In my post, So, How Did You Do Last Semester, I talked about making a plan to better your performance this semester. Here are five steps that will improve your performance in any course in any semester.
Go see your instructors from last semester. Make sure your instructor knows you aren’t there to argue for a better grade. You’re there to find out what grades they have for you on all assignments and tests and how your final average and grade were calculated. You want to find out how you did and how you can do better in the future. In other words, you are there for information and advice. If you actually do deserve a better grade, that will come out in your discussions.
Take this information and your syllabus for that class and match the grades you received with the corresponding assignments. Are there certain assignments you did well? Some not so well? What are they and why did you perform the way you did. Do the same analysis with each test you took? Take the graded test home and figure out why you did problems wrong. By doing this you’ll find out where your test preparation was successful and where it failed you. I’ve found that a student’s poor performance most often comes from poor preparation—not from lack of understanding.
Assess your own commitment in each class during the last semester. Were you in class every day? Did you read the assignment? Were you prepared for class? Did you pay attention, ask questions about what you didn’t understand and take good class notes that you could use later? Did you see your teacher at least once last semester to make sure he/she knew you? This can make the crucial difference if you are close to a better grade.
Based on what you learned, make your “New Semester Resolutions.” Write down at least five things you are going to do next semester to improve your grades. Don’t just say them—write them down and read them every day. Share them with your professors this semester so they know how serious you are about doing well in their classes. This is how you generate and sustain commitment to doing better.
Use your performance in classes to check on how well you are at keeping your New Semester Resolutions. Also, check in with your teachers—they’re there to let you know how you’re doing. Stay on track this way every week of the semester.
These five things are not hard to do—but they do require courage and commitment. Facing a poor or failing grade from last semester takes courage; resolving to do better takes commitment. The biggest challenge is doing this consistently; use what you learn to do even better. This is the secret to college success. Don’t use that standard cop-out that the other students are “smarter than me.” They aren’t. They’re just doing the things I have shared with you in the last two posts. Now that you know better, you can do better.
The holiday break between semesters is over. Everyone – you, your parents, your school—know your grades from fall semester. How’d you do? I hope that you did wonderfully—nothing gives me more pleasure than giving a great grade to a student who has earned it. However, I know that all the grades I gave out last semester weren’t great. I also know that great grades or not, now is the time to figure out what happened last semester.
If you did well, congratulations! Big pat on the back—you deserve it, but don’t stop there. Why did I do well? Don’t take the, “If it’s not broken don’t try to fix it” approach to your achievements. You need to know how to repeat the performance during the spring semester and, if something goes wrong, you need to know how to fix it. Figure out what made the difference and work to repeat those things every semester.
If you didn’t do as well as you wanted last semester—the questions are similar: Why didn’t I? What did I do, or not do. say or not say, that hurt my academic performance. Be painfully honest because if you don’t, you’ll probably make the same mistakes next semester. Don’t promise to work harder but end up doing the same things and expecting different results. Working harder isn’t enough. People work hard and fail every day. You have to learn how to work smarter and harder. What held you back last semester? Who can help you understand your challenges better and help you surmount them? What should your plan be to do better? How will you know day-by-day that you’re working your plan? Only by answering questions like these can you know better and do better in the spring semester and beyond.
Next week, I’ll share proven steps to better grades. Use the sign-up form for my blog on the right, and I’ll let you know when I share more of the unique tools and information I developed to help you get through college successfully.
Should you send your son or daughter to an Ivy League college or university or another high quality school that does not have the prestige or the cost of the Ivies? This is a question parents all over the country wrestle with every year as decisions about where students will be in the fall are made. The choice of a college or university depends on many things the most important of which is the student. Each family should send their son or daughter to the school the fits him or her best and that fits their budget for college. In Ivy League or Bust? , Kristin Battista-Frazee’s recent article on Huffington Post does an excellent job of setting out the factors to be evaluated when making this important decision. I strongly recommend that you read this article before deciding on a college or university.
