By The Princeton Review
It's hard not to make judgments about a student by how he acts during a class. Whether you're an "A" student or a "C" student, here are five things your teachers notice about you during class.
1. Are you writing things down?
When we say, "Here's the most important piece of advice I can give you about the SAT (or LSAT, GMAT, ACT, GRE) exam," we notice which 3 of the 15 students in the room don't bother to write down the advice that follows. We also know the 12 who do take notes are engaged enough to want to make the most of our time together. It tells us who's serious about getting a better score. Imagine if you were a chemistry teacher and one of those non-note-takers got a "C" and came to you to ask for extra credit so he could improve his grade. Not gonna’ happen, kid.
2. Do you seem genuinely happy to be there?
Imagine if you were on a date and the person was yawning during dinner, doodling on the tablecloth and generally looking bored. Wouldn't you be a little insulted? Doing those things in class is like saying to your teacher, "I don't want to listen to you, and I don't want to be here." Students who pay attention, who have pleasant expressions, who even acknowledge us with a nod of the head or a courtesy laugh at one of our stupid jokes, come across as engaged learners.
3. Do you ask good questions?
"Do we have to do this?" is a stupid question. "What's an example of a college with strange essay prompts?" is a good question. The questions you ask (and whether or not you ask questions at all) say a lot about you as a student. Questions that seek to help you better understand the material, or that just show you're interested and want to learn more, are good ways to show your teacher that you are an engaged learner.
4. Do you participate?
When we ask, "Who remembers from our essay seminar how you take ownership of a story?” the students who respond are those who’ve been writing things down and engaged in the discussion (see questions 1, 2 and 3). Participating in class is a good strategy. It shows the teacher that you want to be there, that you want to be a part of the discussion, and that you’re engaged in the process.
5. Are you nice to other students?
If a student is having trouble understanding, or if he asks a question that seems silly to you, or if he's just not as smooth and socially successful as the rest of the class, do you roll your eyes, snicker at him, or whisper a comment to one of your friends and then giggle? If you do, trust us, your teacher notices and will think of you as not such a good kid. The nice kid who leans over and offers to help the struggling one, who whispers, "Hey, want me to show you how to do it?"--teachers like that kid.
You don't have to be an "A" student to get extra credit from teachers...and from colleges.