Some thoughts from the graduated who had similar problems:
When you like a class, don't be afraid to spend time on it. You liked Stars, Galaxies and the Universe, right? So take the follow-up class (Stellar Astrophysics, I think) and blow it away. It'll be more challenging since there's more math, but you can handle it. Just let it be fun and the work to get an A will be nothing. Liking the material in a class is rare, so don't throw away your chance to get an "easy" [1] A.
When you DON'T like a class, don't panic. Get into an easy groove with it -- study each night for a little bit if you can. Even going once a week and reading/taking notes on the material at the library [2] will make you a master of the material. Once you have that, it's a matter of attending class to make sure you know what the professor wants you to know. After that, you're set.
The key is getting into the pattern and not letting it slide when other things come up. Reserve ALL your weekday nights for studying of one sort or another (Wednesdays are probably a shorter night, for obvious reasons). Don't wait until the last minute to study! You probably can pull a B or a C with that strategy, but you'll hate yourself at the end of the semester.
As for the attitude thing, that is the base cause of this, but don't get hung up on fixing attitude and forget what really creates good grades -- studying. Yeah, it's work, but if you resign yourself to actually doing it rather than succumbing to distraction, you'll succeed anyway. In short, don't lose the forest for the trees. =)
[1] Where easy means perceptibly easy rather than absolutely easy. [2] Go upstairs to the individual study cubicles. You won't get disturbed for hours -- it's so much better than trying to study at the house or in a dorm.
When you like a class, don't be afraid to spend time on it. You liked Stars, Galaxies and the Universe, right? So take the follow-up class (Stellar Astrophysics, I think) and blow it away. It'll be more challenging since there's more math, but you can handle it. Just let it be fun and the work to get an A will be nothing. Liking the material in a class is rare, so don't throw away your chance to get an "easy" [1] A.
When you DON'T like a class, don't panic. Get into an easy groove with it -- study each night for a little bit if you can. Even going once a week and reading/taking notes on the material at the library [2] will make you a master of the material. Once you have that, it's a matter of attending class to make sure you know what the professor wants you to know. After that, you're set.
The key is getting into the pattern and not letting it slide when other things come up. Reserve ALL your weekday nights for studying of one sort or another (Wednesdays are probably a shorter night, for obvious reasons). Don't wait until the last minute to study! You probably can pull a B or a C with that strategy, but you'll hate yourself at the end of the semester.
As for the attitude thing, that is the base cause of this, but don't get hung up on fixing attitude and forget what really creates good grades -- studying. Yeah, it's work, but if you resign yourself to actually doing it rather than succumbing to distraction, you'll succeed anyway. In short, don't lose the forest for the trees. =)
[1] Where easy means perceptibly easy rather than absolutely easy.
[2] Go upstairs to the individual study cubicles. You won't get disturbed for hours -- it's so much better than trying to study at the house or in a dorm.
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