[quote author=destinyy23 post=76921142] Don't mind that nigga. I'm about rounding up my Masters on scholarship, my sponsor couldn't just say No when he saw my grade. I met a guy sometimes last year that finished with a first class from UniLag, got a scholarship, finished his Masters in Engineering with a distinction in the US and finished PhD with 5 points on a 5 point scale. Less than a year after his PhD, he was made an assistant Prof and the guy is currently in money, young fine guy. I wonder why people allow themselves to be brainwashed on how school doesn't pay etc.. If it doesn't pay here in Naija, get a scholarship and move out and see how you've paved ways for yourself[/quote





...

They get all academic materials before the semester even get underway from their seniors and the digest it in advance even before you get to such topics ...they are autolectuers..and prepared for assignment,tests,n exams very seriously from the beginning of the semester as if it next day,they av gud study outline which the obey,HV fun n gud time not over studying,they always PRAY as if everything depend on it not on their effort.

destinyy23:
Don't mind that nigga. I'm about rounding up my Masters on scholarship, my sponsor couldn't just say No when he saw my grade. I met a guy sometimes last year that finished with a first class from UniLag, got a scholarship, finished his Masters in Engineering with a distinction in the US and finished PhD with 5 points on a 5 point scale. Less than a year after his PhD, he was made an assistant Prof and the guy is currently in money, young fine guy. I wonder why people allow themselves to be brainwashed on how school doesn't pay etc.. If it doesn't pay here in Naija, get a scholarship and move out and see how you've paved ways for yourself

Ayodele Dada had 5/5 from Unilag. Few months ago he was announced as a knight-hennessy scholar and was among the two Nigerians who won this prestigious scholarship ( the second guy was from UI). He's currently doinh his PhD at Stanford USA. Curently there are 69 knight-henessy scholars

First class students are persistent, consistent and tenacious. Let me share these:



When I was in 500L, I had a 400L first class student(same dept) in my room. This guy had materials and used them. Beyond that, he went the extra mile to ace his courses. This guy gave me a call during my NYSC to enquire about a course I got an A in (A dey scarce for the course). According to him, he picked that course and wanted me to explain something to him even after I tried to dissuade him as i only 'crashed' the course. He persisted and spent close to an hour on the phone trying to remind me of some essentials on the course that eventually helped me to give him insights on the course. You see his spirit?

During my final year exams, a first class guy just asked me out of the blue if I remembered a term and the mathematical derivative of that but I was surprised cuz I hadn't heard that name before and told him so.....didn't even know which of the questions required such. Lol.

Of course, I am intelligent but these first class guys are really dedicated, diligent, devoted, disciplined and I admire them.

By the way, those guys are working in oil companies and they deserve it.

Durentt:
so getting more past questions would get me a better grade every semester

I say yes because there are many lecturer who can't change the values or parameters in question all because they like to have their jobs easy. That gives the student an edge.

alert01:




Ayodele Dada had 5/5 from Unilag. Few months ago he was announced as a knight-hennessy scholar and was among the two Nigerians who won this prestigious scholarship ( the second guy was from UI). He's currently doinh his PhD at Stanford USA. Curently there are 69 knight-henessy scholars

Nice. Stories like these should motivate people.

femi4:
They are comprehensive in nature, they pay attention to little details. E.g If a lecturer ask for a definition, First class students will give 2-3 definitions. They go extra miles and provide more examples than what was given in class

Sure. They do more research. Thank God for YouTube, PDF files. Download adobe reader in Google playstore.

Internet is a good invention. They are imaginative and creative.

RTSC:
You need to get the right materials and practice the right questions.

You need to study with the right people. Studying with High functioning people like yourself will shorten your learning curve dramatically.

You need to have a First Class brain : Like it or not, it is not everybody that can get a First Class even if you do the above.
It is function of intelligence. Your rate of assimilation need to be outstanding to finish in the top of your class.
And unfortunately, not everybody is fortunate enough to have a First Class brain.
It is a gift, most of the time. It is not necessarily a function of hard work..

So for those who are not privileged to be as mentally aware, their best efforts will probably get them a sharp 2.1 which is good too.

Grace : There are times when you run into trouble academically either in a particular exam or test ,and the consequences would be dire for your CGPA.
But somehow, you just scale through with a B or even a surprising A.

