Online classes are frustrating, insanely frustrating. If you’re a high school student, online classes are probably really annoying because you may just want to finish up your senior year normally, or complete class in a normal setting! If you’re a college student, like me, you are especially annoyed, because you are paying to learn, but now forced to do it online. Online classes can be boring, and feel difficult and ineffective, hence why I am going to tell you how to ace your online classes and share my secrets as a 4.0 student.
I promise I am not bragging because I hate bragging, but I want you to know that I am credible! I hated high school, but I knew if I wanted to succeed in college and win any scholarships, stellar grades were required. Thus, I graduated Summa Cum Laude, and now have a 4.0 in my second year of college as a double major. So you can trust my advice, I promise! Online classes can be treacherous, so I want you to not only get through them but ace them as well! I want you to earn that degree and get that GPA!
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1. Use a Planner
I tell everyone that wants to succeed in school/college to buy and use a planner. Planners are best when you have several tasks that need to be completed, done on time, and remembered. Those three things can be really difficult when you’re doing online classes because there’s more of a chance of procrastination. A planner will keep you on track, and you can cross off tasks as you complete them. Crossing off to-do tasks is the best feeling in the world, you feel so accomplished and productive. I use my planner every single day, writing down everything that needs to be done so I stay on track and give myself enough time to complete work efficiently. I told my boyfriend a million times to buy a planner, he recently bought one for online classes, and now brings it everywhere he goes.
2. Wake Up Early
My next tip on how I ace online classes and receive a 4.0 GPA is waking up early for class. I have 8 A.M.’s every morning, and for most college students, that is their worst nightmare. The easy thing to do is to roll out of bed five minutes before your Zoom class starts every day. And I’m not going to lie to you, that is what I did for my first week of online classes. However, every time I did that, I would sit down at my desk exhausted, unmotivated, and unfocused. What I learned after is to wake up 30-60 minutes before your online class starts, and really wake up. That extra time will allow you to eat some breakfast, brush your teeth, and set up an area for your class.
3. Dress For Class
This goes along with the second tip when waking up early in the morning for your online class. I highly recommend dressing appropriately for class, even if no one can actually see you in your online class. This tip took me a while to get behind because I love wearings sweats and hoodies, who doesn’t? However, wearing clothes like pajamas/sweats during your online classes will make you feel less motivated because those are clothes for relaxing in. Get dressed for the day, even if it’s just leggings and a cute top (don’t worry, I would never tell you to put jeans on for class, I think that’s a crime.) However, dressing in something you feel good in and would wear to class almost tricks your brain. It will start to believe, “I am dressed for class, so that means it’s time for class.” Feeling more awake, focused, and productive!
4. Copy The Syllabus
Every professor, and most teachers, will hand out a syllabus at the beginning of the semester. It’s usually a huge packet of paper the instructor goes over one day and then expects you to remember completely. With online courses, professors and teachers are not going to take the time to remind up about that upcoming exam every class. They expect you to be looking at the syllabus constantly, and they are too busy trying to plan their online class to remind you. Write down in your planner every essay, exam, and test/quiz on the correct date with the subject. This way you’ll be prepared for them because you notice them when flipping through your planner.
5. Plan In Advance
The absolute worst part about online classes is the lack of motivation. When I’m home from college, I just want to watch Netflix, eat, read, or sleep – definitely not go to class. Therefore, it’s extremely important to stop procrastinating, or nothing will get done. So how do I ace online classes and get a 4.0? I plan in advance! This is where tip #4 comes in handy. After your first week of classes copying down your exams/tests from your syllabi, it’s time to utilize that hard work. I credit tip #5 with how I receive my 4.0 GPA because it never fails me.
