How do people pull off a 3.9 GPA with very little studying?

[Hanpan]

Originally posted by: Jugernot
I have a 3.76 GPA and I NEVER study. Last time I studied was 1998, when I had to remember the constitution for history in HS. 🙂

Just a question. By this do you mean do no work including hmk/assignments or simply no extra study? Also do you regularily attend classes?

Just wondering.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Study something that interests you and you are REALLY, REALLY good at. It will all be easy then.

 

[gotsmack]

Originally posted by: nativesunshine

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
Around the forums and in life, there are plenty of people who take hard courses, study only an hour max per day, and get like a 3.9 GPA. I don't understand it because I'm over here working my a*s off everyday of the school week to get a 3.7 or 3.8.

I know of a complete pothead who has a 3.9 right now...but i think it's b/c he has an easy major: labor studies. I don't know much about it...but I think it's pretty easy. I mean...the guy's a POTHEAD!!! Blah, some people have it way too easy.

I THINK labor studies is an economics type concentration turned into a Major. I remember taking Economics of Labor with Old Man Troy at Rutgers, every year I hoped he would retire. I hated that class.

3.9 isn't that hard to get for some people. Here is my list of reasons:

1) It is the big fish in a small pond theory

2) Genius = 99% talent + 1% effort

3) Follow the teachers you like.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
Around the forums and in life, there are plenty of people who take hard courses, study only an hour max per day, and get like a 3.9 GPA. I don't understand it because I'm over here working my a*s off everyday of the school week to get a 3.7 or 3.8.

3.9/5.0 no problem w/very little studying 😛

 

[Babbles]

Back in high school I had no problem getting a 4.0. But, wow I hit college and took lots of science stuff graduated with a BS in Biology and my GPA was like a -1.5 or something.

It is kinda unfair when stuff like science and engineering get ranked the same as business or liberal arts stuff.

No offense to thsoe business/liberal arts type majors out there, but a senior level science/engineering course is just way more difficult than a typical liberal art course. Therefore it kinda stinks when you do more difficult work yet get the same GPA points as somebody else.

But, life isn't fair.

 

[PrinceofWands]

First of all, all knowledge doesn't come from school, or school related study. Secondly, grades don't equate to intellect/knowledge anyway. If I took a shakespeare class I wouldn't have to study at all, because I've studied shakespeare for 20years. Same thing applies to all subjects...everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Marshallj]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
First of all, all knowledge doesn't come from school, or school related study. Secondly, grades don't equate to intellect/knowledge anyway. If I took a shakespeare class I wouldn't have to study at all, because I've studied shakespeare for 20years. Same thing applies to all subjects...everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

Agreed.

 

[Mallow]

I worked very hard to get my 3.96. Nothing came easy to me... well... except that range management class.

 

[Salvador]

I wouldn't call one major tougher or easier than the other. Didn't you guys learn anything from the movie "The Breakfast Club"? Remember when the geek failed shop class for not being able to build that elephant lamp? Some people just have better minds for certain things. I know a guy that is super book smart, but hasn't got enough common sense to get out of the rain.

Sal

 

[Ronstang]

You can make excuses and try to say that some people's majors aren't hard, but face the facts that there are some of us out there that are just a lot smarter and better at studying than you. My friends hated me in school for exactly what you are complaining about......but they always came to me when they couldn't figure something out.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
First of all, all knowledge doesn't come from school, or school related study. Secondly, grades don't equate to intellect/knowledge anyway. If I took a shakespeare class I wouldn't have to study at all, because I've studied shakespeare for 20years. Same thing applies to all subjects...everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

Hehe I missed it..:Q

 

[PrinceofWands]

Yeah, I know, not my most eloquent post...I was in a hurry and distracted. 😎

 

[SuperTool]

I am one of these people. Please don't hate me. I know people who go to class everyday, do good on homework, go to office hours, do all the practice tests, and only do mediocre on exams. I on the other hand never went to one lecture over here for a very advanced course at top 5 engineering school cus it was at 9 am, never went to any office hours, slacked off on the homework, crammed a few hours the night before the exam, and got the highest score in the class. It's just about brains and not sweating the little things.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
You can make excuses and try to say that some people's majors aren't hard, but face the facts that there are some of us out there that are just a lot smarter and better at studying than you. My friends hated me in school for exactly what you are complaining about......but they always came to me when they couldn't figure something out.

well i'll put it this way... in my school, in the introductory programming course, you have people that b!tch and moan about how freaking hard it is and how you have to be a genius to get it. these people are almost always humanities. on the flipside, i have rarely seen the same type of behavior exhibited in an intro english or intro whatever humanities class, no less almost never by a science/engr major.

