8 Ways to Improve Your Grades if You are Under Performing

BY LORRAINE McKINNEY

 

You may have gotten away with underperforming occasionally in high school, but you are paying for your college education, and you need to make the most out of it. This means that if you are underperforming now, you have to find ways to nip that problem right in the bud. There can be several reasons why you may not be doing as well as you would like in college. What you need to do is figure out why you are underperforming, and then look for things you can do to turn this around. Here are eight tips that can help.

Learn How to Really Take Notes – If you are just scribbling down notes in class on scraps of paper, your notes aren’t going to be organized, and it is going to make studying difficult. Even if you are using a notebook, if you are not taking notes properly, you may have trouble deciphering them later on. Type them up to make them even easier to read, and review what you have learned.

1. Improve Your Memory – It can be difficult to remember everything you are learning, especially when it comes time to be tested during exams. If you find that you don’t remember a lot of facts and figures easily, you need to work on ways to improve your memory. There are plenty of memory techniques you can use that will help you prepare for and ace your exams.
2. Brush Up On Writing Skills – Most of your courses will require essay writing, and it could be a big part of your grade. You need to learn what your teachers are looking for, and how to cover every proper aspect of writing a good essay, as well as how to respond to feedback. Don’t take criticism as criticism. Take it as a way to learn what you need to improve on, and do even better the next time.
3. Find Your Learning Style – According to Dr. Michael Ghalchi not everyone learns the same way, even though specific learning styles are drilled into us from the time we are in grade school. You may need to figure out why your current way of learning isn’t working for you, and then work on finding your own learning style that will make learning a lot easier.
4. Go to Summer School – If you need more help, you may find that enrolling in a summer academics program can really help. You are going to get a couple of extra months of learning in, and be better prepared for the fall semester. This is a great opportunity to brush up on the things you didn’t do well in during the last semester as well.
5. Ask Questions – “If you really pay attention in class and ask questions, you won’t have to study nearly as much later on, and you will retain more. Listen to what the teachers are saying instead of checking messages on your phone. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something, and ask for further explanations,” suggests Dr. Susan Bard.
6. Go Over Everything – Make sure that you cover all of the topics in your syllabus. The last thing you need is to end up missing something important because you weren’t studying the right things. Now is the time to go over each and every part of the syllabus, even if it means revising everything from scratch.
7. Make Learning a Game – There are all kinds of ways that you can make learning more fun. Start by studying with a group of friends, so you have others to talk to. Make a game out of your studies in order to get more out of what you are learning. The more fun you are having, the more you are going to end up retaining.

Lorraine McKinney is an academic tutor and elearning specialist.