Comments on: The Grade Whisperer: Alice Escapes Her Academic Hell

By: James

James — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:47:27 +0000

@Johnny
Hey I go to a community college too. Do you have any tips?

By: Jonny

Jonny — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:18:57 +0000

@ Doka
You can do it! Trust me, I’ve gone through some pretty low points in my life. I got kicked out of college after my freshman year, and shortly after went through a serious bout of depression. I had no other choice but to pick myself back up. Due to the fact that I screwed up big time,i moved back home to attend a community college and worked to redeem myself. I applied every single study hack technique I could find to my courses and continually improved them. Now I can confidently say that I am an academic superstar and i am hopefully on my way to a top tier law school.

By: Doka

Doka — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:59:12 +0000

Oh my god… So I’ve known about you for a year or two, Cal. And I thought “Hmm… what he is saying is good, but I think I can do it!” Well… now, I am on academic probation and so I am going to follow all your advices. Instead of 18 hours, I’m doing 12. I changed my major. I dropped out of almost every club I was in except the one that I started last year out of passion and the one my friend is in because it is closely related to mine and good friends build good friends.

Let’s see if I can be another success story lol

By: Summer Reading Part Two: What to Read? « Student in the States

Summer Reading Part Two: What to Read? « Student in the States — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:19:21 +0000

[…] everything possible into your schedule. Check out the advice that helped Alice improve her grades here. ▶ Comment /* 0) { jQuery(’#comments’).show(”, change_location()); […]

By: Ashlie

Ashlie — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:56:23 +0000

This is why I had decent grades (B’s and some C’s which may sound bad but are actually normal in my school) in some classes, ie science and maths like pre-calc. But in other classes I had straight 100’s and 99’s! I hate how high schools dictate every single class you have to take and make students miserable and left with little autonomy. I can’t wait to implement you’re strategies in college next year! I did well in High School but I know I could have done better, using you’re study skills and implementing more of a ‘do what you love and only what you really love’ mindset will help me!

Thanks Cal!

By: Ryan Freed

Ryan Freed — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:15:08 +0000

Completely agree. I have done the worst in my classes that I am required to take and have no interest in. The ones that are within my major are the ones I love to take and recieve great grades. It’s all about the person as well, if you are determined, hard working, and do something you love then you are on the path to success.

By: Stefan | StudySuccessful.com

Stefan | StudySuccessful.com — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:53:32 +0000

This is a great example!
I think I have to read all the links in this post before I start with University this year.

By: Peadar Coyle

Peadar Coyle — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:11:47 +0000

I wish I’d been able to read this article, in my sophmore year, that was in 2007. I think that an intense course load can really affect your life. I’ve worked with women and men, who have as a coping mechanism resorted to heavy drinking/ drug taking to avoid deep procrastination. Its something that very few people resort to, but it can have very devastating effects.

I think the community thing, that has been mentioned - is a very important aspect. We forget sometimes as a culture, that we can’t do it all by ourselves. Think of the Junta of Benjamin Franklin, for example.
Good luck Alice! I just wish I’d asked for help when I was a sophmore.

By: Connie

Connie — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:56:14 +0000

great article! I really want to implement some of your strategies next semester, but your bit about choosing a major you love has me thinking. The way I see it, what if I’m not totally passionate about anything in particular? What if I’m afraid that going deep into a certain area of interest as a major will ruin that interest for me? I did have outside influence picking my current major (molecular and cell biology), but there is still a part of me that feels like this is the path I want and should through. My grades are far from the best but how much should I let grades influence my major? I’m afraid that if I give it up I will have wasted the work I put into my current major for something that I’m not even sure I’ll like - and thus jump around from major to major without any progress. Any thoughts?

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:38:38 +0000

This is indeed very likely for someone taking liberal arts classes. But for someone concentrated in technical majors, “study strategies that work” aren’t very viable for mathematics. I want to be a doctor and I’m driven but your stuff just isn’t working for my Pre-Med Organic Chem classes and more technical classes. In addition, I find that the quiz and recall method for history classes doesn’t give me the depth even though I can recall the ideas.