How do I get good grades?

A big part of it was knowing that you have to make sacrifices. I'm going to be interning at a boutique while taking a full schedule this upcoming semester, so I'm going to have zero time. You only have to do it for 2 more years man, just get your stuff together and work hard. I recommend forcing yourself to go to the library at least 2 hours a day every day (including saturday and sunday). Don't study in your room, its a bad environment for keeping grades up. Even if you have no homework or tests coming up, still force yourself to go to library. Once you build the habit, the rest falls naturally.

Yeah, there's never not anything to do. If you've done all your hw for next 3 nights, then start on the 4th nights homework. Always make time to review what you go over in class each day and make sure you understand your shit. You can never be too prepared.

Go to class, write your notes by hand since it forces you to pay attention and removes the constant distractions the internet presents. Also get as much material from previous semesters as possible; old test, old homework, any old notes and use the shit out of them.

A good friend of mine had a 3.1 coming from a complete non target and got into GS asset management. Granted that's not investment banking, but it shows that its not much about the grades as it is about the network.

If you're really doing a great job at your boutique, your MD should have no problem calling up some of his buddies and going to bat for you.

And do some active networking on the side. Good luck

Tough to cram at a good school. You gotta go to class and take some good notes. The main thing is knowing how the class is graded. Usually a couple tests determine everything so see if you can find old tests, some professors even give them to you. That will give you a feel of what you need to know. If you think the class is just based on the book then study the book regularly and definitely read everything over about a week in advance.

I think going to class & taking notes, doing all your assignments, and studying about a week before should allow you to do pretty well given your reasonably intelligent. I had the same problem with cramming and just realized it was good enough to get B+'s, but you gotta work harder and prepare better to get A's at the top schools. Your desire to get into banking should be more than enough motivation.

Good luck man.

Take some xanax before each test and you should be good to go, if that doesn't work try ripping some bowls before class...

I don´t want to be arrogant, but Finance has been way easy since studying physics as my secondary field.

I always go to class and take notes, but I have to admit that our exams are fair.

Just find out in which field your ability really strong is.

I am strong at quantitativ things like theory of the force, stochastic models and so on.

I am a bit worse in corporate finance because this field is rather much reading than thinking.

Good luck.

Get an addy Rx...

In all seriousness, treat it like a 9-6 job. Wake up, look over notes, class, lunch, class, study, dinner and random stuff, repeat. You definitely need to put in overtime during mid-terms and finals, but just dont put things off. Read for class, take notes that are important but not overly detailed, and get 8 hrs of sleep. Simple but difficult with distractions.

If all else fails,

Seduce the teacher

Only if the teacher is hot...

How did you get into a good school if you don't know how to study????

Don't go to the library. youll run into too many people you know and who want to talk... thats assuming you arent a loner... but go to a public library. Honors lounge always works for me or if you dont have that find somewhere else that people dont go and wont bother you. Also take good notes so you can use those and the book to study. leave your computer home. Goodluck 3.8 shouldnt be too hard if you take it seriously and do some hard work/attend class regularly.

What is your major?

Engineering is notorious for curving to a 2.8 GPA at a lot of schools. Get it up to a 3.5 and you'll be fine.

^ I always love it when this guy says a lot. A) because he's not trolling RaRe and B) he's fucking right. +1 dude

Although a lot of his advice is completely random, check out some of Cal Newport's books.

.

Adderall, Dexedrine, and/or Vyvanse.

Seriously.

blastoise - wish you had posted this when i was in college.

OP - your work ethic may improve after you get back to school; mine did after SA at a BB ... woke up earlier and just focused better. and take blastoise's rec. it's great .. looking back my gpa's probably going to be ~.2-.3 higher if i didnt make the careless mistakes. and another .1-.2 higher if I didn't speed through shit and had to relearn everything before exams. wouldn't that be nice.

OP & all - careful with the Addy and other drugs. they are addictive a main side effect of getting off them is depression. you don't want to ace your semester on Addy and become suicidal and negative when the internship rolls around.

I'm in a similar situation to the OP, is it still mathematically possible for someone like him/me to get a decent (3.5+) cumulative GPA in the next two years?

I swear I have the aptitude of a cave man. I really just build relationships with professors and hope that they respect my grinding.

I as well had around a 3.0 in college. Given, I partied WAY too much but: Some lessons I've learned since..

1) Goto every class. This is the #1 problem I had. I felt if I skipped 2-3 classes a month I could still squeak by. Wrong. Going to class is the easiest way bounce your grade up +1 letter.

2) When you get assignments, immediately put it into a planner and write down how long it is going to take you +30minutes extra. After your last class, add up the work you have and dedicate that time THAT NIGHT to bang out the work. Don't put it off to the next day.

