If you're a college student, whether in your 1st semester or 5th semester, I can't imagine that, if you could choose, you would want your grades to be anything other than straight A's. It's when ideas are circulated about what's required to actually achieve straight A's that the reservations start being expressed:

"I don't want to give up my social life!"

"But I'm lazy!"

"I just want to have fun at college!"

"I'm not smart enough for all of that!"

However, as someone who has gotten straight A's for my entire college career, I'm here to tell you that these things absolutely do not have to hold you back from achieving this goal. For reassurance: I have an excellent social life that, if anything, is too overwhelming than underwhelming; I'm probably MUCH lazier than you are and can likely show you a thing or two about the depths that can be reached in the realms of utter laziness; my college years have probably been the most enjoyable, fulfilling, and exciting years of my life; and, well, I am really freaking smart, but to be honest, I feel like only a mere fraction of my intelligence is ever truly utilized in college work. It's the "other things" that I feel are much more responsible for my straight A's than my raw intelligence, and it's those "other things" that I'm about to share with you!

Here are my 17 tips on how to get straight A's in college without being a genius, a hermit, a bore, or an obsessive worker...

1. Believe And Expect To Get Straight A's

From the very beginning of the semester, just believe it and expect it. Ignore rationality, ignore logic, ignore past history, just simply let yourself believe that you can get straight A's and expect to get them. Am I saying this because I believe the "Law of Attraction" will grant you your wish automatically just because you believed it in your head? Not at all. I'm saying that if you let yourself truly believe and expect you can achieve something, it will permeate your mind with the proper attitude that will allow you to do all the other things that will bring you the results you desire. It is this tip that fuels the power of all of the other tips and gives them their effectiveness.

2. Be Picky About The Professors You Choose

The beauty of college is that you have the power to choose who you let teach you. Sometimes class selection can be limited in certain scenarios, yes, but there is a whole lot of this up to our choice. When you can, be very meticulous and research all of your potential professors' ratings on the internet, look for personal biographies of them to get an idea of what kind of person they might be, ask around and get opinions from their previous students and colleagues, and only choose high-rated professors who you approve of. Professors who are highly rated and spoken of are almost always professors who are more friendly, care more about having productive relationships with their students, and frankly, grade more leniently. Why do you think everybody likes them?

3. Sit In The Front Of The Class

You'd be surprised how much this one thing makes such a difference. Not only does it give the impression to your professor that you're one of the high-achievers that will take their class seriously, which puts you in their good graces almost immediately, but it also keeps YOU in check because it forces you into the thick of the action, keeps you more likely to pay closer attention, and keeps you from looking at your phone during class because you definitely won't be able to get away with that in the front. It has also been statistically proven that students that sit in the front do indeed get better grades.

4. Create A Good First Impression

Usually in most first-day-of-class scenarios, much to the bane of introverts everywhere, there is some type of "introduce yourself" segment, whether it's done in a more organized way or in a more open-ended way. Either way, this is your very first opportunity to create a good first impression with your professor, and first impressions can be total game-changers. If your professor is the type that likes to start things off by asking the class an open question just to get people talking, BE that person who raises their hand first and start yourself off on the good side. You don't have to act like a showoff or anything, but speak confidently, be bubbly and friendly and enthusiastic, showcase a sense of humor, and act like you're happy to be there. Creating a good first impression, especially for the first FEW classes, will allow you to be able to get away with being much lazier and coasting for large parts of the semester later on, while still retaining your top-dog status.

5. Participate Like It's Going Out Of Style

I can't express enough how important this one is. I can't tell you how many times I've had professors adore me and see me as their classroom savior because all of my classmates are acting like zombies and I'm the only one who seems engaged enough to want to talk about what's being taught. Professors feel like crap when the classroom feels like a tomb and their students won't participate, so you can imagine how much they appreciate when there's that one student who saves them every time things get awkwardly silent and keeps the discussion moving along, making them look better. How much more likely do you think that professor would be to be more kind and forgiving when they're grading your work compared to Zombie#22? These things can literally make the difference between entire letter grades, regardless of how right or wrong you are on your work. Raise your hand and participate every single chance you get, whether that's answering a question or asking one. Be Hermione Granger with it.

