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School is filled with distractions, from your friends to sports and parties, and once you get to college no one will call your parents if you skip class. But try to make academics your priority. You won’t be an honors student if you are chronically absent. You cannot excel if you aren't there to learn and discuss the material.  Many honors courses have additional requirements, such as class participation or class discussion. If you miss class, you miss out on this part of your grade. A good circle of friends or study partners can hold you accountable. Consider making a deal with your study-buddies to keep each other in class. Schools usually have resources available to help you reach your highest potential. You just have to ask. It should be possible to find a study group, for example, and some schools even have special centers for tutoring in subjects like math. Be aware of what's available.  Talk with your teacher if you're having difficulty, or you'd just like to understand a topic more clearly. As long as it's not an hour before the test, most teachers are happy to answer your questions. Join a peer tutoring program if you need more intensive one-on-one help. Peer tutors know their stuff -- you have to do well in a subject in order to become one. They can guide you through assignments and major concepts, build up your base of knowledge, or help you prepare for an upcoming exam. Don't despair if your school doesn't offer these resources. It's always possible to form your own study circle. But be careful if your study circle consists only of close friends. Minimize your distractions and remember to hit those books! You forget 47% of the information you encounter within twenty minutes. You forget 68% in a day.Take good notes for every subject in order to remember what you’ve covered in reading and lectures for later review.  Taking notes is an art form. It will take you some time to learn how to listen and read effectively and identify the most important things. Oftentimes school writing centers offer students tips for this.  How you take notes – whether by computer or hand – is up to you. Studies suggest that taking notes by hand is better for comprehension and recall, though. Some (but not all) teachers are also fine with students recording them in class. Just make sure to ask for their permission beforehand. Many honor students like using the Cornell method, which involves taking notes during class and then later returning to them to review and condense. This method is great for courses that cover clearly-defined subjects, such as math, science, and history. It is less useful for more abstract courses that focus less on memorization and recall, such as a discussion-heavy literature course. Whether essays, lab reports, or problem sets, assignments will usually make up a big part of your total grade in a course. Missing just one might mean a reduction in your final mark. It might mean more. It can be the difference between a final B+ and an A.  There are also reasons to do your homework besides just the grades. Studies have shown that completing your homework is linked to higher achievement and to the development of skills like time management, responsibility, and good study habits.  Turn in your assignments early when possible. If your paper is due online at midnight, it's practically a guarantee that there will be a dozen students trying to upload it at 11:59, which could cause system crashes. Do your assignments as soon as possible, and definitely turn them in early when you can.  A strong history of turning in your assignments on time also makes teachers more likely to be flexible if you have a genuine emergency. If you've only turned in a third of your homework to start with, though, your teacher is unlikely to be impressed by your excellent excuse for not doing it this time. While it's usually a good thing to study with classmates, there can be a thin line between cooperating and cheating. Your teachers will expect you to hand in your own work. If you aren't clear on what's acceptable, talk with your teacher beforehand.  Be especially careful when it comes to homework assignments. Unless it's a group project, it may be inappropriate to do an assignment with others. Never plagiarize. Using another person's answers, or copying words from a book or website into an essay, are forms of plagiarism and academically dishonest. Plagiarism can cause you to fail an assignment or course or even get you expelled. Being an honor student probably means hitting the books more than your peers. Review your lessons and notes at home or before class. Review with friends or alone. Review while on the bus or watching TV. You can also try as much as possible to read ahead, as this will help you to ask reasonable questions and allow you to understand new topics more easily.  Try bringing flashcards with you on the bus or public transit. You can review them while you're riding to school, or even while you're standing in line at the store. By reviewing your material in smaller chunks frequently, you're more likely to commit it to long-term memory. Many students seem to believe that they're great multitaskers. However, many studies show that multitasking, or trying to focus on several tasks at the same time, simply doesn't work. You just end up spreading your attention out thinly over several areas, rather than focusing it on one. So put the cell phone away, log off social media, and turn off the TV while you're studying. This works the other way around, too. Even the most dedicated honor student needs time to decompress and relax, or you'll burn out. Schedule in some dedicated "me time" and keep it faithfully. If you're on a half-hour break, try not to think about homework.
Go to class. Get help from others. Take good notes in class. Do your assignments. Be honest about your work. Study often and early. Forget trying to multitask.