You CAN Earn Better Grades

Hey you.

I’m talking to you.

Are you struggling to earn the grades you want?

If so, you are not alone.

But here’s the good news:

You CAN Earn Better Grades.

You might be like, “What?”

Yes, you can.

Many people, including myself, figured out ways to get out of our academic struggles even though we had setbacks.

You might be facing a setback that you think is impossible to overcome.

With very limited exceptions, I’m here to tell you that you can overcome these setbacks. I am one of those examples.

Here’s my story.

I Struggled Myself

I remember being a not-so-good student.

Back in elementary and middle school, I would earn Cs in my classes. I remember earning straight Cs in 1st grade. 

Not a good track for success if you ask me, right?

I remember 6th grade being what I’d like to call “C-Palooza!”

I earned C’s for a good number of my classes. As a result, this set me back in what I could do in high school.

On top of this, the classes I earned C’s in were “regular” classes.

Basically, it was a school for dummies.

And to make matters worse, I was (and still am) autistic.

It impaired my learning skills to the point where I am slower than most folks at comprehending things. It made my situation even more difficult. 

I did not think about excelling in my classes at all.

I just went to school, did what I was told without thinking beyond doing the bare minimum, and called it a day.

As you can see, I was going down the wrong path.

But then, something changed.

I remember being in 6th grade when I REALLY wanted to win awards they were giving out, and I was SO jealous of those who were winning the awards. I felt in my mind “I have to stack up against them.”

So, I changed my approach from just going along with the motions to “How can I get my performance to the point where I can win one of those awards?”

And from that day onward, my mind started to shift in the right direction (even though it was for the wrong reason).

You CAN Make a Choice To Change

In 7th grade, I primarily earned Bs and As in my classes. This was a noticeable improvement from prior years, and it motivated me to want to keep improving.

In 8th grade, I finally got out of regular classes, and I started taking “Advanced” classes for the first time.

From what I recall, I did “so-so” in those classes, but at least I got a taste of what I could do. In one of the classes, I got the highest grade in the class for the quarter where I could be the first person to pick my seat. That was encouraging to hear.

Then came high school. I was placed in all honors classes for my core classes, and I don’t recall earning a C in a single quarter in 9th grade. That was an improvement.

Then came 10th grade. That’s where I would say I “blew up.”

I earned my first straight A quarter since 5th grade. I felt very happy inside from where I had come from.

In 11th grade, I got into AP classes for the first time.

I earned 5 As and only 1 B that year. The only B was in AP English Language and Composition. English was my weakest subject, and I had a pretty bad teacher. I passed both AP Exams I took that year. I earned a 3 in AP English and a 4 in AP US History.

Not bad for a first-timer.

In 12th grade, I kicked it up a notch with the AP classes. I took 5 of them and I performed relatively well compared to most folks in my classes.

I earned As and Bs in my classes, with a few Cs thrown in a few quarters.

On the AP Exams, while I earned a 2 on AP English Literature and Composition (oh well), I earned a 3 in AP Art History and AP Macroeconomics, and I earned 4s on the AP United States Government and Politics and AP Psychology exams.

Because of this, I earned the distinction of being an AP Scholar with Honor.

These aren’t accomplishments worth bragging about, but what matters was that there was progressive improvement of my performance because of me shifting my focus to doing as well academically as possible.

And then came college.

At first, my approach to math was “I am just going to get Bs in math because only those born smart get As in math.”

Boy was I wrong!

I was of this mentality during my first semester of college where I got a B in Precalculus.

I didn’t even crack open the textbook or YouTube!

No wonder I received such a disappointing grade (hence a tip, use ALL of the resources you can to earn the best grades possible)!

But then, I made a switch mentally to “How can I earn great grades in math classes?”

And I did.

I earned As in the rest of the math classes I took all the way up to Differential Equations and Calculus 3.

I had the same limiting mindset problem when I took Physics for the first time. I was like “Physics is for smart people. I wasn’t born smart. Hence, I’m already counting out the possibility of earning an A.”

