Alex, now a first-year student in natural sciences at Cambridge, played football for his school in Manchester and directed the school production of a play. He left school with five A’s. Amanda, reading English at Bristol University, acted in plays at hers, and played tennis regularly. Yet she still managed to get four A's.
How do A students like these make it? Brains aren’t the only answer, the most gifted students do not necessarily perform best in exams, knowing how to make the most of one’s abilities counts for much more.
Hard work isn’t the whole story either. Some of these high-achieving students actually put in fewer hours than their lower-scoring classmates. The students at the top of the class get there by mastering a few basic techniques that others can easily learn. Here, according to education experts and students themselves, are the secrets of A students.
Concentrate! Top students allow no interruptions of their study time. Once the books are open, phone calls go unanswered, TV unwatched and newspapers unread.
Study anywhere—or everywhere. A university professor in Arizona assigned to tutor underachieving college athletes, recalls a runner who exercise daily. He persuaded him to use the time to memorize biology terms.
Organize your material. A drawer keeps essentials together and cuts down on time-wasting searches.
Ask questions, “If you ask questions, you know at once whether you have got the point or not,” says Alex. Class participation is a matter of showing intellectual curiosity.
After all, the secrets of A students are not so secret. You can learn and master them and become an A student, too.