6. Treat Your Professors Like Human Beings

So often, it seems like college students treat their professors like a "boss" or some separate, ascended being, and act all scared to speak freely with them like they would with anyone else. These guys are just humans like you are, similar in more ways than you think. Instead, talk to them like they're your best friend. Seriously. Smile at them when you see them and greet them with enthusiasm, speak casually with them and ask them about their day, be bold and crack jokes and say outrageous things in good taste, and just treat them with high respect, especially if they're experts in the field that you yourself want to be an expert in. When class is in session, keep up the respect and give them your utmost attention, but also don't be scared to be your casual, charismatic self when you speak. The more things you can do to stand out in a positive way and develop a good personal relationship with your professor, the more he or she will hook you up when it matters, guaranteed.

Don't ever underestimate the power of smiles, laughter and undivided attention.

7. Let Your Professor Know Early On That An 'A' Is Your Goal

So many students, even some good ones, don't act very ambitious when it comes to their current grade status or what grade they'll wind up with, like they don't believe they're powerful enough to determine their own reality with it. If you act like your grade doesn't matter all that much, your professor will treat you like your grade doesn't matter all that much. Instead, make it a point as early as possible in your interactions with them to flat out tell them that you absolutely want your grade in their class to be an A and how very important it is to you. A student who cares that much is not only endearing to their professor, but they will be rooting for you, and it will always be in their mind to do everything they can to make sure you can meet your goal, especially if your actions are confirming your words. When they're tasked with grading your B+ essay and they know how much getting that A for the class means to you, they'll bump that B+ up to an A-, just because they know how much you care and they want to make sure you're still in the ballpark of your overall goal. Little things like that here and there make all the difference in the world.

8. Talk To Your Professors Outside Of Class

Make some effort to shoot your professor some emails or visit them during office hours. It's just another way of standing out and trying to create that positive personal relationship with them that will help you tremendously in the long run, and it's also a great opportunity to tell them about your grade aspirations and see if there's anything they have to suggest to you that can help you in that endeavor.

9. Always Always ALWAYS Ask About Extra Credit Opportunities

Some professors will have some extra credit opportunities already established in their syllabus or at some point in class, but even if they don't, ALWAYS ask about it anyway and see what happens. Ask them in front of the entire class, that way the pressure is on and they're less likely to want to disappoint everybody and say "no." Very often, they'll make something up on the spot just because you asked, or they'll say that they'll think about it and then next class they'll have some extra credit opportunities thought up for you. Extra credit is free grade points, period, and can literally make or break whether you get an A or not. I've had 2 different classes where the extra credit points put me in the A range when I wouldn't have been without it. I wouldn't be qualified to write this article if I wasn't a nag about extra credit a couple times.

10. Actually Do The Readings AND Use Sparknotes

For the classes that are reading heavy, you should not only do the readings, but you should supplement that with using Sparknotes and other online summaries for what you read when possible, whether you feel like you fully understand what you read or not. If you didn't understand, online summaries will clear it up. If you feel like you fully understood, online summaries will confirm it for sure and usually provide you with multiple perspectives to consider besides your own and let you know how you're expected to understand the material. So many students think they can get away with not doing the readings, and then wonder why their grades aren't very good or they never do all that well when they're tested on the material. Sure, sometimes you can get away with it, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

For situations where you don't have enough time to get the reading done properly, AT LEAST skim over it, read beginning and concluding paragraphs, and quickly scour Sparknotes before class starts. I've made myself look like an expert on a subject by just doing that for 5 minutes right before class started, so it's all fresh in my head when I go to talk about it. It's not ideal, but it's much better to do that than to not read at all and find yourself unable to participate, unable to follow along, and behind in your understanding of the class because you totally missed the boat on that segment.

11. Figure Out Your Best Way To Study And Do It

Some people like to study in the morning, outside, around people, while others like to study at night, by themselves in total silence, while others like to study with music and/or with a partner. Some like to use flash cards, some like to use digital study aids, some take extensive notes in class, some don't take any notes at all and just pay really close attention instead (me). Point is: our brains all process information in their own idiosyncratic way, and your task is to discover what works best for you as early as possible and get the most out of it as you can. I started my college career as a notetaker, but quickly discovered that when I took notes, I had a hard time paying attention to what the professor was actually saying, because I was too busy writing what she said previously, and I'd end the day not having that good of an understanding of what was just taught to me. So I quickly scrapped the idea of taking notes altogether, and haven't taken notes ever since and just instead focus 100% of my attention on what the professor is saying, and I've found that it's helped my understanding of the material tenfold. You too need to figure out what it is that works for you and utilize it to your advantage.

