Dear Nedlam,
I know the end of the year is basically only a month away but my grades are not doing so good. I really need to pass my classes this quarter, any advice on how to give my grades a much needed boost before the year is up?
-School is a struggle
Dear School is a Struggle,
Even though the school year is almost up it’s not too late to help bring up your grades. Especially with finals coming up, it’s the perfect opportunity to help give your G.P.A. a little boost. For starters, break out your calendar and organize that agenda. I know it might seem like just a glorified bathroom pass, but it serves a greater purpose. However, even if you lost your agenda, you can still buy a planner from any office supplies store or drugstore. While I do recommend having a physical calendar or planner on hand so you can check off everything, you can also use a calendar on your phone or a schedule app. Now write down every homework assignment, test date (especially finals) and project date that you know of. Personally, I like to color code my classes to keep things neat and organized, but do whatever you need to to make your planner interesting and easy to use. Check your planner everyday and make a note to study for exams at least a few days or even a week or so ahead. That way you’ll be prepared enough to ace those tests!
Continuing on with studying, make sure to take care when studying for finals. Those are the last giant boosts for your grade, and can help bring your low grade way up…. or they can push your grade farther down if you don’t study. If you are really serious about wanting to get your grades up then study a lot for your finals!!! Make flashcards (even the process of making them helps you memorize), have a friend quiz you, re-write and color code notes, make up a study game, do whatever you can think of that will help you. And remember to do it ahead of time, cramming the day before an exam is never a good idea and just puts more stress on you, however, taking time a few weeks to slowly go over everything you learned throughout the year, taking extra time for the stuff you have trouble with, can really be helpful.
I know this one sucks to do sometimes but, go after school! If you don’t understand what’s going on in the lesson, or you had difficulty with something awhile back and need a refresher, go after school sometime and ask for help! Most teachers stay after to help students anyways, and will gladly help you. Even if it seems like a lot of effort, try to make it easier, bring a friend, a snack, whatever will make the situation more comfortable for you. Also if your teacher allows you to make up tests or quizzes after school do it, but be sure to study for them, you don’t want to make up the test/quiz and get a bad grade again. Also remember to ask your teacher first before you come after, just to be sure that they will be there and you don’t end up waiting for someone who isn’t coming.
Check your work! The best way to get good grades, is to make sure you have less mistakes. Sometimes when I finish writing a paper or taking a test I just want to be done with it and don’t give it a second glance. But thats usually what ends up costing me the good grade, a spelling mistake, or a forgotten integer. It’s also helpful to have a parent or guardian or anyone who is good at whatever subject you are doing to check over any homework or at home projects, just to be extra careful. I really hope this helps you bring up your grade before the end of the year! Good Luck!
