by Gourab Modak

Created on: December 17, 2009   Last Updated: December 20, 2009

Being an active student is very important, especially in high school. If you are one, there is a good chance that most colleges will not only accept you, but also give you a full or partial scholarship. Now who wouldn't work to get something as valuable as that?

If you are a passive student, you are an example of me as a freshman last year. I did the minimum work I needed in order to do good in school, and I didn't care about anything past that. If there was extra credit I probably wasn't the best person who would do it. If there was a test, I could not care less. We went over it in class like a billion times already.

But that didn't do any good for my GPA. And if you are a student like I was, it's not doing good for your GPA either. 

So what can you do to get rid of this passive curse? First of all, actually pay attention in class. Take really good notes if your attention span is smaller than a millimeter. It all starts here, in the classroom. Scholarships, job offers, and everything else will naturally be drawn to you from there.

When you get back home from school, review your notes, and try to remember everything you did that day in school. If you are in an AP course, this is especially important. If you don't review the stuff you did in school, you won't remember it when it's the day of the AP test.

Taking notes and reviewing them when you get home is alright, but what's the use of learning the things you learned if you can't use it? This is why you have to do your homework. Homework not only helps you apply what you learned, but it also functions as a way for you to remember the day's lesson.

Whenever you find a way to get extra credit, do anything to get those extra points. Usually, extra credit pertains to what you learn in school. So by doing extra credit assignments, you not only get a better understanding of whatever subject it is, but you also get some credit to get your grades to the place college wants them to be.

And finally, study a lot for your tests. If you are a freshman fresh out of eighth grade, let me tell you something. High school is hard. You can't just get by like you did in middle school. In high school, you have to study hard for your tests. If you haven't experienced a high school test yet, remember this. You should put a lot of effort into studying for your tests. Make sure you understand everything on the test. If your teacher gives you a study guide for a test, fill it out, and actually study it. It's probably going to be the last study guide you will get.

If you don't get a study guide, make your own. Use flash cards to remember important terms, phrases, or theorums. If you are going to have a test over a book, outline the main points of each chapter, and look for study guides for these books from online sources, like Sparknotes, or Gradesaver. If you don't have internet, use Cliffnotes. If you don't have access to those either, just read the book all over again. But this time, highlight all the small details and make questions from those. Teachers will give you questions from even the tiniest details in the book.

Overall, it's going to take some time transitioning into an active student, but when you do, you will reap a lot of benefits for time to come.

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