How I Graduated with Highest Praise "Summa Cum Laude" from College

When people find out I graduated with Summa Cum Laude, many assume I'm some super genius who did nothing but live and breathe school during my undergraduate years. I'm here to tell you that I'm far from any type of prodigy. While I always did pretty well academically, hard work was necessary for my success. If you clicked on this post hoping for some secret pill that will magically enable you to ace all your tests and assignments, I'm sorry to disappoint. There is no easy way to this kind of success. However, I have detailed below key tips that really helped me throughout my undergraduate career. 

💜Make school a priority- This may sound obvious, but it's the most important concept to grasp when trying to do your absolute best. Okay, but what does it actually look like? Making your education a priority means turning down parties, social gatherings and drinking shindigs pretty often because you have a paper due the next day. Making your education a priority means putting your phone, tablet, laptop, ect. in the other room because you need to study for that exam in a few days. It can also mean bringing your flashcards to work so you can study during your breaks or downtime. This doesn't mean that you need to cut yourself off from the entire world. Actually, you probably shouldn't do that. Going out occasionally, treating yourself and practicing self care are all very important to maintain your health and keep your brain going at optimal performance. Be sure to periodically de-stress and ease any anxiety you may have. You can read about my coping strategies here.

💜 Don't Procrastinate- But, Isabella! I work better under pressure! That may be so, but you're forming really bad habits by waiting until the last minute to do everything. There are going to be times in your life beyond college when you won't be able to procrastinate and still do a good job, so it's better to start practicing now. No one is saying you need to finish every single assignment weeks in advance, but you should get into the habit of pacing yourself.

💜 Break Up Your Assignments- Just like how you shouldn't wait until the last minute to do your assignments, you should get into the habit of breaking up smaller assignments into more manageable pieces. Not only will this be a great skill to possess for the real world, but it will make school seem less intimidating. 

💜 Create a Schedule- For some reason, whenever I hear the word "schedule," I cringe. Back in the day, I used to create really strict schedules (down to the minute) of how I wanted my life to look. I quickly stopped when I realized that living my own life became a chore and following such a strict schedule became something I dreaded. Instead, I now make a list of things I need to do and then get done what I can. There are some things I like to get done on certain days and some things I like to get done before others. For example, I planned my studying based on what classes I had the next day. I also completed my written work first and then ended with studying. I now have a pretty good estimate of what I can accomplish in a day and still have the freedom to be flexible with my schedule.

💜 Work Now, Play Later- I always found when I took breaks after coming home from class, I either never did any work or I started a lot later than I wanted. While everyone is different, I am sure this can apply to a lot of people. I began to use my drive home from school as my break and got right to work as soon as I walked through the door. Since my brain was still in "school mode", I worked more efficiently and had more time to spare at the end of the day. Depending on my work load, I hardly ever took breaks between written assignments and preferred to work through until I was finished. I never fully relaxed and winded down until all of my tasks were completed. It's such a great feeling to be able to relax without the burden of unfinished tasks hanging over you. Do it now and you'll thank yourself for it later.

💜 Don't Try to Do It All- School involves a lot of strategic planning and it's important to have the "work smarter, not harder" mentality. In a dream world, you have all the time in the universe to focus on one class at a time, take extremely detailed, thorough notes and read every last sentence of that 500 page textbook. This isn't a dream world and you are probably juggling 3 to 4 classes, a job, extracurricular activities, a social life, ect. I didn't want to burn myself out, so I started focusing on key concepts and concepts which were confusing to me. Being able to skim a textbook and pull out the important information is vital to surviving college without letting college consume your entire being. Don't waste time reading (or taking notes on) what you already know. As long as you have the basic ideas mastered, you'll be able to apply those concepts to other areas of the subject. If you try to fully immerse yourself in every course, you're probably going to fail and/or burn yourself out.

💜 Don't Over-Study- Yes, it's possible to study the same material too much. If you are constantly going over the same material again and again, you'll start to make little mistakes because your mind becomes so used to what you're studying that it stops processing it. Study until you know the material and then only go over it again a few more times before the exam. The same goes for making presentations. If you're constantly going over your presentation, it will be begin to sound robotic and forced. You'll probably also begin to forget aspects of it. I can't even begin to count the number of times when I knew my presentation like the back of my hand, but didn't deliver it well because I practiced excessively.

💜 Go to Class- Do most college professors care if you come to class? Probably not, but don't let that discourage you from going to class every day. Not only does it look good on you that you care enough to come to class, but professors usually go over the most important concepts in all of that reading he or she assigned or provide adjustments to the syllabus. He or she may even tell you what to focus on for the next test. When you're inbetween grades, consistently going to class may mean the difference between the professor rounding your grade up or keeping it the same.

At the end of the day, how you prioritize your life is completely up to you. You can still pass college with decent grades, even if school is not your top priority. Graduating with honors is not as important as simply graduating. Earning a degree is a fantastic achievement in and of itself. Good luck!



What are some of your tips for doing well in school? Leave a comment down below!

XOXO,

Isabella Dominique




FTC Disclaimer: I was not sent any of these products. I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own. I am not being sponsored to make this blog post.