Why Smart People Get Bad Grades:Tips for Getting a Better Grade

You’re smart and work hard, but no matter how brilliant you are or how diligently you study, your grades don’t reflect that. If this sounds like a familiar story, take heart, you’re not alone. In fact, many individuals have been there and have come out the other side just fine.

So, what’s the problem? The answer is much simple than you think, and that is why you are frustrated because you probably think it is something complicated. Bright and intelligent students expect their hard work to pay off and often feel discouraged when the hard work doesn’t pay off.

So, why do smart people get bad grades? Here are some of the possible reasons.

You Are Not Putting In The Right Time And Effort

You may be an intelligent person, but your grades will suffer if you do not put in the right time and effort. If you’re not reading the text or learning the material in class, there’s no way that you can do well on an exam. Putting in the right effort and time means being strategic in your study and revision.

Further, you could also be failing because you aren’t prepared for class. If you don’t study beforehand or prepare for tests, then how do you expect to get good grades? To get good grades in college, students must be intelligent, prepared, study thoroughly, and put in the required effort.

You Practice Ineffective Study Habits

Ineffective studying habits hugely contribute to below-par and unimpressive grades. This is because such methods do not help you understand the concepts. As such, you will be studying too much material but retaining very little information in your brain.

Additionally, if you study ineffectively, you will not understand what works for you and what does not; thus, you will be unable to change and do things right.

Some of the ineffective study habits include

• Poor time management
• Procrastination
• Missing class
• Unhealthy eating
• Multitasking and studying where there are distractions
• You study just before the exam or test rather than looking at each concept after your professor teaches it.
• You take too many breaks when you study.
• You don’t use flashcards or mnemonics when studying for an exam.
• You don’t have a study partner who helps quiz you on the material you need to know for the test.
• The study guide is not up-to-date with what will be on the exam. It only covers old material from previous semesters and years, making it less effective at helping you learn what you need to know for their upcoming exams than newer guides.

You’re Trying to Look Smart

One possible reason smart people get bad grades is impressing others through their grades. You want your friends and parents to see how smart you are so that they’ll be proud of you.

However, this character may be detrimental and may lead you to post poor grades if you are not cautious.

That is why when people talk about grades, you often hear the phrase, “It’s not about the grade.” This can mean two things: first, it’s not about the grade itself. Secondly, it’s not about how well or poorly other people perform at school or work.

Thus if you try to prove how good you are, you are likely to make mistakes and goof in your study or even in the exam.

You Are Taking A Course That You Don’t Like Or That Doesn’t Interest You

If you take a class that you don’t like or that doesn’t interest you, your grades will suffer. If you don’t study and do the readings, you won’t do well on the tests and quizzes. For example, failing even in the simplest of subjects and examinations might indicate a lack of interest in the said class or subject.

Further, taking a course that you don’t like will always make you think about the other course you desired to take. This makes you spend more time in the thinking and regret position, which otherwise you could use to study and get better grades.

You Have A Fixed Mindset

People with a fixed mindset believe that their intelligence, ability, or talent is fixed and is all they need to pass exams. Such individuals think they are born intelligent and whatever they do is the right way irrespective of the several guidances they may receive. However, people who have a growth mindset know they can improve and grow their skills if they put in the time.

If you have a fixed mindset and get bad grades, it will be hard to change your behavior because you’ll think there’s nothing wrong with it in the first place. But if you get an A on your next test or paper after failing, that proves how amazing you are.

Tips for Getting a Better Grade

Getting better grades in your college work is easy if you put in the right attitude and work hard. Some of the tips that will help you get a better grade even if you have been failing include

Hiring A Professional Essay Writer

Hiring an essay writer is one proven and most underrated way to post impressive grades. Essay writers are professional writers who can help you with your academic papers. Whether research papers, assignments, or regular essays, they will write them following the guidelines and help you get a good grade.

If you do not have adequate time to write the paper yourself, if it seems technical, or you have previously failed and need a boost, you can contact an essay writer. And as you choose one, do due diligence to avoid general ones who may not have expertise in your field.

You can opt for agencies, ask friends for referrals, or read reviews of specific writers before engaging them.

Do Your Homework And Assignments

This tip may seem obvious and straightforward. However, doing your class assignments, homework, and other class test builds you up for the final exam. These assignments help you understand the course better, and you may even find some questions repeated.

Furthermore, in some instances, the homework, essays, and assignments contribute to the final grade. This means if you fail to do them, your final grade will be adversely affected. Additionally, homework and assignments are good tools to measure your progress, what you understand and what you don’t, thus helping you put more work into those areas

Study Effectively

Mastering effective study methods can mean the difference between a good and a poor grade. Even if you are a bright and intelligent student, you will fail if you study wrongly.

One way to curb this is by creating a study schedule. This helps you manage your time well to have time for other activities in your life. It also allows you to allocate time to subjects depending on their difficulty such that you give more time to more technical subjects.

Also, studying effectively helps you understand concepts more efficiently rather than cramming and overwhelming yourself during exams.

Take Notes

Taking notes is a prerequisite to good grades. However, many smart students ignore this and may likely rely on their memory which fails them during exams.

When you take notes, you are also training your kind to remember. Further, if you are an expert in taking notes, you are more likely to get good grades because

• It helps promote active learning
• Enables you to be attentive in class
• It boosts your creativity and helps in organization skills
• Helps in comprehension and retention

Ask Questions And Participate In Class

Active participation in class helps you retain most of what your professor says. On the other hand, if you just sit and listen, most of what is said get lost.

Therefore, if you need to post good grades, be active in class. Ask questions if you need clarification. By doing such, you will remember most of what is taught, thus helping you get good grades.

Have A Positive Attitude

One of the commonest quotes is, “as a man thinks, so he is.” This means that if you perceive a subject as complex, it will be, but if you view it as simple and manageable, you will excel even if it is challenging.

Therefore, do not box yourself into a corner by believing you will fail even before trying it. Be positive and do what it takes before condemning yourself.

Conclusion

It is clear you can fail even if you are a bright student. Some of the factors contributing to this are bad study methods, not working hard, not putting enough effort, and trying to impress and show others how good you are in the subjects.

Despite this, you can counter these and pass the course by getting help from an essay writer, managing your study time, active participation in class, and being positive, among other measures. While you may be actually intelligent, sometimes this may work against you in the regular education system. And that is why you need to adopt the best learning methods if you want to see good grades.