College Kid's Guide to Getting the A You Deserve by Amanda

College Kid's Guide to Getting the A You Deserve by Amanda - December 2017 Scholarship Essay

I’ve had my fair share of school projects. I like to believe by this point in time, I’ve become somewhat of an expert in figuring out best practices for school assignments and projects. In every class I’ve taken, I’ve given 150% effort. I loved school and learning. I guess one could say I had a naturally curious mind. Being this way made it fairly easy for me to learn and modify my study techniques in order to achieve success in college.

One of the biggest obstacles I faced when I was a freshman was staying organized and managing my time on school assignments. I would constantly forget due dates and would feel so overwhelmed with the magnitude of things that I would panic as the due date became closer and closer. Something eventually clicked in my brain and I felt inspired to figure out what I needed to do to be successful.

After my epiphany, I considered every step I took from start to finish, for completing a project. Through trial and error, I came to a conclusion which is now my number one strategy for assignments, projects, essays, and tests in college. I share this with all of my friends. Some of who think I am slightly crazy for being so tedious, but hey, it works!

The first step for a great A-worthy school project is to read over the all of the instructions for the assignment given by the professor. The second step is to read it over again. The third step is to highlight or underline exactly what the professor is asking for, what they want to be included in the assignment. The key to this is to only include what they’re asking for and do it well. You then want to make a plan of action for your assignment. Save the night before cram session rituals for someone else! Breakdown the steps needed to complete the assignment into several days, or weeks. For example brainstorm on Monday, research on Wednesday, and the rough draft on Friday. After those steps are done, depending on the assignment, one always wants to check all of the requirements off before submitting or finalizing the assignment. Be very detail oriented and make sure nothing is being left out. This is my secret to getting A’s as well.

The most important step of all is to pace yourself and remain calm during the planning and executing process. This is an enormous help as far as reducing anxiety around an assignment due to lack of organization. This is the tip that has personally been the most helpful and has made all the difference in the grades I receive on my assignments!