The Secret Method to a 7.0 GPA ft. Eric Liu

Jeremy Ng (ISB G12) and Annarosa Lam (ISB G10)

Annarosa Lam and Jeremy Ng may not be considered the best students in the traditional sense. However, they have managed to achieve satisfactory results in academics through unorthodox methods. In this collaborative BUDDY!article, Annarosa and Jeremy share their collective expertise in the classroom along with some slick art.

Are you struggling to stay awake in class? Are you getting 2’s despite trying hard in all of your subjects? Are your parents bringing out their bamboo sticks when your report cards come out? What if we told you that there are ways for anybody to achieve exemplary grades? In this article, we will share three tips that uncover the secret method to a 7.0 GPA.

How to cram for tests

Being a high school student, balancing social life, family, homework, and extracurriculars can be a daunting task. Having to cram for a test is almost inevitable with the heavy workload we have. We have invited Eric Liu (grade 12), a master of cramming for a test the night before. The following is a transcript of our interview with Eric Liu that took place at Jamaica Blue:

Q: Since when have you been cramming for tests and how successful are your attempts in doing so?
A: I have been cramming for tests since I exited the womb. I’ve never studied for a test my entire life. However, I fail very often. For example: I didn’t do so well in my recent physics test. But, that’s ok, it’s about live, love, laugh, it’s about creating that small amount of time for yourself; and that is why I cram.

While Eric has admittedly had some ups and downs cramming for tests in his past, his theory of creating that intense moment of high adrenaline to increase effectiveness and test performance is quite noteworthy and could be lethal if done correctly.

Q: Can you share any remarkable experiences you’ve had with cramming for a test with our readers?
A: There was one memorable experience regarding my Math IA, even though we were given the entire summer break to work, I did not write a single word until 10:40pm the night before. I managed to pull it off. People asked me the following morning: “Eric, when did you sleep?” I just looked at them and shook my head.

Q: What would be your tips to someone who needs to cram for a summative in a very short amount of time?
A: Say you have a summative the following day. I think the biggest thing you need to do is understand what you need to do and what you can cut off. If there are large, complicated topics to study that are worth 1-2 points on the test, I would rather not cover it to shave off some time. You should also consider every single block of time in your day, that includes your ride to school, breaks in between classes, etc. These could all be used as time to study for your test.

Eric has provided an excellent point on cramming for tests. You have to understand that test cramming is a delicate operation, with only a few hours on the clock until your test, those precious minutes that can be used is extremely valuable.

Don’t make your teachers hate you

While it may sound simple to not make your teachers hate you, it is more challenging than you think. Teachers are contractually obligated to not yell at you and to be fair to all students. Hence, while it may seem like they are willing to help with open arms, it can be hard to read their true thoughts about you.

The use of excuses in a classroom setting are almost inevitable if you don’t want to make your teacher hate you. However, teachers have slowly adapted to suspect when we say our dog ate our homework. Making good excuses are important, the classic "My parents weren't home to sign the test" and "My Word crashed" will no longer cut it in the 21st century. Instead, try playing with your wording so that it confuses your teacher with what you're trying to get across and makes them feel sorry for you.

An example is: "I'm sooooo sorry Ms XXX. I was just so caught up with the extracurricular work last night. I thought I submitted it but looks like it didn't. I'll submit it right now. I promise this won't happen in the future"

In return, a response you can be expecting from your teachers is something along the lines of: "Oh no you poor thing, I'm so sorry to hear that.. Just promise me you'll get it done before it gets really late, I'll understand if you need an extension!"

The appeal of such an excuse is that you are injecting pathos to your story, by playing yourself off as the victim of the situation and claiming that such occurrences will not happen in the future. Excuses that follow such a format almost always gets you an automatic pass with the teacher.

Last, but not least... learn the art of pretending to listen. One way to make your teacher value you as a student in the classroom is if you are an active participant during lectures or discussions. Even if you may be tired, something as easy as the occasional nods and Mhmmm's are always appreciated.

The art of BS!

The art of BS is a skill considered to be the Holy Grail of many high school student’s careers. The ability to present, write or debate any topic with fluency is a skill that is hard to acquire; however, it is quite possible to achieve. With anything, you should at least have an outline of how you will present yourself, this will make it easier for you when you start spewing your ideas. Moreover, it is very helpful to be familiar with fancy words that can be used commonly to cover up for your lack of content.

For example:
Exemplify (show)
Deleterious (damaging)
etc.

With these three tips, we hope that you can find success in academics and have an easier time managing your work!