Secretary of Education John King From towerload.com
I read today that the Department of Education is considering terminating the accrediting authority of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools . As I mentioned inFor Profit Schools Have A Built In Conflict, this will mean that all of the schools that this organization has accredited will not be able to receive federal funds for higher education. It will also leave many students with thousands of dollars in school loans and no degree.
During my career in higher education, I’ve heard politicians and policy makers say that colleges and universities should be run more like businesses. They would be more efficient and provide a better product for students and parents. Articles have been written supporting this proposition as well.
Everyone must be careful, however, in dealing with for profit colleges and universities whose mission is not education. Their objective is to make money and provide a good return for investors. This contrasts with the service mission of traditional colleges and universities to provide educational opportunities for their students. This fundamental difference in mission must be taken into account when deciding where to invest your money for a college education.
“When Student Loans Outlive Failed Schools” describes what can happen when the profit motive becomes too important. ITT Educational Services is a large for profit educational system with a presence in 39 states operating 128 campuses. The company has not maintained the standards required to keep their accreditation from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools which means they can no longer receive funds from federal school loan programs. The federal government has demanded $44 million from ITT to cover refunds to students who will not get the educations paid for if the company goes out of business. ITT has stated that if they lose accreditation this is exactly what will happen leaving students to shoulder the burden of paying off school loans which average $24,000 per student.
All for profit colleges and universities are not like ITT but they all have profit not education as their primary objective. Do your homework before choosing one of these schools to ensure you get the education you paid for.
I recently read one of several troubling articles on the resegregation of public schools in America. We seem to be headed back to separate but unequal all over again. My question is does it have to be this way? Are there examples of public schools that are doing an effective job of educating disadvantaged youth in the communities where they live? The answer is yes. This spring,The Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women (BYSYW – pronounced “Bliss”) graduated its first class of 60 young women who are all going to colleges such as Johns Hopkins with SAT scores significantly higher than the city public school average and over $487,000 in scholarships.
The school’s director of college advising stated that “In a perfect world, everybody would go to college. In the BLSYW world, everybody creates a success plan.” School administrators said that message is the legacy of the first graduating class. Take a look at the article from the Baltimore Sun and let me know if you agree that this model needs to be expanded and emulated.
Follow the link below to read an interesting article on what some universities are doing to significantly reduce the number of students who start but don’t finish college. How do you think these strategies would work at your college or university?
Follow the link below to read about a young man who’s story should be on the national news. Props to the Washington Post for printing this story about him!
In March, Donna and I were presenting authors at the Virginia Festival of the Book. I participated in three events. On Wednesday March 16th, I talked with fifty students at Albemarle High School about preparing for success in college. Several of the students told me how much they appreciated the advice and how I shared it with them and the teachers were glad to hear their messages reinforced by someone the students enjoyed listening to.
Wednesday evening, I was one of two panelists discussing the adolescent mindset and the best ways to help students prepare for and have a successful college experience leading to graduation in four years with good grades and good job prospects. There was a standing room only audience who had sons and daughters in college or preparing to go so they were quite interested in our presentations. They demonstrated their interest by purchasing all the books I had brought for sale!
Finally, Sunday morning I briefly discussed College In Four Years at the Links of Charlottesville brunch for Festival authors who wrote books relevant to African Americans and/or people of color. I told the audience of 200 about the value of the book for students and parents and how it could be instrumental in helping them work together for success in college. The message resonated with them and they also purchased every book available for sale.
In addition to these presentations, I will be sharing more information with students in Charlottesville high schools in May.
Needless to say, I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in the Virginia Festival of the Book and thrilled with the reception College In Four Years got at all the events and with an opportunity to share information with more students in May. Take a look at the pictures below from the events.
The beginning of a great event!My talk with students at Albemarle High School.The Sawyer Authors!My panel discussion on the teenage mindset and higher education with Dr. Florence Jensen (The teenage Brain: Planning for Success in High School, College, and Beyond) and our moderator Ms. Elizabeth Benedict.
Follow the link below to read an interesting article on what some universities are doing to significantly reduce the number of students who start but don’t finish college. How do you think these strategies would work at your college or university?
Follow the link below to read about a young man who’s story should be on the national news. Props to the Washington Post for printing this story about him!