 

[yellowperil]

I was a liberal arts major in college, but it wasn't cake. I was microbiology my first two years (which is classified under liberal arts at my school) then switched to psychology, but there were still some tough classes (particularly in psychobiology). I think the 'hard science' majors think liberal arts are all fun & games based on their experiences from taking *survey* courses. I'm not going to say liberal arts majors are just as hard as engineering majors because I doubt that is true. But there are also other factors that don't necessarily get computed into GPA, like more opportunities to communicate (writing and verbally) and network (as in with people, not computers 😛) that a liberal arts degree is more likely to provide.

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: gopunk

Originally posted by: Ronstang
You can make excuses and try to say that some people's majors aren't hard, but face the facts that there are some of us out there that are just a lot smarter and better at studying than you. My friends hated me in school for exactly what you are complaining about......but they always came to me when they couldn't figure something out.

well i'll put it this way... in my school, in the introductory programming course, you have people that b!tch and moan about how freaking hard it is and how you have to be a genius to get it. these people are almost always humanities. on the flipside, i have rarely seen the same type of behavior exhibited in an intro english or intro whatever humanities class, no less almost never by a science/engr major.

Yes, but think about it for a minute.

You have been taking english your whole life, to varrying degrees. Everybody has exposure to history, philosophy, sociology, and english from elementary through high-school. So it is going to neccesarily be the case that the introductory humanities cources are going to be easier as they are more familiar than the introductory programming cources, of which little or no exposure has been giving to most people.

Once you get to the upper level humanities cources, which includes stuff that most people haven't been introduced/exposed to, it gets much harder.

 

[gopunk]

Yes, but think about it for a minute.

You have been taking english your whole life, to varrying degrees. Everybody has exposure to history, philosophy, sociology, and english from elementary through high-school. So it is going to neccesarily be the case that the introductory humanities cources are going to be easier as they are more familiar than the introductory programming cources, of which little or no exposure has been giving to most people.

Once you get to the upper level humanities cources, which includes stuff that most people haven't been introduced/exposed to, it gets much harder.

yes, that is definitely true, but there are those that succeed in the introductory programming course, without having prior programming experience. also, if the intro humanities courses are rehash of what everybody already knows, what is the point? why don't they just go straight to the new material? i see your point though.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

I think a major factor lies in how interisted in a subject you are and how well the teacher does their job. I took Geology 101 and passed with a 97.4%, yet consistently struggle in high-school level math

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
Around the forums and in life, there are plenty of people who take hard courses, study only an hour max per day, and get like a 3.9 GPA. I don't understand it because I'm over here working my a*s off everyday of the school week to get a 3.7 or 3.8.

i did it easiily in high school. in college, well i think i could maybe have done it if i had gone to classs.... fortunately they make you go in high school.


i guess its about retention. and quick understanding. if you have good memory and good professors well why not.

 

[borealiss]

i did overly well in hs. college and i'm struggling. i really have to bust my ass to get that B in compiler construction or cmos design class. it's all about the couse load. and it's all about what prof you get. profs can make a difference between an A and a C for the same amount of work you would put into a class. if your university has a website like www.uclaprofessors.com, use it.

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: Entity
Just think of the bell curve. 😀

I've got a 3.73 (University of Washington) and I rarely study or work hard, but some of you would argue that my classes aren't "hard," (I'm an English major), so I don't really fit your definition. Most of my friends taking similar courses work their asses off only to get a slightly lower GPA...

I've been that way when it comes to just about anything my whole life, though. I've yet to feel challenged in anything I've taken, coursewise, whether it was Psychology, Oceanography, English, or Philosophy (I've taken classes from each, and 4.0'd most of them).

Rob

Now, see, if you were taking information economics or multivariable calculus, you'd be singing a different tune. 😛

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: borealiss
i did overly well in hs. college and i'm struggling. i really have to bust my ass to get that B in compiler construction or cmos design class. it's all about the couse load. and it's all about what prof you get. profs can make a difference between an A and a C for the same amount of work you would put into a class. if your university has a website like www.uclaprofessors.com, use it.

i spent 50 hours a week last quarter with sarapazedah or whtaeve rin compiler construction. and well i almost died, didnt have a partner. learned a lot. went to lecture once. got a C. damn those tests. my compiler worked though. so ha.


and yes, had i chosen professors wisely it woulda been good. unfortunately every class at ucla is full so you take what you can get.

 

[BurnItDwn]

ohh its easy ... wait you said 3.9 not 1.9 ... nevermind 🙂

 

[Oakenfold]

Originally posted by: Salvador
I wouldn't call one major tougher or easier than the other. Didn't you guys learn anything from the movie "The Breakfast Club"? Remember when the geek failed shop class for not being able to build that elephant lamp?
Sal

Well said.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
Around the forums and in life, there are plenty of people who take hard courses, study only an hour max per day, and get like a 3.9 GPA. I don't understand it because I'm over here working my a*s off everyday of the school week to get a 3.7 or 3.8.

Sounds like my brother when he was 1st in college. He carried a 4.0 all the way through earning a PHD in Semi Micro computer Architecture.

However,while earning he PHD he studied about 12-14 hrs/day and graduated in 4 years instead of 6 years.




Ausm