8 Habits That Can Help You Improve Your Grades

Congrats! You are halfway done with the academic year! Here are some habits you can build to finish off the year strong. It's never too late to build productive habits!

1. Attend all Lectures

Just show up! Attendance is often overlooked, but it's extremely crucial for increasing your chances of getting a good grade in the class. Attendance gives you many advantages, including hearing the lectures, professors dropping hints for what will be on the tests, and engaging with classmates and finding potential study groups, etc.

2. Participate More

Take advantage of having time to ask questions during lectures. Ask questions, launch a new idea, provide answers to professors’ inquiries, participate in discussions, and so on.

3. Visit Office Hours Often

Visiting office hours regularly not only improves your knowledge of the material but also allows you to ask your professors if there are extra assignments you can do to raise your grade. A visit to your professor's office can help you find solutions to questions and clear up any confusion you may have had during a lecture.

4. Start Assignments Early

Starting on assignments early allows you to have time to ask for help. Writing a paper? Have your professors, colleagues, peers, or professionals at the writing center look at it first before you submit it. The more eyes on your assignments, the higher the chances of writing a great paper.

6. Spread Out your Study Time

Cramming study time the night before a big test is not an effective strategy to help you retain information. However, studying a little every day, progressively, has been shown to help you retain information over a longer period of time. Increasing your study time can also improve your mastery of the material.

7. Take Good Notes

Make sure you have clear and concise notes. (Re-typing/ tidying up your notes helps the material sink in and clarifies the concepts.)

8. Always Be Organized

Building strong organization skills now will lead you down the right path in any field you wish to pursue. Create a schedule that will allow you to keep track of your study time, exams, and deadlines. Balance is key. Make sure you have enough time to prioritize your well-being by scheduling relaxation and leisure times.