I've got about 2 weeks of break. If I do things right, I might get a prestigious 4.0 GPA. I have B grades! 85%? Not going to cut it- I need to get down to business. I can't waste this opportunity! Any advice? (Do not tell me to not study at all. That would be a waste.) I mean, I'm the guy who's already used up roughly 18 dollars on TF2 items. (And 2 dollars on Surgeon Simulator.) It's only been a day since I got my gift cards. (In my defense, it's the winter sale...)
First, are you positive that you will have the time to make up that five percent? I know many schools only have a few more weeks after winter break before their semesters end. Second, what subject is the class in? That can drastically change how one would go about studying.
Simple: when you're bored of games, study (Yes, even if you're bored of games but not bored enough to study). When you're bored of studying, play games or do something else (Chores, hang out with friends, and so on). It's much more than what most do (I.e. most do not study during break at all). It'll take willpower, certainly, to push yourself to study, even when you do not want to, but sometimes that's really the sole issue, and there's no real workaround. Maybe you could also reward yourself for studying in various ways. EDIT: Er, what percent do you need to get an A? For some courses it's 80%, and for some it's 86%... and for some it's 90%. When I first wrote this post, I was under the assumption you only needed 1% more. Gen's right in that it'd also depend on what course it is. More info couldn't hurt. But besides that, I do urge you to make the most of your break and recharge and refresh yourself. It cannot hurt to get some relaxation even if you do study every now and then.
I was really confused about why you needed to study and then I remembered that second semester of high school starts part way through January, because the semesters are 18 weeks instead of 15. I have been in college and grad school for too long. The semesters end at beginning of Christmas break and when we go back it is a brand new semester or shortened term, then semester, like at my undergrad college. Three week long intensive semester. Same class 3hrs long, five days a week, a 15 week semester crammed into 3 weeks. I would say, study for about 30 minutes, take a break and study for another 20/30 minutes. Since you have a few weeks you can break your studying up in to sections, which can be helpful.
The second semester begins on the 26th of January. The classes are English and Geometry (9th grade level). I have a B+ in Chinese, but I can handle that one. Finals are a week before The End. I've heard final exams can really make or break a grade. The teacher posted this stuff on the board early. The English final is comprised of an essay on Romeo and Juliet and a test on 100 things. (!!!) (50 root words, and 50 literary terms.) A- is sufficient by my standards. About... 89% or so. In Geometry, I have 2 homework passes that can be redeemed at the end of the semester for a little bit of a boost. Too risky to rely on them alone, though, even if I resorted to unscrupulous methods ("Hey, man, I'll do your science homework for the rest of the year if you give me all your homework passes!")
The root words and literary terms scream memorization. I suggest making index cards as a study tool. Write the root on one side and the meaning of the root on the other. Same thing can be done for the literary terms. To make sure you know the information, study both ways. That is, given the definition, state the root and vice-versa. By doing this, you are prepared in the event that your final requires writing a definition and/or matching it. For geometry, look at all the exams, quizzes, and assignments from the semester. Anything that you got wrong is something to work on. Look over the concept and do practice problems for it from the textbook. You can look online for extra problems if you feel like practicing more. I'm really paranoid though, so for any course that requires practicing, I do almost all problems - even ones tied to concepts that I already understand - just to make sure.
