hank. Hank shows up to class about 80 percent of the time and when he does, he only participates when the teacher calls on him. If after finals the teacher tallies up all the points earned throughout the semester and finds that the two students are in a dead heat, do you think the teacher will give them the same grade?

My guess is no. Teachers are good at taking the entire body of work put forth by students throughout the course of the semester. Better than we give them credit for.

Take classes online whenever possible

When you take an online learning class you get two potential perks. The first perk is time. You have no required class time that you have to attend on a daily basis. If you think about how long it takes to attend an actual class, you are saving A LOT of time.

The second perk can either be a pro or a con depending on the type of student you are. That perk is taking exams online. This depends on what type of test taker you are. Personally, I think it depends on the material too. I would not recommend taking an online class in a subject that you are week in unless there are Tailor Made Tutors available.

Office hours are like extra credit participation points

If you have the time, this is the most effortless way to increase your chances of earning a higher grade. Tim Ferris wrote about this in the 4-Hour Workweek. The idea is to go into office hours as much as possible. Stay obnoxiously long, until the teacher gets tired of you. Then go to the next scheduled office hours and do the same thing. Be relentless. This works particularly well with courses where the grade is more subjective than objective (i.e. public speaking as opposed to business stats).

Your teacher will witness your determination for success firsthand on a daily basis. If this doesn’t separate you from the pack, I don’t know what will. Who knows, you might learn a thing or two while you’re in there.

Group Projects: Lead and Delegate

Assuming the leadership role in the group will allow you to delegate. What do I mean by this? Let’s say your group has five people including you. Becoming the leader in the group will accomplish two important keys for success. First, when group evaluations are taken at the end of the semester, everyone will give you high ratings and generous comments. Second, by delegating you can transfer most of the actual work load to other members in the group. If you are doing this right, the only actual work you should have to do other than planning and delegating would be to format and put the right pieces of the project in place.

Sit in the front, not the back

This could just as easily be tied into the participation section, but I wanted to single this out because it takes absolutely ZERO effort to accomplish.

Show up and study to batch your time

This tactic applies mostly to those huge lectures where the only thing that matters for your grade at the end is the cold, hard accumulation of points via tests and quizzes. Don’t go to these lectures and text message or surf Facebook like most students do, study for your exam. Because the lecture has 100 + college students, I know it is painfully boring. This takes some discipline, but wouldn’t you rather get the studying out of the way leading up to your tests and quizzes instead of cramming for them all weekend and missing out on all the wacky weekend stuff? I know I would.