Vickie Said:

For the high school academic superstars only: what kind of study habits did you have that set you apart?

We Answered:

I graduated high school with a 4.2 (weighted honors classes). I took school really seriously and didn't get into the whole party scene all too much.
-My best study tactics were re-writing notes (helps with memorizing a lot of info) or typing them up, reading the chapters and taking my own notes at home.
-Set your own deadlines for papers and projects...procrastination is your enemy! When you get things completed ahead of time, you can always use a couple of days before the actual due date to alter them and polish things up.
-When you have trouble with new information given in class, make appointments to talk to teachers after school is out. I've always found that they are a little easier with grading when you have established a relationship with them. (Especially essays! and Subjective tests)
-I also always came straight home and finished my homework that was assigned that day before I went out and did things with friends and family (even all the sports I was in). Everything you learned that day are still fresh on your mind and if you do the homework that same night/afternoon, it comes a lot easier to you and you can get it done a lot faster than when you have to look info up in your notes later on.
-When you have research papers to do, write an outline first! You want to know what you are going to say ahead of time, and what key points you want make. After that, make notecards based on your outline, THEN start researching and write the reference on the back of the notecard so you can site it in your paper. I found this strategy tremendously helpful.

Don't forget to have fun in high school though. You are only young once, and high school isn't meant to be the worst part of your life...you have your adult years (and college) for that! :)


Best of luck! Hope this helped you out!

Erin Said:

Good study tips for good grades in high school?

We Answered:

Good colleges want high SAT, GPA with leadership & career related extra-curriculars & reccomendation letters, then topical essay & focused interview answers

. Find a way to be interested in everything you study
. . there are good reasons some subjects are required ; find something inspiring and amazing about the topic you have to study ; many people have spent their lives studying the material you have to learn ; History helps us repeat past successes & avoid failures ; Foreign languages help us understand Millions more people ; Math & Science allow us to have computers, electronics & medicines
. . Try to find something inspiring, amazing, miraculous or funny about the topic ; like some scientists & mathematicians lived amazing lives - read about who found calculus: Newton or Leibnitz? read about Nobel & Nobel Prize winners
. . Learning & Creativity makes us better, just like being stronger & more flexible makes us better, so be the best you can be ; Isn't it better to know how to read a map or the correct change you should recieve or which pills are medicine and which are toxic?
. . Edison went through over 10k light bulbs before finding 1 that worked, he said, "I never failed, I just found 10,000 ways how not to make a light bulb" ; the path to success is paved with mis-steps ; if learning to walk/bike/climb/fly expect to fall & learn from it ; the journey of Life begins with a single step, and we ALL fall down hundreds of times a day for a year before taking our 1st steps ; the most respected scientists produced not only great works, but also many "bad" ones, be unafraid of failure -if you falter learn where the ditches are

. Write a brief summary of what you learned right after class
. . just take a few minutes jot down 5-10 key points you learned in class to review the next day when you need to continue with the next chapter/subject ; try making a 'cheat-sheet' for someone that missed class - studying off 'cheat-sheets' is great, cheating with them is dumb
. . Especially record any exception to a rule or UNTRUE statement ; (Teacher's job is to tell you how things are, when they tell you other things, they have ONLY 1 reason -it's on a test & they want attentive students to know) ; (if they say, "Phosphorus is NOT a transition 1A metal" or "all polygons follow this EXCEPT dodecahedrons in 4-space" they have told you what they are asking on a test)
. . Also pay attention near the end of class to anything that didn't flow logically ; if after talking about Transition metals for 5 minutes they say, "Oh, and Pascal's rule of Golden Numbers applies to sea-shells and elemental electron shells of halides" ; most teachers plan lectures to flow so students understand, if they suddenly dump unrelated facts, they forgot to mention it before & there's a question on it ;
. . Also note anything the teacher repeats often

. Read abstracts, summaries & questions of texts first
. . break things into 'chunks' - read abstracts, headings, summaries, captions, boldface terms, key-points, bulleted points, study questions & review questions a few times first, then find answers to questions not answered in the summaries & write the answers down ; read 1st & last sentences of paragraphs, read the material through and try to write out tougher questions than those in the book (you may end up with some of next months test questions), once you finish the section review it and write a brief outline (to skim the next day, next week & before the exam) ; whenever possible read ahead of where the class is - start by getting a day ahead, then aim for a week and then a month etc. ; the more we work with something, the more familiar we're with it, & the better we answer questions on it ; we'd do better than anyone else on test questions about the essay we just wrote, the lunch we just ate or how we felt yesterday

. Keep a daily calendar - plan the work & work the plan
. . stick to your schedule (EVERYDAY) for at least 2 months (to get used to it)
. . mark important dates from course outlines, syllabi, assignments on the calendar ; keep everything related to a test in one place (notebook & folders) -including finals -so each subject should be easily reviewed ; material from daily assignments & quizes often show up on tests -review anything assigned -learn how they ask questions
. . break large projects to daily tasks each week ; work more challenging material earlier - when more awake ;
. . to get it done, schedule it, unscheduled time is often wasted ; - prove it: record how time is spent & compare how much is learned of tested material in scheduled & unscheduled activity
. . classes are scheduled activities so schedule work for them if you want to do well

