Having Fun in College and Still Maintaining a 4.0

If you think that there is no way you can physically maintain a 4.0 GPA (or something very close to it) while having a fantastic social life, you are mistaken. Last semester I achieved an A average, and I had a good bit of fun doing so : ) Want to know my secret to being such a fantastically successful student : ) ? I DON'T HAVE ONE. I'm a pretty regular guy who came from a pretty regular village, and I am absolutely no more intelligent than the next person at Brandeis. However, I am a firm believer that if you are conscious about a few different aspects of your academic life, you will be able to increase both your grades and your free time. Below are just a few of the things that were most helpful to me in achieving academic success while maintaining an extremely entertaining college life.

1. When You Work, Work!

Many of my friends at Brandeis are both extremely intelligent and very hard working. They always complete their assignments, and for the most part receive consistently high grades. However, many of my friends wondered how I was able to receive similar grades to them while putting in half as many physical hours at a desk. My answer: the library. The thing about college is that there are a ton of distractions around the dorm rooms. For the most part you can't really work for more than a few minutes without starting a conversation with one of your friends, or going to play a game of fooseball... However, if you do you work in an area such as library, a place where you can get away from all of the many college distractions (including AIM), you will find that you can get about twice as much work done as you could in a dorm room. So, if you are about to enter into your first year of college, or feel as though you do not have as much free time in college as you would like, try focusing 100% of your attention on your work whenever you do your work. The result could be maintaining or even increasing your grades while giving yourself a heck of a lot more free time to do college things : )

2. Do Not Procrastinate

I realize that there is a percentage of people who work best under pressure, and cannot even fathom the idea of starting a paper any sooner than the night before it is due. However, whether you are studying for a test or writing a philosophical piece on personal identity, you may find that both your grades and stress level will improve if you complete assignments in a timely fashion. So, next time you get a paper assigned to you with a due date that is two weeks in the future, try starting your draft the next day instead of the next week : )

3. Make Time for Yourself

If you have a mental breakdown during finals week, it doesn't matter how hard you worked during the semester. Your grades will plummet... So! No matter how much work your have, it is very important to make time for yourself on a regular basis in order to maintain your sanity. Even if you find yourself in a situation where you have twelve assignments due the next day and you feel sick to your stomach because you're not quite sure how you got yourself into this situation, don't panic : ) Instead, go exercise or say hi to a friend for half an hour in order to calm yourself down. Although I have no empirical evidence to support this claim, I am a firm believer that maintaining your sanity is one of the most important steps towards succeeding in college.