There are lots of first class graduates that of average or slightly-above-average intelligence. Infact Intelligence(IQ) has only about 0.4 correlation with college grades. That explains just 16% of the variance in student grades.
Op, if you want to graduate with 1st class attend lectures, practicals.. Copy notes, course outline.. Get the lecturers material or the textbook(s) he plagiarizes from. Read, practise exercises, do assignments, submit term papers.
Last last eat good food. Don't play with your glucose levels.

They cram the more!

alert01:




Ayodele Dada had 5/5 from Unilag. Few months ago he was announced as a knight-hennessy scholar and was among the two Nigerians who won this prestigious scholarship ( the second guy was from UI). He's currently doinh his PhD at Stanford USA. Curently there are 69 knight-henessy scholars

Hah! Someone said first class doesn't matter. If I hear.

Durentt:
so getting more past questions would get me a better grade every semester

Yes. Study your lecturers and then ask your predecessors about the courses taken by them

Durentt:
I know that already. I'm just asking what first class studentz do different than others.

Disregard that advice, do your best to come out in flying colors. good grades makes job search easier, not everyone is cut-out for business or entrepreunership

REAL007:
They cram the more!

Deceive yourself.

Durentt:
ok thanks. More inputs please

1. They don't procrastinate

2. Most of them have a serious reading partner (this helps alot)

3. They believe there is time for everything and create their own schedules (this includes a reading time table)

4. They choose the right friends ( Even though they have bad guys as friends too but you will hardly see them spend time with them)

5. They are closer to their lecturers.

Deicide:
They crame better

Some people can crame a whole text book and you know how lecturers like that you give them what they give you exact

There're virtually no words to describe my contempt for this "give them word for word" sort of answers for questions. If I understand the concept, why can't I describe it using acceptable terminology?

If I can paraphrase in research and technical writing why pernalize just because I did not use the exact number of words and exactly the same words?

Asking these questions, I see why there's no interest in teaching what we know in languages native to our over 700 ethnic communities to allow for unrestricted knowledge transfer in this country.

No daring spirit to take on nature and conquer our problems... where's the curiousity? that quest for knowledge that initializes the gains it brings which other nations have experienced and still experiencing?

What first class students do differently. They get more As?

theoptimist298:
Here is what i do, i give back to the lecturer verbatim what i was taught, then i also add a last paragraph to my answer where i try to show case my own understanding. People who only try to show case their own understanding without also giving back to the lecturer what they were taught word for word would always be C or D students.

This is one of the sad things about EDUCATION in Nigeria.. "give dem back word for word"
Me and a sch class mate entered sch together.. d same faculty.. I was reading accounting he was reading Bus Admin..Was shocked he put bus admin bkaz wat we heard abt d course was that dy cram textbook nd OC(his name) nor sabi cram(this is someone who in sec sch had his own economics textbook bkaz d one recommended ddnt make sense to him).... After 100lv d guy left to study abroad...so we weren't really in touch like dat... recently on his FB page I saw he was in Wharton Business School..(to enter that sch u must hv graduated in the top 5% in ur class or thereabout)... I imagined if he stayed in Nigeria..He wud prolly hv finished with a 3.8+/- just because he reads to understand

BabangidaHamza:
Please my only advice is that grade don't matters when it comes to university nowadays.. You might graduate with first class and still got no job.. Some first class students always believed that their grade will help them get automatic job from the university which is not true.. Just graduate, if u can invest in business invest, if u c work go do.. But if u allow first class mentality take over u, d person wey dey push wheelbarrow get future pass u

make him pass this stage first na

RTSC:

Not in a field like Engineering.

Though an ability to copy and paste verbatim is a sign of a high functioning brain.
Not everybody can do it.

Studied engineering too...

I thoroughly disliked lecturers talk less of professors who insisted in this verbatim culture for questions that naturally invoke different approaches to decipher...

To top it all, in my case, they were oppressors... I mean the lecturers.


The philosophy of the course/subject themselves they don't apply to be the meta-creators of their craft.

I believe that the approach to career/occupation in Nigeria should first be organic (traditional, if you will) then spin off from there to adding some more from other discipline if one wishes.

One should be exposed to some occupation one has passion for or satisfaction in, first, get work experience while schooling in the discipline of the same. Advancement in that choosen field would be much more appreciated and appeal to the immediate problems instantly solvable within the locale. After this, then export, and viola we become actual solution-exporting nation like the powerful nations we have presently.

In the movie, "Hidden Figures", the viewer would appreciate how serious the head of the foremost research group was about the US to be first in the space exploration/exploitation frontier as there were already behind the USSR... "because being first would give them authority to write laws that regulate and call the shots to every other nation(s) that followed the pursuit of knowledge in that same area."