. multitask productively
. . when bored with a task, have other PRODUCTIVE tasks you can work on, till you're ready to return to finish the first ; have backups other than music, e-mail, TV, phone, chats, games, etc. ; do things that matter for final exams -so you'll have better chances to go to the college of your choice ;
. . like if bored with math, write English essay or read History Chapter or work on Science project or research the Aztec calander or read ahead etc. ; if the notes are hard to memorize - re-write, re-phrase, re-summerize and make it more fun -turn vocab words into a song or use them in jokes or comics ; draw physics out like Davinci did ; make history notes into a news report or news-paper; act out novels ; turn notes to flash-cards to review through day or play trivial pursuit with ; chemistry labs are a LOT like recipies , make a recipe book for chemistry and add in interesting bits of histrory scrap-book style (like grandmas recipe book with family stories) ;
. . find ways to use the many short intervals during the day that go to waste: like practice vocab or quiz yourself or review your presentation or work out math/science exercises while in line or sitting at lunch or on bus or in the car etc. ; understand the value of time: if you write 3 sentences each night, in 1 year you'd have a 200 page novel -cherish every moment & use it to be your best ; studying 5 min at a time a few times a day really adds up over a semester

. work without distractions
. . study away from TV, music, phone, e-mail, etc., so it's easier to stay focused ; have a comfortable, well-lit, quiet location [fan's white noise may help] (discomfort is a distraction, too) ; keep glass of water & healthy snacks (fruits) nearby [No junkfood -sugar is a distractor]
. . keep friends supporting your studying (by encouraging & not bothering you while you study) ; comepete with friends to come up with tougher questions for the material (try to stump eachother - then explain answers) ; friends preventing you from studying are a distraction stopping you from reaching your potential ; real friends won't rob you like that (each year more of school you complete is worth $150k, over your lifetime, every waking hour spent studying can be worth $7k or over $100/min)
. . If home is too distracting, ASK to stay & study after school, and don't go till you do at least ALL your homework, if not read ahead a week ; you can ask the teacher for help if they stay after, at all, maybe get a better understanding of them & the subject

. have a study routine
. . follow a task sequence after school for like 2-3 hours, to get things done
. . study in 45-50 min periods with 5-10 min breaks (extend this till it's same time period as final exams)
. . when in class: take notes to help pay attention ; paraphrase & use abreviations ; write on alternate pages to add things later
. . find different ways to organize & present info

. get enough sleep Sleep is essential for learning and a LOT more; You may need extra rest during stressful weeks that involve exams & large projects.


To study for the SAT:
. . practice taking SATs - especially from the book series '10 Real SATs' & 'Official SAT Guide' -get it from your library or use InterLibrary Loan or on Amazon or use it a few weekends in a bookstore (without buying it)
. . See: http://store.collegeboard.com/productdet…
. . http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/su…
. . http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/sat2/
. . Barron's & ARCO are a LOT pickier than actual Questions ; after seeing what the test is like and how you do - look through some SAT & GRE review books at the bookstore (like Gruber's) to see if you'd want to read any ; -Try " Up Your Score: The Underground Guide to the SAT " -it's fun to read
. . ask about review courses at County Colleges & High Schools (yours and others) ; if parents willing to pay, try to take Kaplan & Princeton Review Courses - if NOT try to get job teaching some of their courses (they teach TOEFL tests too) ; - or make friends with someone who taught or took course & can let you use the books or buy them used (like on EBay) ; - a LOT of Princeton Review is about good guessing (don't go for long, extreme or obvious choices, estimate and pick something close)
. . if problems with vocab, try using one of the vocab comic books or mneumonics or novels (Simon's Saga) or flashcards or the Dictionary lists
. . if problems with Grammar rules, look through some Gramr Guides - some for TOEFL prep are very easy to follow
. . if having problems with Math try to identify each type of problem and how it's solved - then try to make the same type of problems harder as a challenge to solve quickly ; see types of Qs: http://www.targetsat.com/sat-sample-vide…

Francis Said:

What do you think are important study skills/habits needed for high school?

We Answered:

You need time management and a willingness to look at what you do in class that day in a class you are not good in. Im not good in math but i look over what we do everynight and i got a B so i was happy. It can be hecketed

Maria Said:

Good Study Habits for high school?

We Answered:

Choose a time and place that is good for you to study without distraction. Make good friends that you can have study groups with. Take breaks so you can have a fresh clear mind about what you are trying to learn. Review the most recent work before starting new homework. Get plenty of rest and eat properly. Don't do drugs. That is a plan that won't fail you. Good luck.

Virginia Said:

How do I form good study habits again for school?

We Answered:

Oh my god you sound just like me. Haha I'm a junior too and I've started to slack off sooo much, which is bad because I have more work than I've ever had before. I don't have any motivation either. =/

But on the days I actually do my homework without having procrastinated for hours first, it all starts with what I do after school. For example, some days I like to come home, watch TV, have a snack...and then like never leave the couch again and end up wasting hours. The best thing to do is just sit down after school and do your homework. Take a break every 45 minutes but don't let it last for more than 10 minutes.

That's just short-term though...long-term, I think what would help me is to have a goal for after high school. Basically now I'm just like "ugghh what's the point I don't give a crap about US AP or Trig..." because life after high school isn't realistic for me yet. So maybe sit down with one of those college guide books and get excited over some colleges. If you have a college or two or three that you really want to go to, you'll probably be more motivated to do your work because you'll know you need good grades to get into that dream college.

Also, this kind of ties into picking a college out, think of some careers you want...most careers would probably require decent grades & a decent college to succeed in, right? So you're not about to fail high school because you aren't motivated if you really want to be like a doctor or a lawyer or whatever.

Sorry for such a long answer but I hope it helps :]