5 Methods on How to Get Your GPA Up in High School

If you’re concerned about your opportunities in life as a high school student, now is the time to start thinking about how to get your GPA up. In simple terms, this is the average of every grade you’ve earned across all the courses you’ve participated in (there are weighted and unweighted GPA scores, but we will cover this in a short while). To you, it may be just a number, but the fact of the matter is that your entire academic and professional future may depend on it.

In other words, depending on how you perform, it can either open or close the doors to your future and opportunities in life. In fact, if you manage to get your GPA up to 3.5 or higher (a number that is considered to be high), it can even help you secure a scholarship that will provide a nice financial boost to your student years.

Therefore, you should pay attention to maintaining a high GPA by staying organized, developing effective study habits and other ways we’re about to show you.

Understanding GPA – how does it translate to grades?

GPA stands for “Grade Point Average”. Your GPA is a number between 1 and 4 (with 1 being the lowest and 4 being the highest). Every course you attend in high school impacts your GPA.

This is generally true for unweighted GPA scores that are calculated based on the raw grade average without taking into account the difficulty of the course.

Understanding weighted vs. unweighted GPA

Wondering how come there is such a system in place, considering that not all high school courses are created equal when it comes to their difficulty? This is where weighted GPA scores come in.

In layman’s terms, a weighted GPA scoring system means that your grade in the higher-difficulty courses will have more of an impact on your GPA, whereas your grade in the lower-difficulty courses won’t matter as much.

Since this can be complicated, many students use a GPA calculator to help them make sense of it and put things into perspective.

Different schools may use different scales for calculating GPA

The 4.0 scale described above is what most high schools use for calculating GPA. However, keep in mind that different schools may use an entirely different system such as a 100-point scale or a 6-point scale.

Therefore, when calculating GPA, you should always take into consideration not only your school’s approach but also consider how the college you’re considering applying to chooses to approach the matter.

Does all of this sound too confusing? We get you!

Our tutoring services at Novel Prep have been designed to demystify the process, so if you’re still struggling to make sense of your GPA, feel free to get in touch and we would love to extend a helping hand!

With this out of the way, here are some proven ways to get your GPA up.

These strategies have been updated to take the latest academic developments into account and we’ve proposed them specifically with the needs of high school students in mind:

1. Develop a study routine

Your time is your most precious resource, and you need to learn how to leverage it properly if you want to succeed in an academic environment. By learning how to study efficiently is how you make the most of your time. To do that, it’s best to have a solid system in place, so start working on developing a study routine.

This doesn’t necessarily involve spending several hours behind your desk, alone, with no support. You could do that if that’s what suits you (and every single individual is different in this regard), but why not consider working with Novel Prep’s tutors?

Alternatively, there’s also the option of taking our AP courses that will help get you on the right track, either through live video courses or via in-person support if you wish to join one of our study labs at our tutoring center to connect with other mentors and students.

At any rate, the goal is to develop a habit.

Do you know how every time you wake up, you automatically go brush your teeth without really giving it too much thought? That’s the goal we’re trying to achieve with your studying. You could even use an app, a calendar, or another reminder if you so prefer.

For any of that to work, however, it’s essential to set aside the necessary time. This one is up to you to find an answer to – the solution may involve pushing aside some non-essential tasks that don’t contribute to your academic progress.

Just don’t make the mistake of trying to cram everything into a single overnight study session, because it simply doesn’t work. Not only is it too much material to process in too little time, it also doesn’t allow your brain to commit what you’ve learned to long-term memory by allowing yourself a good night’s rest.

2. Do a deep-dive to determine where you stand before setting concrete goals

Before you can even start thinking in terms of setting study goals, the first step is to evaluate your current level of academic progress.

Ask yourself, what are your strong and weak points?

Do you think it’s better to work on your strengths to increase the chances of securing the top grade in that class or do you believe it’s better to focus on sealing the gaps in your knowledge? For those with a knack for introspection, this could be a fun little exercise. For all the rest, there are Novel Prep tutors that can help evaluate your skills and prepare a customized action plan for learning!

To give you a concrete example, let’s say you’ve identified calculus as an area you’re struggling with academically. Instead of saying “I need to get better at it”, ask yourself the following:

“What are the concrete steps I need to take to get to my desired level of competence?”

And, after that:

“How do I know what to start working on first?”

Our tutors will gladly answer that question for you based on their experience of having successfully helped thousands of high school students just like you. As any Novel Prep tutor will tell you, the best way to move forward is to set measurable and actionable goals.