3) Ask questions, stay after class for an extra 10 minutes, email your professor. All the 3 above things will help tremendously with some professors. Just wait till the end of the semester when you have a B+ and he won't move it up because he hardly even knows you..

4) Separate your social & academic life. This is probably the hardest thing to do, because after all, college is the best years of your life. However- NEVER do work in a social setting (e.g. infront of your TV with friends, IN THE LIBRARY WITH FRIENDS). NEVER cram before planning to go out.. you will rush your work. Always leave 2-3 hrs between your work and going out to drink. Also, don't sleep in too much. Sleeping till 12 wastes half your day and you won't be able to dedicate that extra hour or two to studying.

Maybe your not prioritizing/isolating the key concepts effectively or you are just practising how to solve problems rather than actually understanding them. Even if your memorizing, are you using the right techniques and not just repetition?

Either way, your just doing it wrong and are not using your time effectively.

Cramming in the last week worked for me all through college. I also did a lot of the cramming with the TV on the in background since my attention span for bullshit school work/studying is fucking short.

Think about it. Did you really learn that much in your classes? Especially, as a soph taking easy intro classes? Probably not, considering my entire college education fits neatly into a single binder,

My freshman GPA was a ~3.4 and sophomore year a 3.75 at Wharton. Part of the improvement was just getting used to college, but the biggest thing was doing PRACTICE TESTS. I don't go to every single class and I'm pretty bad about doing my readings diligently. I mean it's important to do your homework and practice problems, but I've found that exams are usually quite different and much harder.

If your professor posts old exams, go through them over and over again. If there's only one, do it multiple times until you can do it with complete confidence. Think about how the questions are asked and what potential questions might come up. Different things work for different people, but I don't do practice tests as if they were real tests. I take as much time as I need because for me, it's about learning the mechanics of the problems. If I'm struggling I don't hesitate to look at the answer key.

You don't have to be diligent with your readings, but do them at some point. Then read them all again a few days before the exam and take concise notes. They'll be fresh in your mind.

Also, there's always that one "tricky" problem that tests an obscure point that you ignore because it probably won't be on the test. Learn how to do that problem. Chances are that it, or something similar, will show up again and it'll make all the difference in beating the curve when everyone else also figured that it wouldn't be on the test.

edit: One last thing that really helps is making a cheat sheet. Make one even if you're not allowed to have one during the exam. I find that actually writing things out instead of typing them helps me remember them better. It also forces you to think about the material as you try to cut it down to the bare minimum.

Xerox is right. I go to maybe 6 hours of class a week, and I'm still at a 3.8 because I do all the practice tests, and you know that obscure slide that is in every teacher's slide show that nobody understands? Read up on that in your book, it'll be on your tests. I've been given grades way higher than I mathematically should have because the professor appreciates that I was the only one who understood that one part of the test.

Depending on the coursework, sometimes it's just a matter of sheer intelligence/talent, that you can't really learn. There are some courses where if you just put in the effort (i.e. accounting), you can get a 4.0. There are other courses where no matter how hard you try, you might never be able to break the 3.0 mark (i.e. creative writing).

Read the textbook. Twice. And do it until you can teach a monkey.

Having innate intelligence helps.

I think it all starts by picking the "right" classes, looking at past grade distributions if you have to.

If 5% of classes get As, you probably shouldn't count yourself among that 5%.

How I got a 3.9 without really trying -

1- course section 2- doing the reading 3- old tests 4- go to class 5- drinking 4 nights a week

hope that helps

some good advice in this thread

You need to find what works for you. Some kids at top 20's can get 3.8+ while going to the bars 4 nights a week and hardly cracking a book until the night before the test. Others have to study 4-5 days ahead to prep for exams. Ultimately, it's about priorities. Keep trying new things until you find your groove. You might need to give up some fun / relaxation time, but it'll be worth it when you land that great job out of undergrad.

If you transfered to a state school you'd probably get a 3.8

^Please. The Ivys are notorious for grade inflation.

bookmarked for future reference

Read the chapter of the covered material before going to that class. Class should be mostly about reinforcing what you learned from the book, and also to give you a chance to ask the professors to clarify topics you didn't understand. I had similar problems, and that worked great for me.

Tried this new thing last quarter where I would ONLY study for a test the morning before. Ended up with a 4.0

another tip -

participate in class /go to office hours a couple hours a semester. The risk of being "that guy"/douche is worth it. Will help you a ton on papers and prof will be willing to help you out gradewise if he/she thinks you are engaged in the course. obviously this wont help in some massive lecture that only has bubble sheet exams but an A in "class participation" can really help espc. if its like 20% of ur grade for the course.