With a resuming of in-person classes, students will try to maintain the proper balance of work and life to prepare them for their time out after college. Part of leaving an impression on future employers during this time comes from building one of your most important statistics as a college student – your GPA. While it may seem most of the time that college is a solo effort, ISO has created this guide so international students can find and use the right resources to make their GPA stand out.
Overcoming Language Barriers
Students arriving in the United States will have preliminary experience with English through their TOEFL examination, which is a requirement to verify someone’s language skills before they are permitted to study in the US. However, their proficiency may not be reflected in elaborate written assignments, like essays or papers, which can weaken parts of those grades.
For assistance with this, we recommend visiting your school’s writing center. Regardless of major, students of all kinds will rely on the writing center for help with writing assignments, editing capabilities, and becoming a better overall writer.
Dig Into the Past
Sometimes, while the material of a subject may be manageable, the professor teaching it can make it feel like a constant fight to pass the course. However, doing research on professors beforehand is much easier with the help of internet resources like Rate My Professor. Look for answers to questions like, “Do they grade on a curve?”, or “Are their grades based on 2 tests or more spread out?” As professors can set the tone on how you perform in a semester, knowing as much about them through their credentials and student reviews will be helpful in making an educated guess on how your semester will be.
Choose Classes Wisely
A big part of work/life balance is telling yourself when to stop with your semestral course load. If you overload yourself, you may find out down the line that some subjects, especially those directly connected to your major, will take the most time out of your schedule and can be hard to devote more studying to, due primarily to your other classes. Consider spreading out your schedule, which means looking into the classes you should take and then deciding the best semester to take them. Summer and winter semesters are a great time to take a few classes without worrying about a full course load, so keep these in mind when building your schedule.
Another way to offset an otherwise challenging schedule is to include a mix of difficulties in your classes. When seeing the classes that you are required to take, compare how hard the content will be in each one and build your schedule with a few “easier” classes to balance your harder courses, so that you’re not constantly stressing about your next assignment. You can also schedule around when you are the most mentally prepared. Are you a morning person? More 9 AM classes might be the right move for you.
Aside from the internet, the best place to get information on a professor’s history is from former students. If you know someone that has taken a class through a professor you want, reach out to them to get their opinion on what their semester was like, or if there are any red flags to be cautious of. Additionally, if they choose to, you can ask for and use notes that they’ve taken as study material for yourself, which should likely loosen your load of notetaking.
Lastly, seek out the policy for taking classes pass/fail. Under this system, you will be graded based on if you have done enough satisfactory work during the semester and will determine your success in the course by either a “P” (pass) or “F” (fail) mark, rather than traditional letter grading standards. If this can be an option for you, consider applying it to classes that you may struggle in but are still necessary to finish your degree, as you will then have to worry less about low grades affecting your GPA.
Study Discipline
Improving your GPA will come from working on your own study habits. Here are some ways to make studying a more fruitful experience:
1. Note-take to your advantage: It is one thing to say to take good notes, but their style can lead to how well you understand the material. For more information on different studying approaches and tips, follow this ISO guide.
2. Work into a routine: If you naturally integrate studying into your schedule as commonly as breathing or blinking, you won’t feel as pressured to resist it when the time is necessary.
3. Cover the hard stuff first: It is easy to begin any schoolwork by overcoming less-challenging tasks first, but that may leave you mentally exhausted for what you save for last. By starting with your tougher assignments, you will relieve your mind of having to work overtime later.
A larger list of tips for studying can be found through this article.
Your GPA will be your key to unlocking many opportunities, not only within your school, but after graduation as well. You’ll learn that improving your approach to understanding your courses will greatly affect your output in class. For students that rely on their GPA to maintain or work towards a scholarship, you will also be eligible for more academic-based financial grants by reaching or maintaining a high GPA, so use your grades to save you money in college!
If you’re looking for other ways to save money at school, enroll in an ISO plan today! Our affordable plans are comprehensive so that you don’t have to worry about your health coverage or your wallet while in school.
