(Akiit.com) Albrightsville, PA – August has arrived, and in another week or two millions of college students will be heading towards their respective colleges. All have high expectations and aspirations of making good grades. Yet, many students will fail while others will barely make passing grades simply because they do not know what to do in order to make top grades.
“Every semester I see students make simple mistakes that, unknown to them, jeopardize their grades,†says William Paterson University Professor Kamau Kenyatta. “More and more students are dropping out or failing out of college each year because they lack essential information that goes beyond the typical classroom skills.â€
Professor Kenyatta’s new book, The Confessions of A College Professor: Insider Secrets To Making Top Grades In All Your Classes, is a practical guide that shows current and prospective college students how to reach their goals of making top grades without sacrificing their social life. Here are his top 5 suggestions from the book for students who need and want to make better grades this year:
1. Go to class the first day. Many students make the mistake of missing the first class because they think it’s a waste of time. But it is a mistake that will cause many problems throughout the semester.
2. Before you go to class, find out what books or articles the professor has written. Buy a copy of their latest book, or borrow it from the library and take it to class with you on the first day. If there are no books, find an article by the professor and read it.
3. Introduce yourself to your professor on the first day and make a comment about their book or article. Just because you’re familiar with your name do not assume that the professor will know and remember it. It’s your job to make yourself stand out from the rest of the class, and the first way to do that is to get the professor to associate your face with your name.
4. Schedule a personal appointment with your professor during the first two weeks of school. During the appointment let the professor know of your interest in the subject, and ask what you can do to receive a top grade from the class.
5. Ask your professor how he or she became interested in the subject matter of the class.
Asking this simple question will do more for you than you will ever imagine. It will make you
stand out from everyone else, and it will help that professor remember you. Ultimately it could work to your advantage in receiving a better grade. Don’t underestimate the power of this question.
Kamau Kenyatta, author of the new book, The Confessions of A College Professor: Insider
Secrets To Making Top Grades In All Your Classes, teaches at William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ. Learn more at http://www.yourcollegeprofessor.com.