Grades.

Whether, you like it or not, grades are nearly the most important part of your life right now. Right now your life is full of “first priorities” and grades just happen to be near the top of the list. Everyone in your life is pushing you to do better, including your counselors, teachers, and, most of all, your parents. Although it may seem like they are hounding you and don’t want you to have a life, they are just trying to ensure you will be successful when your high school extracurricular successes are behind you.

If you’re anything like me, you stress even if you’re making straight A’s. No grade is good enough until you get a 100, and there isn’t much you wouldn’t do to get it.

If you have your sanity, But you probably aren’t like me.

It’s nothing personal. Most people aren’t like me. In fact, you most likely agree that I’ve lost my mind. Most people do for this reason. Despite this, my experiences may be helpful to you.

More times than not, the 70, students accept the 70, a passing grade. No problem with that, right? I mean the passing grade ensures your eligibility, you get to keep your phone, and your friends can still come over.

Wrong.

If you’re planning on going to college, which you should be, a grade in the 70s shouldn’t even be an option. If this is what you see on your report, you may need to do some reevaluating.

Most, if not all of your teachers, offer tutorials. I, personally, hate going to tutorials. I would much rather hang out with friends or stay in bed for an extra thirty minutes. I’m pretty sure everybody feels the same. But if the ending grade you earn in the class is as important as you make it sound when you complain about it, you’ll go to the tutorials.

I, like most teenagers, have an excuse issue. While I don’t believe I have it as badly as most do, I can make excuses for anything. My main excuse for not attending tutorials is, “My teachers don’t help me.”

Okay. So that’s not exactly true. I’m too shy to ask the questions.

That’s an excuse that I am positive others have used before. Your teachers WILL help if you ask the questions, and they won’t judge you as they answer them. In my experiences, it gets easier the more you do it. Ask the questions, whether you’re shy or not and, eventually, the anxiety of asking questions will go away as well as the excuse of not attending tutorials.

If you know me, or at least know who I am, you most likely view me as the person who always has her homework finished.

Not always the case.  Although I do finish my homework ninety percent of the time, there have been some times that I haven’t because I either forgot or just didn’t do it because I felt something else was more important.

With the few times that I have failed to do my homework, I have learned the repercussions. Not only is it a hassle because you didn’t learn the information, but a zero as a daily grade, believe it or not, will lower your grade.

Although colleges can’t see on your transcript if you failed to do that one math assignment, or you forgot to finish your reading in English class, it is still important to do them. Doing your assignments will make life easier now and during college by ensuring that you have a routine. You may also see a rise in your grade.

Okay. So now you’re doing your homework. You understand the information. Your grades are higher. You’re happy.

Then you take the test. Your grade goes down.

I have test anxiety. There isn’t much you can do to cure it, but I have learned that studying helps.

Study hard. Study more than you do right now.

Studying is the most difficult thing for me to push myself to do. I mean you don’t get a grade for the act of studying. Or so that’s the way I used to see it anyways.

The truth is, you do. Try thinking of it this way: your grade on the test is your grade for studying. It may help motivate you to study a little more.

It’s a good idea to sit down with your notes or your homework from the entire a few days before the test. Of course it’s better if you do it everyday, but if you’re one of those people who just can’t stand studying, do it at least a few times. It will help you refresh your memory.

Knowing the information helps you get through the easy questions, so you will have more time and energy for the more difficult ones. Studying always helps. Cramming the night before doesn’t.

And don’t say you don’t have time. I know that you like to go home and watch TV or talk to your best friend. I do too. It’s a never-ending struggle. If you study a little bit every day to help you prepare for your tests now, you will learn better techniques to study for your tests in college.

My Advice:

1. Stop making excuses.
2. Go to tutorials. Ask questions.
3. Do your homework.
4. Study.
5. Make time. (You have it. Trust me.)
6. Eliminate your distractions. (Phones, computers, etc.)
7.        Study more.

If you haven’t started doing these things already, it’s time to start. Mastering these basic skills will lead to success in high school and beyond.