Obtaining first class degrees in the tertiary institutions is not an easy task. It takes a whole lot of factors both within and without your reach as an individual. Despite the presence of many causal factors, many undergraduates achieved first class in the school. So, it is definitely not impossible. That being the case, it is necessary to show you how to make a first class degree in the tertiary institutions, provided you want to pay the price.
The craze and the honour given to first class are not surprising. Many firms and organisations give immediate employment to first class degree holders while many others are retained by their schools for employment. This explains why everyone wants to achieve a first class. If you are among them (who wouldn’t be?), permit us to show you how to make a first class degree in the tertiary institution.
Page Table of Contents
How To Make A First Class Degree
Be Self Confident: The first foundation to achieving a first class is to believe you can do it. Despite the seeming difficulties around, if you believe you can’t, well you can’t. Where there is a will, there is a way. Have you not heard students who do not believe that they can write exams alone? They always want to depend on others. If you belong to this group, first class is not for you. So, you must have the “I-Can-Do-It” mentality. Trust and believe in yourself and see yourself doing the impossible.
Time Management: As an undergraduate, there are many things that demands your attention rightly or wrongly. A first class prospect must be adept at time management. Such one must be able to allocate time to needful activities as well as balancing academic, religious and social commitments. The student must also know when to read and commit to the time. One major one of achieving effective time management entails having a reading time-table that must be well planned. This will help you to manage your time well.
Read: Top Scholarships For Nigeria Undergraduates
Have A Reading And Discussion Group: First class students have something in common: they all had reading and discussion groups. Reading groups often encourage you to read even when you are not willing to. They encourage ad motivate you to read. On the other hand, discussion groups helps in the cross-pollination of ideas. Most often, they point out to you facts you had ignored or overlooked. Even before most exams, reading and discussion groups gather to cross-examine themselves, testing their understanding of the given topics. So, have an academic-oriented discussion and reading groups.
Be Hard Working: It takes more than attending lectures to make first class. it’s the hours you put in outside of class and lectures that really matter. Read through your course handbook carefully, and you’re likely to find that the number of hours you’re expected to put in each week are pretty high. To attend lectures is very good. But, you must be extensive to engage in researches, after-class reading, night class reading (if it works for you,) and a whole lot of other things. Be ready to go the extra mile. A student gunning for first class must read at least 4hrs daily. That is the sacrifice it takes.
Also Read: Why Must I Apply For Scholarships
Focus And Determination: Students who manage to achieve a first tend to be those who have a genuine desire to do the best they can consistently throughout the year, not just nail the occasional top grade and hope these will pull up a few bare passes. In essence, achieving a first class demands your knowing what you want and going all out for it. Avoid the numerous distractions on campus and focus on achieving your desired end.
Improve Your Spelling And Writing Skills: Obviously, many students fail below required first class grade partly because of wrong spellings and poor writing. If you seek first class, then you must look it. Learn spellings and have them as your companion. Most times, a student writes well, but the lecturer has difficulty in reading what is written because of poor hand-writing skills. Improve your writing skills so your work can be easily read and understood. Improve your punctuation and grammatical skills and you are on your way to first class.
Read Before And After Lectures: You must cultivate the habit of reading before and after lectures. Reading before lectures prepares you for the class. It introduces you to the topic of the day. While reading before lectures, areas which were unclear to you should be ear-marked. If the lecture fails to handle that area during the class, you can now ask it as a question. Lecturers love students who ask intelligent questions. They love those opportunities to expose their in-depth knowledge in the given course. Reading after lectures helps to deepen your knowledge of the lesson. It also gives you another opportunity to have a clear understanding than when you read it before the lecture.
Also See: How To Register A School In Nigeria
Be Prayerful: As we pointed out earlier, there are many factors beyond the control of a student. Prayer is essential if you must succeed as a student. Some lecturers are plainly wicked and would to want to see some students do well. Being prayerful grants you favour before such lecturers. It could also help prevent the issue of missing scripts and other challenges beyond the reach of the student.
Achieving first class is not impossible. It just requires you going the extra mile. Those extra miles have been outlined in the How To Make First A Class Degree. The choice is yours to follow these outlined steps and achieve success or to do it “anyhow”. Goodluck!!!
Leave a Reply