Our level of assimilation differs. When someone puts in efforts which yields results he will gladly go two days with out sleeping if that's what it takes to make an A but I assure you that if after even doing that he struggled to get a C or D no type of tenacity and endurance will make him spend two days with sleep just to end up with a C or D

Adabar:
First class students are persistent, consistent and tenacious. Let me share these:



When I was in 500L, I had a 400L first class student(same dept) in my room. This guy had materials and used them. Beyond that, he went the extra mile to ace his courses. This guy gave me a call during my NYSC to enquire about a course I got an A in (A dey scarce for the course). According to him, he picked that course and wanted me to explain something to him even after I tried to dissuade him as i only 'crashed' the course. He persisted and spent close to an hour on the phone trying to remind me of some essentials on the course that eventually helped me to give him insights on the course. You see his spirit?

During my final year exams, a first class guy just asked me out of the blue if I remembered a term and the mathematical derivative of that but I was surprised cuz I hadn't heard that name before and told him so.....didn't even know which of the questions required such. Lol.

Of course, I am intelligent but these first class guys are really dedicated, diligent, devoted, disciplined and I admire them.

By the way, those guys are working in oil companies and they deserve it.

I've experienced the same. In fact this guy called me some days back

RTSC:
You need to get the right materials and practice the right questions.

You need to study with the right people. Studying with High functioning people like yourself will shorten your learning curve dramatically.

You need to have a First Class brain : Like it or not, it is not everybody that can get a First Class even if you do the above.
It is function of intelligence. Your rate of assimilation need to be outstanding to finish in the top of your class.
And unfortunately, not everybody is fortunate enough to have a First Class brain.
It is a gift, most of the time. It is not necessarily a function of hard work..

So for those who are not privileged to be as mentally aware, their best efforts will probably get them a sharp 2.1 which is good too.

Grace : There are times when you run into trouble academically either in a particular exam or test ,and the consequences would be dire for your CGPA.
But somehow, you just scale through with a B or even a surprising A.

I disagree with your "first class brain" theory. It is true that people have different levels of assimilation. However, first class can be relative. You can be a first class level in a particular setting and be a 2:2 in another setting. It depends on the standards of the place where a first class is gotten, the conditions that birthed the first class and, yes, the relative difficulty of getting the first class..So that your theory can have some drawbacks...Or how do you explain two people, one first class, one 2:1, from different good Naija schools..Both proceeded for graduate studies, under the same, the 2:1 person made U turn and started having very top grades while the first class did OK but not tops? Do you say the 2:1 guy changed his brain to "first class brain" or the 1st guy lost his first class brain? This is a good question for you to think about.


Motivation, environment and many other factors play a role in grade outcomes. If I tell a C student that I will take them to Harvard if they turn straight A's, chances are they will soon start making all A's. Motivation is seriously underrated and this wonders me..Some people have self motivation, others rely on motivation from external sources..But with motivation and some intelligence, a lot can be achieved.

I have seen a lot in this world sha...Academic grades depend on a lot of things - I'm not sure if having a "first class brain" dominates other important factors like motivation, level of preparedness, foundation and entry behaviour...

The best students in secondary school are not necessarily the best at undergrad. The best at undergrad are not necessarily the best at masters. And the best at masters are not necessarily the most insightful PhD researchers...Many things go into these things.

Every student should work hard, study the right material, rigorously study past questions and any material from their lecturers. They will do well at some point in their academic journey, one day. In my experience, there was nothing I didn't do to score a GPA of 5.0 in at least one semester. The closest I came was 4.8 in my last semester and this couldn't help my largely above average/OK grades in the earlier semesters. However, fast forward few years later, I was blasting top grades at grad school at some point even scoring a GPA of 4/4 in a highly competitive program that has Olympiad level boys and girls.

It's about time and chance. If people are steadfast enough and do the right thing, one day they will shine....

Fisher007:


From my point of view.
First class or distinction graduate read to learn and understand . They don't read to pass.

Most people think it is about cramming pass questions or revision. If that works luckily for some, it is because of the lazy lecturers and weak institution system.

In Nigeria student bribe to pass and get first class or second class upper. So when you ask them what they do. Different excuses come up such as I don't know, or I was lucky the past questions I read came out.

You need to be a slow, patient and repetitive learner to fully grasp what others thought they understood at once.

