SIMPLE GRADE BOOSTERS
In the best of all possible worlds you will ace every exam, stun your instructor with the brilliance of your papers and have your portfolio featured in the hallways.
If this is not the case, and you are just a few points short of your GPA target, you may kick yourself for not having picked up those points with the easy grade boosters that don’t involve exams, papers, presentations, and portfolios.
Because hindsight won’t pick those points up, here’s a chance to plan with foresight using just five grade boosters:
The participation grade
Here’s one that has two components:
- Be seen–that means show up in class. On time whenever possible. If the prof doesn’t see you until you make an appointment late in the term to ask for an extension. . . well . . .
- Participate. You don’t have to participate with brilliance. If you don’t like speaking in front of others, write out a question or two to read aloud if you have to. After doing this a few times, your comfort level will be higher and you will find it easier to share your questions and comments.
That five to ten percent can be the difference between an A- and an A+. Or between a C and the grade needed to advance to the next course.
Outside-class activities
Here’s one that you will have to weigh the time cost against the grade gain. Some courses have extra credit for participating in outside-class activities, such as volunteering to be a participant in psychology experiments or to coach other students.
An added plus can be the networking connections you make with future colleagues and summer employers.
Hand it in!!!
But it isn’t finished! But it’s a poor piece of work! But it’s already late! What’s the point?
The point is that not handing it in is a zero. Handing it in, no matter whether you are going to get an A++ or a D- is better than 0. Come the time for the calculation of your grade for the term, a zero here and a zero there is leaving marks on the table.
If you are not happy with the quality of the work, hand it in anyway–and make an appointment with the prof to discuss your disappointment and ask for suggestions for next time.
Make use of office hours, or after-class meetings
Setting up a meeting with the instructor doesn’t have to wait until you have that disappointing piece of work mentioned above. Going in with questions on a tricky assignment early in the planning stage increases the chance that you will come closer to meeting your own standards (and those of the course).
It can sometimes also count for participation.
Check the syallabus
The syllabus is where you learn where to pick up extra marks in a course, such as out-side-of-class activities, and exactly what counts for participation marks.
The syllabus is where you also learn how you can lose marks, such as losing credit for a course if certain requirements aren’t met, or just how bad the pain is for submitting work late. If one course reduces the grade on a project by 10 per cent per day late and another course does not accept work that is beyond one day late, you might want to know that, just in case.
These are all the easy extra marks. They don’t substitute for writing exams or doing the work. They can, to some extent, make up for a blown quiz or disappointing grade on a project.
Why would you leave them on the table?
Connect with me to plan for future terms, to maximize efficiency during this short, fast, spring sprint term, or to get the most from those last two months of high school. [email protected]
The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.