As students, we all want our cumulative grade point average (CGPA) to be high so as to graduate with either first class or second class upper.
There actually might be, but am not sure there is any student that wants to graduate with a second class lower not to talk more of a third class.
Here are some principles I have listed that would be of good help to you in achieving your aim of graduating with a very high CGPA.
Make Up Your Mind
If you really want to make a good CGPA, the first thing you would have to do is to make up your mind. In making up your mind, I mean that you should know within yourself that what you are about to undertake won’t be so easy. There are some things you would have to drop in order to achieve your aim. Things like playing a lot, watching movies and some other things apart from reading that takes your time. I am not saying that you should stop playing neither did I say you should stop watching movies but you should minimize the rate at which you do all those things.
Time Management
This aspect is very important as it is a priority of every student. For you to be able to excel, you have to be time conscious. Some students neglect the use of reading time table but I would like to advise that reading time table is very necessary for a every student. It would help you to carry all your courses along and not to focus on only one course.
Make a time table of what you want to do each day and at the end of the day, check out whether you were able to accomplish them.
For you to make a good reading time table you need your lecture time table. This would enable you to know the particular course you are meant to read each day so that you may not read the right thing at the wrong time. Also make a time table of the activities you want to do each day apart from reading and don’t allow those activities to encroach into your reading time table.
Accept The Fact That You Know Nothing
According to a very known philosopher, Socrates, “All I Know Is That I Know Nothing”. With this I don’t mean you should start calling yourself an OLODO but you should not say that you know a particular course very well so as not to read or focus on that course. When I was in my 100 level, I use to say that I know mathematics very well and that made me not to read my mathematics book.
The day of test came and after the test, I knew within me that I did not do well in the test but I still maintained the fact that I knew mathematics very well not until a night before maths exam that I decided to read mathematics. I opened the book to read and found out that those things I thought that I knew, I knew them no more. I had to read till daybreak and went for the exam. When the result was out, I got a C grade instead of the A grade that I thought I would get.
People would say “experience is the best teacher” but I am telling you to learn from other people’s mistakes that you may not experience that same mistake.
Never you for anything downgrade any course unless you might experience my mistake or even worst than that.
Focus
This aspect is also as important as the others. Some students would always focus only on one course because the course is too simple for them or maybe the course is too hard for them paying little or no attention to other courses. This is very wrong, for no matter how good you are as a student, you must still have the tendency of forgetting and you can only remember if you read. Remember, when making a reading time table, focus more on those courses that have a higher credit unit for those courses would help boost your CGPA than the lower credit unit courses.
In some higher institutions e.g FUTO,one credit unit courses are more stressful than even the 4 credit unit courses due to the assignments that is been bombarded by the lecturers to the students. This tend to make some students to concentrate mostly on those one unit courses forgetting about their higher credit unit courses.
If you are in this category of students, I would advise you to rather do the assignments that same day it was given so as to avoid it been piled up for you or you do as many as you can another day if you can’t do it that day and endeavor not to loose concentration on your higher credit unit courses.
Read
We all know that as students we are meant to read but there are some things we don’t understand about reading. Some students do read at night simply because their friends read at night not taking into consideration whether they are understanding what the read or not and may end up damaging their reading tables with their head when sleeping.
Before you read, first of all understand yourself and know the right time when you understand what you read. Some understand what they read when they read at at night, some in the day, some very early in the morning.
Some others do read a day before an exam thinking that they can get everything in their brain overnight. I did this when I wrote my maths exam as narrated above but I ended up getting a lower grade than expected. Learn to prepare and read on time so as to prevent the 11th hour rush.
One other thing, as Human beings, our brains need rest so read moderately and also rest your brain (siesta). Don’t also forget to play for it helps develop your brain but don’t overplay.
Pray
For you to be able to be able you make a very high CGPA, you have to prepare yourself both physically and spiritually. Before and after you finish reading, you should pray so as to ask for God’s favour so that you might not easily forget what you read.
I would like to round up with this “Work As If Everything Depends On You And Pray As If Everything Depends On God.”
God bless you.