Now for those who say no be by degree or first class. Trust me to fully understand life and be wealthy you need the three qualities I stated above in all aspect of your life to succeed.

You can be rich and OK. But to be wealthy and maintain such wealth you need the discipline of a first class student. Simple.

Now you can go and hug electric transformer if you want to argue with me. Lol

I find it really hard to believe you that students bribe to get first class...2:1, maybe possible - not first class. First class boys and girls are bright, in my experience..They may not know everything, as some yeye people expect them to know, but they are sound..For 2:1 and lower, the population is mixed. You can get really weak people who have 2:1 grades. You can get decently strong people who have 2:2 grades..

The variance at that level is high..But for first class, the degree of homogeneity, in my view, is high.

fykes:
They fight for marks... I mean 75% is an A & to you, an A is an A. But to a First Class material, he just doesn't want an A, he wants an A with 98%.
This is the basic difference

There is no marginal benefit for attempting to get 100% vs 70% unless these scores are reported on transcripts.

Many Naija Uni transcripts I have seen, and I have seen many because of the nature of my engagements, what they report there is A, B, C..In that case, 70% in 20 courses is better than 90% if 15 courses and 65% in 5 courses...Students should build the skill of doing well in all of their courses rather than scoring 100% in some and risk scoring 60% in the others.

At the end of the day, it's all A B C...Unless the student is sure that the actual % will be reported on their transcript.

Oritsewhandey:

.....
They equally have better inter-personal relationships with key departmental lecturers.
Trust me, they are slimy, snakey and excellent lobbyists and bootlickers.
They have access to past question papers, too. Likewise, textbooks where their lecturers formed their handbooks from. They are dead pretenders.
Their sense of social engineering is superb.

Your first two points do not ring a bell. What is your sample? Or have you not heard of departments wanting to meet this mysterious student whom no one paid attention to until in yr 4 when they realized somebody is on 4.78, who be this?

theoptimist298:
I finished with a 2.1 and i can tell you that the only thing is to read hard and be strategic.

Attend lectures, form your own notes in cases where there are no handouts, even when there are hand outs, lecturers love it when u repeat some things they say in class.

Forget textbooks, read your notes and handouts except in cases where the lecturer makes use of a particular textbook.

Cram and understand too. Make sure u do both. Understanding alone without cramming are for lazy students.

Read for tests as if its exam. Once u do well in the test, getting an A or a B becomes easier.

Keep serious friends or atleast friends that are worried about their performance.

Read a particular note or hand out more than once. That way it sticks more. The first read is usually the hardest, infact when reading something the first time, u may think u cant ever know it but stick to it, when u finish reading for the first time, sleep on it then read it again the next day! During the second read, u may be amazed how much u actually picked from the first read.

Make sure you are aware and social, drink a bit, womanise a bit, be aware. In the end, these things maybe more critical to success in life than academic excellence.

Pray to God for understanding and knowledge retention. Very key.

Be sympathetic to your examiner who would read what u wrote down. Write in a manner that is easy to read, ensure your work is always neat and well spaced.

Ensure to write with good grammar and well constructed sentences. This can save you in some cases where u dont even know the answer to a question.

Give back to the lecturer what they gave you but in addition, let your understanding also shine through in your answers. Here is what i do, i give back to the lecturer verbatim what i was taught, then i also add a last paragraph to my answer where i try to show case my own understanding. People who only try to show case their own understanding without also giving back to the lecturer what they were taught word for word would always be C or D students in the Nigerian educational set up

ur comment hit me, I love to read in order to understand and hate cramming, so when I get to exam I give them my understanding and it really affected me. We should be encouraged for knowing and not for cramming, with cramming alone u have nothing to show outside exams.

at the end I graduated with 4.42.......i did cram and pour..... that doesn't mean I can't explain in my own terms..... but it was what my lecturers like....... "Cram and pour"......that's when you get an A......
so I had to give it to them and get what I want.....


but if you explain in ur own terms....... "C" is waiting for you .......


so find out what your lecturer likes and follow suit......


N/B.....I had to cram handout of 100 pages and more

BabangidaHamza:
Please my only advice is that grade don't matters when it comes to university nowadays.. You might graduate with first class and still got no job.. Some first class students always believed that their grade will help them get automatic job from the university which is not true.. Just graduate, if u can invest in business invest, if u c work go do.. But if u allow first class mentality take over u, d person wey dey push wheelbarrow get future pass u

OP, my final submission.. Ignore this advice..I normally don't say this...But I have to. Ignore.

