Coming back to school after Christmas break is tough, but at least those grades from last semester can now be wiped clean.
The spring semester comes with a new start, much like the new year does. Many people make goals to try and improve themselves. Unfortunately, a lot of New Year’s goals end up unsuccessful.
For students heading back to Dixie State University hoping this semester will bring with it a higher GPA, there is a way to make that dream a reality. The number one thing that has helped me with my grades is being more involved on campus.
This can be done in the form of being in a club, joining student government, applying to be an ambassador or even attending the athletic events as a part of adding more responsibility and time-consuming activities to your proverbial plate seems like a counterproductive thing to do when trying to earn better grades and make your mother proud in the process.
However, for whatever reason studies show that students who are more involved outside of class are 20 percent more likely to get better grades, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
As a member of student government and a writer for the Dixie Sun News, I have a lot of responsibilities that can be time consuming. My original line of thinking had me believing that this would negatively affect my grades. Just the opposite occurred.
Being involved with student government and with the Dixie Sun News has actually elevated my GPA and my capacity to succeed. This happened to me for three reasons.
The first reason that involvement leads to better grades is that it gives students the tools to succeed. A lot of times extra-curricular activities have deadlines and goals. Students get the opportunity to work with others to accomplish the task at hand and do so as efficiently as possible. This shows students’ first-hand the road map to success, and what is great about success is that it is contagious.
The second reason is that it pushes students to be great at time-management. To be a great student, you have to be able to manage time very well. With so many deadlines and classes and assignments due in each class, the ability to effectively balance and manage those tasks is essential. When students willingly give up some of their free time to extra-curricular involvement, it then eliminates the amount of time that can be wasted, thus sculpts the student into a work of art that ultimately results in good grades.
The third reason is that when you surround yourself with similar and motivated people, it cultivates a responsible and positive culture. It actually becomes easier to succeed when you are constantly surrounded by successful and hard working students.
What this whole concept boils down to is that getting good grades is tough. It requires discipline, passion and dedication. Although those tools are essential, they may not be natural tendencies. So, getting out the comfort zone, becoming involved in something bigger than yourself, and being surrounded by motivated and hard working students will be the best advice you will ever receive on how to get better grades.
