10 HELPFUL TIPS TO MAKING FIRST CLASS DEGREE IN THE UNIVERSITY
I first wrote this article for 10 Minutes With, a global education and career matchmaking platform with Headquarters in the United Kingdom.
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One of the most popular questions I get from my younger ones and mentees who are about to or have just gained admission into university is what they have to do to graduate with a first-class degree after their studies.
Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules on how to make this class of degree. What works for one person may not work for another. What works in one institution may not automatically work in another. The principles also differ across courses; for instance, what a Law student needs to do to make excellent grade may be a little different from what an engineering student needs to do.
I am fortunate to have graduated with one, and a good number of my friends also made the degree across different courses of study – from engineering to natural sciences to social sciences. I have also guided a couple of mentees to making decent grades in school. Below are some tips that have proved helpful from my experience, and that of friends and mentees.
1. You need a minimum level of natural brilliance.
You know yourself probably better than others. The first step is to discover your own academic ability. You can have an idea about this by looking at the grades you made in lower levels of education (elementary school, high school, A levels etc). Most times, if you did very well in those stages, you stand a good chance of repeating same – or doing better – in the university. If your performance at those levels was not outstanding, but you know deep inside you that it was below your potential, you can still go ahead to pursue a first-class degree.
2. Do you have interest in the course you want to study or have just been admitted to study?
It must be a course you are comfortable with and passionate about. This keeps the dream of getting a first-class degree going.
3. Look for students in higher levels in your department who are in the first-class bracket.
Make friends with them. Ask for mentorship. Ask them how to go about each course, how they did their own.
4. Develop a positive mindset that you can do it.
Don’t listen to prophets of doom that tell you that you can never get a first-class degree. This is very common in African universities. Please don’t listen to people that instill fears in you.
5. Take your department’s handbook that shows all courses you are to offer from year one to final year.
Write down the courses, set a target of say 4.70 (in a 5 point system) or 3.75 (in a 4-point system) for yourself, and calculate what you need to score in each subject to make the targeted CGPA or GPA. Break it down further into semesters. At the beginning of each semester, set a sub-target.
6. Choose your electives wisely.
At the early years, go for the “quick-win” elective courses even if they’re the least rich. At higher levels, you may begin to rank value of elective over cheapness.
7. Learn the art of taking exams.
Study the course takers. At the beginning of each course, ask your immediate seniors what the lecturer likes. This will give you an idea about how to approach exams.
8. Be an all-rounder.
Don’t say you’re only good in calculation and not theory. You have to learn how to be good in theory too. If it involves cramming, so be it. Being very weak in one aspect can hamper your chance of graduating with a first-class degree.
9. Target being the highest scorer in each course in your class.
At the beginning of every course, set a target to score the highest in the course among your classmates.
10. Bear in mind that a first-class degree will provide you a better employment or scholarship opportunity when you graduate.
The mere knowledge of this will make you want to make sacrifice now so as to enjoy later.
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For my and other global education and career experts’ articles on similar subject, check out 10 MINUTES WITH BLOG. 10 Minutes With is an innovative global career matchmaking platform built for graduates with offices in London, Beijing and Singapore. Partners include established brands and top academic institutions in more than 23 countries and 3 continents.
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