My Journey From Average to Class Topper

Hey juniors, here are some of my tricks and tips to improve your college CGPA and become a class topper, along with my experience of achieving the highest CGPA and becoming the class topper.

Now, after COVID, all colleges have shifted back to offline mode. However, when I was admission to Vidya Vikas Pratishthan Institute Of Engineering & Technology, COVID-19 was still prevalent, so our first interactions with the faculty and colleagues were conducted online. when it was my first online lecture I was very excited and I stole all my laptop and the make book for each subject and brought a water bottle with me it was quite weird but I was very excited to join the online lecture and my college’s first class.

Now, the first lecture is conducted as an introduction, and from the second day onward, regular lectures follow the scheduled timetable. In my daily routine, I attend all lectures without skipping any, complete all assignments and tasks, and make short notes. Being at home for online lectures is comfortable for me.

For those taking online courses or using learning platforms, here are some key points to highlight:

1. Attend all live lectures.
2. Don’t miss any assignments or project deadlines.
3. Maintain your notebook.
4. Make short notes.
5. Don’t hesitate to ask questions to faculty during online lectures.

As for my habits, I always complete my work before deadlines and follow schedules diligently. I maintain my notebook and make short notes, which are helpful during examinations. I’m proactive in asking questions to faculty whenever I have queries, and I’m always eager to learn something new, not just for exams. These habits have greatly enhanced my academic growth.

Here’s a summarized list of my good habits:

• I Attend all online lectures.
• I Maintain a notebook during live lectures.
• I always make short notes.
• Ask questions when I have queries.
• I Complete all my assignments before going to bed.

Now that COVID is taking a break, colleges have shifted to offline mode. Now, here is the big challenge for me as I am an introverted person. It’s challenging for me to ask questions to faculty and have conversations with colleagues. During the time of COVID, there were tests and online exams where I achieved the highest marks, resulting in my name being displayed in our college groups. I received appreciation from the faculty and earned the tag of class topper. Now, it’s my first offline lecture, and I don’t even know where the class is. I entered the college and searched for my class. After searching for a while, I found it and asked my classmate, ‘Is this the computer science class?’ After confirming, I entered the class and sat in the first row.

After some time, my friend came and sat with me. It was a very awkward situation for me because it was the first time I had a combined class of boys and girls. Before that, I attended an all-girls school, so I wasn’t very comfortable with mixed-gender classes. However, after the lectures started, I forgot all about it and immersed myself in learning.

When it was the first day of class, everyone was asking me, ‘Are you the class topper?'” and everyone started being friendly with me. It was a good day for me. From the next day, I regularly joined the class and focused on completing my assignments. Now, it was difficult for me to spend the entire day at college and then come home to complete assignments, but I did it all with dedication. From the very first day, teachers were very supportive of me, perhaps because I am a topper and consistently complete all the assigned work and participate actively in class.

Do’s:

• Attend regular classes.
• Complete assignments before the deadlines.
• Attend all practical sessions.
• Never miss making short notes.
• Always revise the topics covered in class at the end of the day.

Many students skip the weekly and unit tests, but even if I’m not fully prepared, I always attend them. Tests help prepare you for the final exams and also improve your internal marks. There are some subjects in which you need to excel or be well-prepared for the long term, not just for exams, because they also help you during any interview process.

1. Engineering Mathematics
2. Discrete Mathematics
3. Computer Architecture and Organization
4. Data Structures & Algorithms
5. Operating Systems
6. Theory of Computation & Compiler Designing
7. Software Engineering
8. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), C, Java Programming Languages

These are indeed crucial subjects that can benefit you not only for exams but also for your long-term understanding and career prospects in the field of computer science and engineering.

How to study:

Improving grades doesn’t happen overnight; it requires dividing and preparing subjects and concepts. Here are some effective study strategies:

1. Always strive to prepare for weekly tests. These tests cover small portions of your syllabus. When you’re prepared for these smaller concepts, it makes it easier to study for the final exams.
2. Avoid focusing solely on exam preparation. Instead, aim to understand the concepts thoroughly.
3. Create your notes, short notes, or notebooks to aid in understanding and retention.

I’ve noticed many classmates asking me for notes before exams, and they solely rely on digital copies of my notes for preparation. The issue with this approach is that you may not fully grasp the concepts clearly, and you end up studying just for the exam. Handwritten notes, on the other hand, make concepts more recognizable.

Here are some Don’ts:

1. Don’t solely rely on digital notes for studying.
2. Don’t skip any weekly test
3. Don’t overlook the importance of understanding concepts thoroughly.
4. Don’t limit your study approach to preparing just for exams.
5. Don’t underestimate the value of handwritten notes in solidifying your understanding.

Now, one of my favourite tips and tricks for exams are:

• I always write my short notes before the exams.
• I never skip any diagrams.
• I always aim to cover the entire subject syllabus.
• I refer to many sites for answers that are more understandable to me.
• I try to clarify concepts clearly without just copying answers from Google. Instead, I modify them in my way.

Now, I’ve noticed many of my classmates are simply referring to my notes without covering the entire subject syllabus. They rely solely on previous question papers and their assumptions to select what they believe are important questions. Consequently, they prepare only these selected questions without thoroughly covering the entire syllabus. They often approach me to inquire about the importance of specific questions.

1. Never mix concepts from different subjects while preparing for exams.
2. Always aim to cover the entire syllabus of a subject; avoid selecting specific questions only.
3. If you’re short on time to cover all subjects’ syllabi, prioritize and select one subject to cover thoroughly.
4. If time constraints prevent you from covering an entire subject, focus on mastering one full topic within that subject.
5. Avoid selective questioning on topics; strive to understand and cover all aspects of a topic.

Here are the tips, tricks, and my study approach that helped me become the topper of the class. You can try using this approach to achieve the previous tag of the class topper. All the best!