Moving from A- to A+

[everyday]

I recently started college, and in every class I am in I somehow cannot get an A+. I get a lot of A-'s, and when I ask teachers for feedback, they really do not have anything negative to say. This has been problematic for me because I really want to get A+'s and I don't know what else to do. Should I even care about getting the 4.0 GPA or should I just be satisfied with A-'s even though I am one of the top students in all of my classes?

Also, is it worth it to email professors about this, or would it be more harmful then beneficial? I am in an MBA program and I know having a strong network is important, and I do not want to make a bad impression on a professor.

[Savage]

If you're getting an A- and not a solid A, you're not in the running yet for an A+.

I didn't get A+ grades in classes by doing all the assigned work in an excellent fashion and being at the top of the class. That warrants an A but not an A+.

I got an A+ when I did extra work that went well beyond what was assigned. For example, in high school I used to write programs for the Casio fx 7000/8000G programmable calculators and pass them out to other students for free. I'd share these with the teachers as well. When I showed a teacher an image of the Mandelbrot set graphed on my calculator screen and his jaw dropped, that's what got me the A+.

Teachers also have to get to know you well in order to warrant an A+. This means going to their office hours and talking to them, or hanging around after class and offering additional insights or asking intelligent questions. If you just show up to class and do the standard work very well, that's not A+ material in my book.

To get an A+, don't just be at the top of the class. Be so good that the teacher has to ask, "Why are you even in this class?" Make it clear that the difference between you and the other students is akin to the difference between an amateur and a pro. Be so good that teachers are embarrassed to give you the same exams they give the other students.

Not all teachers will think to give an A+ though, so you may need to ask for it on occasion. When I knew I had kicked ass in a class, I would sometimes say to the professor in passing, "By the way, if you feel I deserve it, I'd appreciate an A+ in your class." As far as I can recall, this worked every time. But I wouldn't ask unless I knew I deserved it.

[AndrewJen]

Building personal relationships with my teachers has helped the most. My professors have linked me to jobs/clients, and have gone out of their way to help me even outside of school.

I felt a lot of my time was spent helping other students with their art and I was always glad to sit down with them and break down things they didn't understand in class. I still help them through facebook even though I'm not around. I feel like it creates a better environment, and my teachers definitely recognized it.

Hope you reach your goals, and the goals after that... and the goals after that

[everyday]

Thanks! I think for this upcoming semester I'm going to have to make more of an effort to connect with all of my teachers. Savage- after reading your post I've realized that I have only done this in one of my classes, which as a result I feel I have gained significantly more from- so I'm going to expand that to all of them, hopefully. Andrew- that's great advice, I think not only looking out for myself, but my peers as well will definitely help me achieve my goals. Also after reconsideration I think the network will end up being more important than anything- so the office hours and level of interaction with my professors will be the focus for next semester- plus being more willing to help out peers for sure. I do think being recommended by a professor will go a much farther way than simply having a strong transcript alone.