These also need to be realistic and attainable, otherwise, it’s simply not going to work. For instance, getting from a C to an A grade in a subject might not be realistic in 2 weeks, but getting a 10% increase in your grade certainly is.

3. Focus on weighted subjects

Remember how certain high school courses naturally make for a greater contribution towards your GPA due to their inherent difficulty? If you want to make the most of your time, this is what you should be pouring your focus into. And the good news is, there are advanced AP courses for credits available, so there’s no need to tackle this alone.

To illustrate the point, we’ll give you another example.

Let’s say you have some time to invest and you have a realistic goal of bumping up that C grade to a B. If one of the weighted subjects like Math or English happens to be your weak spot, perhaps it would make sense to focus on it before everything else, simply because it gives you the greatest return on your investment.

Then again, you should also keep in mind that college officials generally prefer to see a higher grade in one of the lower-level courses compared to a lower grade in an advanced course. It all comes down to your unique circumstances and the ability to identify areas of improvement in conjunction with the time you have available and other leverage you might have (weighted courses, to name one example).

Sounds complicated?

We will guide you toward your academic success here!

4. Don’t skip classes

Telling somebody to not skip classes might sound like a broken record, but let us explain why this is good advice. It’s actually backed by science!

As concluded by a NYU study, showing up in class statistically makes you more likely to succeed. There are several reasons for this. First of all, when class is in session, most teachers allow their students to ask questions to get further clarification on something. This is much better compared to stumbling on a roadblock when you’re studying alone, not knowing how to progress.

Of course, there are Novel Prep tutors available you could ask, but ideally, you should aim to get things right from the very beginning if possible (this way, there will be less work needed later).

It’s just comforting to know that, if you were unable to attend classes due to external factors like illness, it’s not the end of the world and there are always ways to get back on track with your studies. In addition, some students are naturally more shy and might not be comfortable with the idea of speaking up in class. In cases like these, opting for tutoring services, or at the very least joining a group studying session, may even be preferable.

5. Attend credit courses

If you’ve attempted everything listed above and still aren’t seeing the desired results, don’t throw in the towel quite yet!

The truth of the matter is, that everyone learns at a different pace and has different learning styles. Whether you’re currently performing poorly or simply aren’t meeting your academic goals, your GPA can always be improved by taking credit courses from tutoring service providers like Novel Prep.

Among the clear benefits are:

• Almost guarantee your chances of improving your GPA: In fact, Novel Prep’s methodology can get your GPA up to an A grade in 92 % of cases (that’s a proven track record). Most of you are here for this reason primarily and now, there’s almost a surefire path to your academic success!
• Demonstrate your willingness to excel in an academic environment: Your grade is the only thing that college officials check when screening a candidate. The not-so-secret secret is that your character plays a substantial role as well. In other words, they’re looking for students who demonstrate their willingness to persevere and find a way in the face of adversity, so if you’re willing to go the extra mile, you could consider checking AP Capstone and take a course in addition to your regular AP Credit course.
• AP courses teach you real-life skills. While true that the main focus is on boosting your GPA, you will also learn real-life cross-discipline skills such as critical thinking, constructive analysis, and independent research. Once developed, these skills stay with you for life, even when your high school years are long behind you.
• Peace of mind. Falling behind in school can put a mental toll on you, and knowing that certified tutors always have your back can be a monumental form of support, even if you don’t realize it at first. No longer will you have to fret about not making it to that crucial lesson, as all the gaps in your knowledge can be filled by those trained and experienced to recognize them.
• Collect enough points to enter your desired college. Ideally, in life, you want to be learning about something that aligns with your personal and/or professional interests. Novel Prep’s High school courses for credits are designed to help you get more credits to get there as well as raise your overall GPA.
• Head-start your college progress. In fact, you can even prepare for college in advance by enrolling in dual credit courses that let you earn credits that not only count for high school graduation requirements but are also transferable to most US colleges. Plus, when it comes to weighted GPA, dual credit courses always have a higher impact.

Conclusion

Knowing how to get your GPA up is crucial to securing your academic and professional future. Typically, most US colleges have a tendency to look for candidates with a GPA of 3.5 or above, and the more high-end college you’re aiming for, the stricter these requirements can get.

Maintaining a high GPA all throughout your high school years signals to your future college and potential employer that you’re willing to commit to a goal and aren’t afraid of a challenge. A poor GPA, on the other hand, can close many doors that would otherwise be open to you.

So why take that risk? Get in touch with Novel Prep’s certified tutors and let’s figure out how we can get you on the path to academic success!