Here’s what I do; every day I open my planner, and look at the next two weeks to see what I should expect for work from my classes. For any tests/exams or essays, I begin to schedule days in my planner to work on them early. If an essay requires 5 pages or more, I start two weeks in advance. If I have a test or exam in a class I struggle in, I started studying two weeks in advance, as well. It sounds crazy, but when you lack motivation for online classes, plan in advance and start things early! That way you only have to work on things for small periods of time. Rather than waiting the week before and spending hours a day working with no motivation.
6. Put Your Phone Away
Don’t mean to sound like your professor, but put your phone away during class. I am 100% guilty of constantly checking my phone throughout my online classes are the epitome of boring, so it was incredibly hard to not use my phone. I started turning off my phone and putting it across to room from where I was taking my class. This way, you are forced to pay attention to what your professors are saying, with no distractions.
7. Check Your School Email
If you don’t already have your school email linked to your phone, do that first! This way you can easily check your email from your phone. I check my school email every single day, I check it in the morning, in the middle of the day, and then before I go to bed. This will keep you up to date on all of your classes. You’ll know if a class is canceled, if a test date is changed or if extra work is assigned. It is extremely important to be an active student in your classes, meaning staying up to date on class changes and information.
8. Create A Work Space
This was the first thing I did when I found out my college was switching to online classes for the semester. I recommend finding a desk or table or counter in your home (that isn’t around everyone), clear that area, and set up your laptop. Make sure to have all of your class materials beside you (including your planner!) and water. It’s important to stay hydrated! This will be your space to have class and do classwork. So every time you go to this space, you know that it’s time to work. And don’t you dare try doing your work and take your class in bed! I tried that once and immediately wanted to go back to sleep. You will feel and be more productive when you’re working in a dedicated, quiet workspace.
9. Routine, Routine, Routine
Keeping up a schedule is the key to acing online classes. After you try these tips and start implementing them daily, stick to them. When you do something every day, like waking up earlier, it will get easier to keep up with that routine and help you stay on task.
10. Particpation
Online classes often make it harder for professors to give out certain work because there’s not enough one-on-one time to teach certain topics. And when professors cut certain assignments, that means other assignments will be weighted more. One of the components of your final grade that tends to matter more with online classes is participation. Online classes can be really disconnecting for the professor and the class relationship, so professors weigh participation heavily to help mend that connection. Participating is not only great for your GPA, but great for learning – which s the most important thing. By participating, you’re engaging with your professor, which shows him/her that you care, and you’re retaining information better.
11. Split Work Into Chunks
This tip goes along with #5! I swear by splitting work up into chunks, rather than working for hours straight with no breaks. This is especially important to ace online classes because it’s really easy to get overwhelmed with all of the work you’re getting assigned while at home. Like I described in #5, I plan my bigger assignments weeks in advance so that I can split the work into daily assignments. You should never leave assignments for the day before to do. That will force you to do a ton of work, quickly and probably not done correctly. By splitting work into chunks, your work will be completed thoroughly and done early. Leading to a better grade and less stress!
12. Give Yourself A Break
If you are reading this blog post right now, then you are already showing how much you care about your education and want to raise your GPA. I always say that education is a privilege, it shouldn’t be, but it’s something I am grateful to have because not everyone is given the option to go to school. Therefore, I take it really seriously, but sometimes, that can cause me to burn out because I stress myself out. And I know there’s a substantial chance you probably stress yourself out about class as well. Therefore, it’s really important to give yourself a break. Set aside time in your day for you. Where you can relax and not think about class. That’s not only important for your education so you can keep working hard, but it’s important for your health. I try to make time every day to read 10 pages of a book I want to read. It helps me de-stress by clearing my mind and gain the energy to work hard the next day.
Let me know in the comments below if any of these tips were helpful, or if they’re something you already practice! Online classes can be extremely exhausting, but I want you to ace your online classes and still be able to enjoy being home. Thank you so so much for reading! If you’re looking for more college content, click here!
Living life, and writing about it as I go.
I will be sure to follow everything, cause lord knows I need too
Don’t forget girlfriend – routine, routine, routine!