12. Get Good Sleep

This one has actually always been the toughest one for me to master, but I've definitely improved significantly as I've gotten better and better at handling this way of life. The difference in how effectively your brain processes information with little to no sleep compared to a lot of sleep is like night and day, and much science is out there on the subject, confirming the importance of getting a good night's sleep for your mental and physical performance. This is especially important for exam days.

13. Utilize Your Time During Exams

There's this really bad habit among students where they feel the need to try to breeze through their exams as quickly as possible, as if it makes them look and feel more like "whiz kids" or something, all the while their exam scores constantly average out in the mid-70's. On the other hand, I literally utilize every minute of my exam time, even if I'm "done" a half hour before it's over and everyone else has already left, and my exam scores average out in the mid-90's. I acknowledge that there's a lot that goes into this, but clearly the mid-70's bunch isn't helping themselves any by blowing through their exams as quickly as possible and leaving as soon as they possibly can. You must utilize everything that's given to you to your utmost advantage, and in this case, it's TIME, to go over your answers and correct any mistakes, to think more deeply about each of the questions, to ask your professor questions during the exam to see what information you might be able to squeeze out of them (it's always worth a try), and give your written responses more substance and thought. Exams are worth too much of your final grade to just rush through and treat like they're not worthy of an extra half hour of your time.

14. In Desperate Times, Use The "Bathroom" During Exams

If you find yourself during your exam completely befuddled on something, but realize that if you simply had a minute or two to check your phone you would know everything you need to know, then simply ask to use the bathroom. The professor can't deny you the use of the bathroom during an exam. Even if they act agitated about it (I've never personally seen it), it doesn't matter, there's literally no way to know if you really needed to go to the bathroom or not and there's nothing they can do about it anyway. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, and if it's risk-free and makes or breaks your grade on an exam, then it's absolutely worth utilizing.

15. Get Your Essays Proofread

If you're someone who doesn't feel like you're an absolute expert on spelling, grammar, and punctuation, then chances are your essay has multiple errors that need addressing from an additional set of eyes (sorry, but it's true). Even if your ideas are great and solidly communicated, bad spelling, grammar and punctuation will drown your great ideas in unnecessary aesthetic and technical ugliness that the fine eye of your professor won't be able to make themselves look past. Don't ever let something technical that is in your control be an excuse for your professor to nitpick your work and judge it more harshly than they normally would. Utilize a friend, roommate, writing service on campus or editing service online to proofread your work whenever you can.

16. Turn In Every Single Assignment, Even If You Did Horrible

It's really quite simple here: every single assignment for a class represents a percentage of your overall grade, and any assignment you don't turn in is a 0 by default. Even if an assignment is only 5 percent of your overall grade, a 0 on that little assignment makes your highest possible grade a 95 percent for the class, and that's if you got a 100 on everything (nearly impossible). Do that twice and you've officially taken yourself out of A range, even if you did perfectly on everything you DID turn in. In light of these sobering facts, you simply need to turn in every single assignment that's expected of you, even if it's the worst job you've ever done at something in your life. Even a 50 percent on an assignment is a significant difference than a 0 percent on an assignment, and most of the time, even your worst work will still get you in the 70 percent range or higher. So many times, due to lack of adequate time to do my best, I've turned in an assignment that I was literally embarrassed to turn in with my name on it, and winded up getting a 90+ on it, leaving me to assume that the professor must have been on crack when they graded it. Whether they were or not is of no concern of mine! I'll take it! Any grade whatsoever is better than a zero, always.

17. Get Away With What You Can Get Away With

I'll leave this tip purposely ambiguous and let you make of it what you will...

So, there you have it. Can I absolutely guarantee that following these tips will result in straight A's for you? Of course not, but what I can guarantee is that, if you follow these tips, you'll give yourself a significantly better chance at getting straight A's than you would if you didn't follow them. They'll make an immeasurably massive difference in your academic performance, I promise you that.

And as promised, do any of these tips require you to be a genius? Nope. Do any of these tips require you to give up your social life? Not nearly. Do any of these tips require superhuman exertion? Negative. Do any of these tips stop you from having fun, either in or outside the classroom? Not a chance, Charlie.

There's no excuses here. Go now, and be great!