I was wrong again. I unnecessarily earned a B+ all because of this. I could’ve read the textbook and/or watched YouTube videos, and I would’ve earned an A.

Then, when I took a similar class to Physics 1 later in my engineering curriculum (Dynamics), everyone was saying that it was a hard class and that everyone fails it, especially with the professor I took it with.

I ignored those preconceived notions this time around, and I listened to the BEST academic advisor ever when she said that I would do great. 

I read the book, and I watched as many YouTube videos as I needed to master the concepts involved with the class.

The result?

I earned an A in the class without a curve.

It was very gratifying to see this.

I eventually kept up performances like this all the way to the end of my undergraduate degree program where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, with Magna Cum Laude honors and a 3.77 GPA.

The worst GPA I received during a semester in my last 2 years in college was a 3.85.

Many of my classmates had admired my performance, stating things like they were extremely impressed with the fact that I am able to master the concepts associated with the classes that they would have to study together to figure out.

There were even some 4.0 GPA semesters thrown into my undergraduate career, including the last semester to end things with a bang.

I am cited as someone with an exceptional memory and a superb ability to recall information.

But, I did not develop these skills and results by accident.

It all started with a belief that I could do these things. I also had, and still have, a genuine desire to progressively improve each and every day. 

As you can see, it was a progressive improvement. It wasn’t overnight.

But, improving your grades like I did can come from taking several small steps that over time, build themselves up to be greater than you could ever imagine possible.

It starts with the following first step in mind (after a prerequisite I’d like for you to do before moving on to the next section):

Believe In Yourself

You have to believe that you can be successful at whatever you put your mind to, even if it’s earning great grades.

Without this self-belief, there is no way you will earn great grades.

I didn’t believe in myself early on in elementary and middle school. Heck, I didn’t believe in myself when I was in college for certain classes.

But, when I started believing that I could do the things I set out to do, I earned better grades and, in some cases, the best grades.

Why?

Because I put my mind to it.

I put my mind to believing in the reality of earning the best grades possible, and I thought I could do it.

Granted, there was a professor on YouTube who taught me how to learn that completely changed my academic future. Without him, my grades wouldn’t have been possible. 

Nonetheless, I believed that I could do it.

Have you ever heard the chant “I believe that we will win?”

It’s a powerful chant.

This chant is a reflection of not just your mind, but your heart believing in your cause and what you want to accomplish and that you CAN earn the grades you want.

It starts with this.

If you don’t believe in yourself, then the world will not believe in you.

Hence, the universe will set up your circumstances so that you don’t earn the grades you want.

You don’t want that, don’t you?

Hence, believe that you will earn great grades and be able to accomplish whatever goal you’d like to accomplish.

Next, you’d want to find out what it is you’d like to accomplish.

What is it that will motivate you to earn great grades?

What is something you can’t live without?

Write it down.

That will make you go CRAZY about earning great grades!

It’ll get you through those times when you are stuck on a problem and you feel like throwing in the towel.

It’ll push you to keep going.

From there, you have to follow your gut at all times (which is something I can teach you how to do if you subscribe to this website).

And once you do these things, you’ll be well on your way towards achieving the grades you want and getting the career you want because of them!

I encourage you to go do these 3 things following this post:

1. Have belief in yourself that you can earn better grades;
2. Find what you are obsessed with; and
3. Follow your gut at ALL times.

I used to suck at studying. And then I became a rockstar.

You can do it.

Don’t let anyone (including yourself) tell you otherwise.

If you enjoyed this post (and you want to learn how to follow your gut), subscribe to this website below with your name and email. 

After you fill in the form, you will receive a free guide called “7 Effective Study Techniques To Help You Earn The Grades You Want” which goes over 7 study techniques that I’ve used and are backed by research to help you earn the best grades possible.

Go get the grades you desire.

They are there for the taking if you work for them.

Good luck, and may the force be with you,

Evan