You cannot have first class and be a failure. Big big opportunities await you. There are many people looking to support first class, scholarship abroad brekete, provided of course you pass other tests.. Ordinary me, I know how many nairalanders I have supported to study on full scholarship abroad - through our company...There are many others...You can go top, top, top schools. See Ayodele Dada, one of our best students from Naija...Abi he is in Stanford now...Ayo had a crazy CGPA, 5/5..However, you don't need a crazy CGPA to get big, big big opportunities..Anything more than 4.60 is excellent. These opportunities will come to you.

Just go blast and come back to us here

Damfostopper:
at the end I graduated with 4.42.......i did cram and pour..... that doesn't mean I can't explain in my own terms..... but it was what my lecturers like....... "Cram and pour"......that's when you get an A......
so I had to give it to them and get what I want.....


but if you explain in ur own terms....... "C" is waiting for you .......


so find out what your lecturer likes and follow suit......


N/B.....I had to cram handout of 100 pages and more

To hell with what he/they liked, I went to school to learn how to conquer my environment...

That was my disposition to my studies.

Needless to say, I graduated with second class lower... while a number of higher grade students would usually approach me to explain concepts fundamental to what they were meant to be acing with reckless abandon, given their better grades.

The solutions you will come up with would be subjects of newer research publication because you ingeniously came up with solutions original to that situation and your person - the operating license to blaze a trail, to create.

Thats the reason despite being world first producer of cocoa ( raw facts aka data), Ivory Coast's about $2b exports cannot compete with Switzerland's(not even the whole country, a portion of nutrition production sector) chocolate industry churning out more than $15b like nothing.

Whatever Africa produces, that came out wrong..
Whatever Africa obtains/mines/export, they process and make it better, resell to Africa and others at a premium and become biggest winners at the end.

yongg:


To hell with what he/they liked, I went to school to learn how to conquer my environment...

That was my disposition to my studies.

Needless to say, I graduated with second class lower... while a number of higher grade students would usually come to me to explain concepts fundamental to what they were meant to be acing with reckless abandon, given their grades.

Then you should become an academic - since you can explain concepts, don't let that talent waste.

But note - that someone comes to you for explanation does not mean they are not exceptionally sound or that they don't deserve their very high grades. I know you didn't imply this, I just wanted to be sure by stating it.

They just thought you also had something to offer, that's why they came to you. And I praise them very well because they showed plenty humility...

akande115:


You also agree that you're not that serious with your study last session. Just shun all distraction and face only your study

all work and no play....

Admitwithschola:


Then you should become an academic - since you can explain concepts, don't let that talent waste.

But note - that someone comes to you for explanation does not mean they are not exceptionally sound or that they don't deserve their very high grades. I know you didn't imply this, I just wanted to be sure by stating it.

They just thought you also had something to offer, that's why they came to you. And I praise them very well because they showed plenty humility...

Yes, I understand this and agree.

You should experience the attitude of some of these lecturers, so closed ended and high handed... When flexible solutions they should have seen long before it is exported back to them at a higher price thereby enriching the first open-ended minds to give the problems a thought.

Meanwhile, then in school, those different clique we had collaborations with had unique characteristic down to individuals. Some had strengths in math methods employed in solving engineering problems, some maybe one, others a few... I was the computer guy persay, I had to be open to all in order the understand what the others brought to the table... I came across plenty methods... During seminar defence, introducing FEA analysis to simple structural analysis and stress situations was a bliss because I was practically holding them by the hands... It is calculus dependent, programmable but computer intensive... but could be achievable with recent iterations of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet application or any other that can handle with a certain minimal number of "matrices". I got a C... Oh well.



I try never to underrate anyone... no matter how unapt they may have proven to be... it is said (and I have witness real manifestation of the saying) that even a broken clock is correct at least twice in 24 hrs. There are more teachable people than the school sidelines... Teaching for me is like dating, you just have to locate the weakness and do some "quantum" disentanglement (this job is well suited to be handled by pychologist G&C but do we have them provide therapy in schools? heck where is the NOA for Nigerians - hence one becomes forced to "jack that trade too"

You can imagine waking up to see https://www.nairaland.com/5087794/wendy-okolo-first-black-woman on a Tuesday morning. The opportunity she had to work with all those institutions and in those capacities and talents?... hmm... hmm...hmm. Twas splendid afterwards, I am like what am I doing with my life? so depressing!